Timeline

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Music critic Ralph J. Gleason called him "America's most important composer". Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington wrote or collaborated on more than one thousand compositions; his extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy, and many of his pieces have become standards.

Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser", "Ruby, My Dear", "In Walked Bud", and "Well, You Needn't". As of 2009, Monk was the second-most-recorded jazz composer in history, after Duke Ellington. Monk's compositions and improvisations feature dissonances and angular melodies, often using flat ninths, flat fifths, unexpected chromatic notes, low bass notes and stride, and fast whole tone runs.

Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos, virtuosic technique, and advanced harmonies. He was a virtuoso and introduced revolutionary rhythmic and harmonic ideas into jazz, including rapid passing chords, new variants of altered chords, and chord substitutions.

Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987) was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as an adult. Feldman emigrated to the United States in the mid-1950s, where he continued working in jazz and also as a session musician with a variety of pop and rock performers.

Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie (born June 11, 1939) is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul, funk and jazz musician. He is known for his precise time-keeping and his signature use of triplets against a half-time backbeat: the Purdie shuffle. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2013. Purdie recorded Soul Drums (1968) as a band leader and although he went on to record Alexander's Ragtime Band, the album remained unreleased until Soul Drums was reissued on CD in 2009 with the Alexander's Ragtime Band sessions.

Wilton Lewis Felder (August 31, 1940 – September 27, 2015) was an American saxophone and bass player, and is best known as a founding member of the Jazz Crusaders, later known as the Crusaders. Felder played bass on the Jackson 5's hits "I Want You Back" (1969) and "ABC" (1970) and on Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" (1973).

Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 top 40 U.S. hits include "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" (No. 10), "Anticipation" (No. 13), "The Right Thing to Do" (No.

George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, playing soul jazz with Jack McDuff and others. He then launched a successful solo career, alternating between jazz, pop, R&B singing, and scat singing.

Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and most highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1984. Gadd's performances on Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" (1976) and "Late in the Evening" (1980), Herbie Mann's "Hi-jack" (1975) and Steely Dan's "Aja" (1977) are examples of his style. He has worked with other popular musicians from many genres including Van McCoy, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, Chick Corea, Chuck Mangione, Randy Crawford, Eric Clapton, Michel Petrucciani, Paul McCartney, and David Gilmour.

Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer.

Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who is the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the rock band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his contributions to Steely Dan, Fagen has released four solo albums, beginning with The Nightfly in 1982, which was nominated for seven Grammys. In 2001, Fagen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Steely Dan. Following Becker's death in 2017, Fagen continued to tour using the band name until 2026.

Larry Eugene Carlton (born March 2, 1948) is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and 1980s for acts including Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. One of the most sought-after guitarists of his era, Carlton has participated in thousands of recording sessions, recorded on hundreds of albums in many genres including more than 100 gold records, in addition to music for television and movies. He was a member of the jazz fusion group the Crusaders and the smooth jazz band Fourplay maintaining a long solo career.

Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded with Jim Messina as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His early soundtrack contributions date back to A Star Is Born in 1976, and he is known as the "King of the Movie Soundtrack". As a solo artist, Loggins experienced a string of soundtrack successes, including an Academy Award nomination for "Footloose" in 1985.

Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at school in Connecticut, Silver got his break on piano when his trio was recruited by Stan Getz in 1950. Silver soon moved to New York City, where he developed a reputation as a composer and for his bluesy playing. Frequent sideman recordings in the mid-1950s helped further, but it was his work with the Jazz Messengers, co-led by Art Blakey, that brought both his writing and playing the most attention.

Christopher Cross (born Christopher Charles Geppert; May 3, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1980), and "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)", from the 1981 film Arthur, peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. "Sailing" earned three Grammys in 1980.

Anthony Claiborne Jackson (June 23, 1952 – October 19, 2025) was an American bassist. Described as "one of the masters of the instrument", he performed as a session musician and live artist. He is also credited with the development of the modern six-string bass, which he referred to as an electric contrabass guitar.

Rob Mounsey (born December 2, 1952) is an American musician, composer, and arranger.

Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Simon & Garfunkel. Their blend of folk and rock, including hits such as "The Sound of Silence" (1965), "Mrs. Robinson" (1968), "America" (1968), and "The Boxer" (1969), served as a soundtrack to the 1960s counterculture. Their final album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970), is among the best-selling of all time.

David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist, and secondary vocalist of the rock band Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrote much of Toto's original material, including the band's three most popular songs: "Hold the Line", "Rosanna", and "Africa". With Toto, Paich has contributed to 17 albums and sold over 40 million records. He and guitarist and singer Steve Lukather are the only members to appear on every studio album (Steve Porcaro contributed to every studio album as well, but was not an official member of the band from 1987 to 2010).

Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. Over the course of a career that spans five decades and 15 studio albums, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, and jazz. A two-time Grammy Award winner (from eight nominations), Jones was listed at No. 30 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Rock & Roll in 1999.

Joe Jackson (born David Ian Jackson; 11 August 1954) is a British musician, singer and songwriter. Having spent years studying music and playing clubs, he found early success with his hit new wave singles "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" and "It's Different for Girls". After he moved to more jazz-inflected pop music, Jackson achieved a worldwide hit with "Steppin' Out". Jackson is associated with the 1980s Second British Invasion of the US. He has also composed classical music.

Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, vocalist, and arranger. A session musician, Phillinganes has contributed to numerous albums over a broad array of artists and genres. He has toured with artists including Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Toto and the Pussycat Dolls, was musical director for Michael Jackson, and has released two solo studio albums.

Steven Lee Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a steady flow of session work beginning in the 1970s that has since established him as a prolific session musician, recording guitar tracks for more than 1,500 albums spanning a broad array of artists and genres. He has also contributed to albums and hit singles as a songwriter, arranger, and producer. Notably, Lukather played guitar on Boz Scaggs's albums Down Two Then Left (1977) and Middle Man (1980), and was a prominent contributor to Michael Jackson's Thriller (1982).

William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonists Wayne Shorter and David Sanborn, among others. He was the main songwriter and producer on three of Davis's albums: Tutu (1986), Music from Siesta (1987), and Amandla (1989).

The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is an award presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales, chart position, or critical reception." Album of the Year is the most prestigious category at the Grammy Awards and is one of the general field categories that have been presented annually since the 1st Annual Grammy Awards in 1959 alongside Best New Artist, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year.

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band in popular music and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways. They also explored styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements.

Richard Dean Zehringer, known professionally as Rick Derringer, was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He gained success in the 1960s with his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, "Hang On Sloopy", became a number-one hit in 1965 and is regarded as a classic track from the garage rock era. The McCoys had seven songs chart in the top 100, including covers of "Fever" and "Come On, Let's Go". After releasing All American Boy, Derringer established a career as a solo artist.

Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter. After playing in several small independent bands from the late 1980s through the early '90s, Folds came to prominence as the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock trio Ben Folds Five from 1993 to 2000, and again during their reunion from 2011 to 2013. Folds has recorded a number of solo albums, most recently Sleigher (2024). He has also collaborated with musicians such as Regina Spektor, "Weird Al" Yankovic and yMusic, and undertaken experimental songwriting projects with actor William Shatner and authors such as Nick Hornby and Neil Gaiman.

Little Feat is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1969 by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George, bassist Roy Estrada (both formerly of the Mothers of Invention), keyboardist Bill Payne, and drummer Richie Hayward. The band's classic line-up, in place by late 1972, consisted of George, Payne, Hayward, bassist Kenny Gradney, guitarist and vocalist Paul Barrere, and percussionist Sam Clayton. George disbanded the group because of creative differences shortly before his death in 1979. Surviving members re-formed Little Feat in 1987 and the band continues to perform.

The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in San Jose, California, in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five decades, with their greatest success taking place in the 1970s. The group's current lineup consists of founding members Tom Johnston (guitars, keyboards, harmonica, vocals) and Patrick Simmons (guitars, banjo, recorder, vocals), alongside Michael McDonald (keyboards, synthesizers, mandolin, vocals) and John McFee (guitars, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, banjo, violin, cello, harmonica, vocals), and touring musicians including John Cowan (bass, vocals), Marc Russo (saxophones), Ed Toth (drums), and Marc Quiñones (percussion, backing vocals). Long-serving former members include guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, bassist Tiran Porter, and drummers John Hartman, Michael Hossack, and Keith Knudsen.

