In 1974, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker retired Steely Dan from public performances and fully devoted themselves to crafting perfection in the studio. This absence from the stage would last for nearly 20 years from 1974, through the band’s breakup after the release of the masterpiece Gaucho in 1980, all the way to Steely Dan’s reunion in 1993.
For the glorious period from the band’s formation in 1971 up until its last pre-hiatus touring performance on July 5th, 1974 in Santa Monica, CA, however, audiences were able to bear witness to the how and the who that put these ingeniously unique compositions together. On the night of February 9th, 1973, Steely Dan appeared as the musical guest on NBC‘s The Midnight Special and gave the whole country a front-row seat.
On just the third-ever episode of the late-night music variety program, Steely Dan appeared on a lineup that also included Albert Hammond, The Spinners, Merilee Rush, guest host Johnny Rivers, and The Ace Trucking Company comedy troupe featuring a young Fred Willard. The band was on the heels of its remarkable 1972