Daryl Hall & John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, were an American R&B duo formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1970. Daryl Hall was generally the lead vocalist, while John Oates primarily supplied electric guitar and backing vocals and occasional lead vocals. The two wrote most of the songs they performed, either separately or in collaboration. They achieved their greatest fame from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s with a fusion of rock music, soul music, and rhythm and blues.

Steely Dan was an American rock band formed in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971 by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Originally having a traditional band lineup, Becker and Fagen chose to stop performing live by the end of 1974 and continued Steely Dan as a studio-only duo, using a revolving cast of session musicians. Rolling Stone magazine named them "the perfect musical antiheroes for the seventies". Becker and Fagen played together in a variety of bands from their time together studying at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson.

Walter Carl Becker (February 20, 1950 – September 3, 2017) was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter of the jazz rock band Steely Dan. Becker met future songwriting partner Donald Fagen while they were students at Bard College. After a brief period of activity in New York City, the two moved to Los Angeles in 1971 and formed the nucleus of Steely Dan, which enjoyed a critically and commercially successful ten-year career.

Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American singer-songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated elements of rock, blues, country, and folk. She was also a frequent session player and collaborator with other artists, including Warren Zevon, Little Feat, Jackson Browne, the Pointer Sisters, John Prine, and Leon Russell.

"Do It Again" is a 1972 song composed and performed by American rock band Steely Dan, who released it as a single from their debut studio album Can't Buy a Thrill as its opening track. The single version differed from the album version, shortening the intro and outro and omitting the organ solo.

"Reelin' In the Years" is a song by American rock band Steely Dan, released as the second single from their 1972 debut album, Can't Buy a Thrill. It peaked at No. 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and at No. 15 in Canada.

Return to Forever is an American jazz fusion band that was founded by pianist Chick Corea in 1972. The band has had many members, with the only consistent bandmate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke. Along with Weather Report, The Headhunters, and Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever is often cited as one of the core groups of the jazz-fusion movement of the 1970s. Several musicians, including Clarke, Flora Purim, Airto Moreira and Al Di Meola, came to prominence through their performances on Return to Forever albums.

Can't Buy a Thrill is the debut studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released in November 1972, by ABC Records. It was written by band members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, and recorded in August 1972 at the Village Recorder in Los Angeles with producer Gary Katz. The album is one of Steely Dan's most stylistically eclectic, encompassing the sounds of soft rock, pop rock and jazz rock, alongside philosophical, elliptical lyrics.

Michael Hanley McDonald is an American singer, keyboardist, and songwriter. Known for his distinctive, soulful voice, he was a backing vocalist for Steely Dan from 1973 to 1980 and rose to fame as a lead vocalist of the Doobie Brothers as well as its keyboardist across various stints. McDonald wrote and sang several hit singles with the Doobie Brothers, including "What a Fool Believes", "Minute by Minute", "Takin' It to the Streets", "Real Love" and "It Keeps You Runnin'". McDonald has also performed as a prominent backing vocalist on numerous recordings by artists including Toto, Steely Dan, Christopher Cross, and Kenny Loggins.

Countdown to Ecstasy is the second studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released in July 1973 by ABC Records. It was recorded at the Village Recorder in West Los Angeles, California, except for Rick Derringer's slide guitar part for "Show Biz Kids", which was recorded at Caribou Ranch in Nederland, Colorado. Recorded after the departure of vocalist David Palmer, Donald Fagen sings lead on every track.

"Rikki Don't Lose That Number" is a single released in 1974 by the American rock band Steely Dan and the opening track of their third album Pretzel Logic. It was the most successful single of the group's career, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1974.

Pretzel Logic is the third studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released on February 20, 1974, by ABC Records. It was recorded at the Village Recorder in West Los Angeles, California, with producer Gary Katz. The album was the last to be made and released by the group while it was still an active touring band, and the last to feature the band's full quintet lineup of Walter Becker, Donald Fagen, Denny Dias, Jim Hodder, and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, though it also features significant contributions from many prominent Los Angeles-based studio musicians, and consequently the five band members all have reduced roles compared to their previous albums. No individual track on Pretzel Logic uses all five members of Steely Dan, and some only use two or three.

David William Sanborn (July 30, 1945 – May 12, 2024) was an American alto saxophonist. He worked in many musical genres; his solo recordings typically blended jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He began playing the saxophone at the age of 11 and released his first solo album, Taking Off, in 1975. He was active as a session musician and played on numerous albums by artists including Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Sting, the Eagles, Rickie Lee Jones, James Brown, George Benson, Carly Simon, Elton John, Bryan Ferry, Ween, and The Rolling Stones. Sanborn released more than 20 albums and won six Grammy awards.

Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro was an American drummer and songwriter. He is best known for being the co-founder and drummer of the rock band Toto, but he is also one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on hundreds of albums and thousands of sessions. While already an established studio player in the 1970s, he came to prominence in the US as the drummer on the Steely Dan album Katy Lied (1975).

Katy Lied is the fourth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released in March 1975, by ABC Records. Reissues have been released by MCA Records due to ABC's acquisition by MCA in 1979. It was the first album Steely Dan made after they stopped touring. Katy Lied is the recording debut of singer/keyboardist/songwriter Michael McDonald, who contributed prominent backing vocals to four songs.

"Deacon Blues" is a song by the American rock band Steely Dan, written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen in 1976 for the band's sixth album, Aja (1977). It peaked at number 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 17 on the US Cash Box Top 100 in June 1978. It also reached number 40 on the Easy Listening chart. In Canada, it peaked at number 14, a position it occupied for two weeks, and number 20 Adult Contemporary. In 2021, it was ranked No. 214 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

"Kid Charlemagne" is a song by American rock band Steely Dan, released in 1976 as the opening track on their album The Royal Scam. An edited version was released as a single, reaching number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100. Larry Carlton's guitar solo on the song was ranked #80 in a 2008 list of the 100 greatest guitar solos by Rolling Stone. The solo was ranked number 8 in the updated 2026 version.

Loggins and Messina was an American pop rock duo consisting of Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina, who achieved major chart success during the early-mid 1970s. Among their well-known songs are "Danny's Song", "House at Pooh Corner", and "Your Mama Don't Dance". After selling more than 16 million records and becoming one of the leading musical duos of the 1970s, Loggins and Messina separated in 1976. Although Messina would find only limited popularity following the parting, Loggins went on to achieve major chart success in the late 1970s, through the 1980s.

The Royal Scam is the fifth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released in May 1976 by ABC Records; reissues have been released by MCA Records since ABC's acquisition by the former in 1979. Like all of the band's previous albums, it was produced by Gary Katz. While their previous and succeeding albums focused on jazz rock, The Royal Scam is primarily a funk album. Though neither of its two singles released in the United States broke the Top 40, the album peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart, and it has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). A UK-only single, "Haitian Divorce", is Steely Dan's highest-charting single outside the United States, peaking at number 17, and The Royal Scam reached number 11 on the UK Albums Chart.

Aja is the sixth studio album by the American rock band Steely Dan, released on September 23, 1977, by ABC Records. For the album, band leaders Walter Becker and Donald Fagen pushed Steely Dan further into experimenting with different combinations of session players, enlisting the services of nearly 40 musicians, while pursuing longer, more sophisticated compositions and arrangements. Like all the band's previous albums, it was produced by Gary Katz.

"Peg" is a song by the American rock group Steely Dan, first released on the band's 1977 album Aja. The track was released as a single in 1977 and reached number 11 on the US Billboard chart in 1978 and number eight on the Cash Box chart. With a chart run of 19 weeks, "Peg" is tied with "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" and "Hey Nineteen" for being Steely Dan's longest-running chart hit. In Canada, "Peg" spent three weeks at number seven in March 1978.

Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1977. Toto combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, prog, hard rock, R&B, blues, and jazz. Having released 14 studio albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide, the group has received several Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009. David Paich (keyboards, vocals) and Jeff Porcaro (drums) had played together as session musicians on several albums and formed the band; David Hungate (bass), Steve Lukather (guitar, vocals), Steve Porcaro (keyboards, vocals), and Bobby Kimball (vocals) were recruited before the release of the band's eponymous debut album in 1978.

Patrick Bruce Metheny ( məth-EE-nee; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He was the leader of the Pat Metheny Group (1977–2010) and continues to work in various small-combo, duet, and solo settings, as well as other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progressive and contemporary jazz, Latin jazz, and jazz fusion. He has three gold albums and 20 Grammy Awards, and is the only person to have won Grammys in 10 categories.

"FM (No Static at All)" is a song by American jazz-rock band Steely Dan and the title theme for the 1978 film FM. It made the US Top 40 the year of its release as a single. A jazz-rock composition of bass, guitar and piano, its lyrics criticize the album-oriented rock format of many FM radio stations at that time, in contrast to the film's celebration of the medium.

"Hey Nineteen" is a song from the band Steely Dan from their album Gaucho (1980) that describes an intergenerational seduction. Besides the composing duo of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, musicians include Hugh McCracken (guitar), Rick Marotta, Victor Feldman, and Steve Gadd (percussion), and Frank Floyd and Zack Sanders. The song peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 (1981) and appeared at number 11 on Top Adult Contemporary charts through 1993.

Gaucho is the seventh studio album by the American rock band Steely Dan, released on November 21, 1980, by MCA Records. The album marked a significant stylistic shift for the band, with more focus on rhythm and atmosphere than their earlier work, but the recording sessions demonstrated the group's typical obsessive nature and perfectionism, as they used at least 42 different session musicians, spent over a year in the studio, and far exceeded the original monetary advance given by the record label. At the 24th Annual Grammy Awards, Gaucho won Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical, and was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The making of the album was plagued by creative, personal, and professional problems, and, once it was completed, there was a three-way legal battle between MCA, Warner Bros., and Steely Dan over the rights to release it.

Joshua Michael Tillman (born May 3, 1981), better known by his stage name Father John Misty, is an American musician. He is known for his satirical lyrics and eccentric performance style. Tillman began his career in Seattle in the early 2000s. One of his demos reached Damien Jurado, and in 2003 he opened for him on his tour.

Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and dancer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, retro showmanship, and musical versatility. He is accompanied by his band, the Hooligans. Raised in Honolulu, Mars gained recognition in Hawaii as a child for his impersonation of Elvis Presley, before moving to Los Angeles in 2003 to pursue a musical career.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the artists, producers, engineers, and other personnel who have influenced its development. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was established on April 20, 1983, by Ahmet Ertegun, founder and chairman of Atlantic Records. After a long search for the right city, Cleveland was chosen in 1986 as the Hall of Fame's permanent home.

Jamiroquai ( jə-MIRR-ə-kwy) are an English acid jazz and funk band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in their early releases and later drew from rock, disco, electronic and Latin music genres. Lyrically, the group have addressed social and environmental justice.

Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her personal lyrics and unconventional compositions, which grew to incorporate elements of pop, jazz, rock, and other genres. Among her accolades are eleven Grammy Awards, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Rolling Stone, in 2002, named her "one of the greatest songwriters ever", and AllMusic, in a 2011 biography, stated "Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century."

Two Against Nature is the eighth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan. Their first studio album in 20 years, it was recorded from 1997 to 1999 and released on February 29, 2000, by Giant Records. A critical success, Two Against Nature won the group four Grammy Awards: Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Engineered Album – Non-Classical, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals (for the single "Cousin Dupree"). Commercially, it peaked at number six on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and sold more than one million copies, earning a Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.

Snarky Puppy is an American jazz fusion band led by bassist Michael League. Founded in 2004, Snarky Puppy combines a variety of jazz idioms, rock, world music, and funk and has won five Grammy Awards. Although the band has worked with vocalists, League described Snarky Puppy as "a pop band that improvises a lot, without vocals".

Yacht rock (originally known as the West Coast sound or adult-oriented rock) is a broad music style and aesthetic commonly associated with soft rock, one of the most commercially successful genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. Drawing on sources such as smooth soul, smooth jazz, R&B, and disco, common stylistic traits include high-quality production, clean vocals, and a focus on light, catchy melodies. The term yacht rock was coined in 2005 by the makers of the online comedy video series Yacht Rock, who connected the music with the popular Southern Californian leisure activity of boating. It was considered a pejorative term by some music critics.

Morph the Cat is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Donald Fagen. Released on March 7, 2006, to generally positive reviews from critics, Morph the Cat was described by Fagen as his "death album" in an interview with Fred Kaplan of The New York Times. Musicians on the album include drummer Keith Carlock, saxophonist Walt Weiskopf, bassist Freddie Washington, and guitarists Frank Vignola, Jon Herington, Wayne Krantz, and Hugh McCracken. Morph the Cat was released on CD and on a CD/DVD-Audio 2-disc package, with a 5.1 surround sound mix engineered by Elliot Scheiner.

Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Over a four‑decade career, he recorded widely in jazz and popular music and appeared on more than 900 albums as a leader and sideman. He received 15 Grammy Awards from the Recording Academy, was inducted into the DownBeat Hall of Fame in 2007, and received an honorary doctor of music degree from Berklee College of Music in 2004. He died in New York City in 2007 from complications of leukemia following a 2005 diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome.

Vulfpeck is an American funk-soul band and musical collective formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2011. Founded by bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Jack Stratton, the band consists of core members Theo Katzman, Woody Goss, and Joe Dart, musical partners Cory Wong, Antwaun Stanley, Joey Dosik, and Jacob Jeffries, and a changing lineup of guest musicians. The band has released six studio albums, four extended plays, a compilation, and two live albums through their own record label. The band gained recognition in 2014 for releasing Sleepify, a silent album that exposed a loophole in Spotify's royalty distribution and funded an admission-free tour.

McBriare Samuel Lanyon DeMarco is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. DeMarco initially emerged in the indie music scene in 2012, and has since released six full-length studio albums: his debut 2 (2012), Salad Days (2014), This Old Dog (2017), Here Comes the Cowboy (2019), Five Easy Hot Dogs (2023) and Guitar (2025). He additionally released the mini-albums Rock and Roll Night Club in 2012 and Another One in 2015, as well as the compilation album One Wayne G in 2023. In 2018, DeMarco established his own record label by the name of "Mac's Record Label".

Everything Must Go is the ninth and final studio album by American rock group Steely Dan. It was released on June 10, 2003, by Reprise Records. It was the band's second album following their 20-year studio hiatus spanning 1980 through 2000, when they released Two Against Nature. Everything Must Go is the band's most recent studio album and their last with founding member Walter Becker before his death in 2017.

Mark Daniel Ronson is an English and American musician, record producer, songwriter and DJ. He has won ten Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album Back to Black (2006), as well as two for Record of the Year with her 2006 single "Rehab" and his own 2014 single "Uptown Funk". Ronson has also won an Academy Award for Best Original Song, a Golden Globe and a Grammy Award for co-writing "Shallow" for the film A Star Is Born (2018).

Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter is an American guitarist, known for his stints in the rock bands Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers during the 1970s and Spirit in the 1980s. More recently, he has worked as a defense consultant and advised U.S. members of Congress on missile defense. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Doobie Brothers in 2020.

Khruangbin ( KRUNG-bin; Thai: เครื่องบิน, lit. 'airplane', krʉ̂ʉang-bin, [kʰrɯa̯ŋ˥˩.bin]) is an American musical trio from Houston, Texas. The band consists of Laura Lee Ochoa (bass guitar and vocals), Mark Speer (guitar and vocals), and Donald "DJ" Johnson (drums, keyboards, and vocals). The trio is known for blending global music influences, such as Thai rock, Iranian pop, and dub, with American soul, rock, and psychedelia. In 2024, the band was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.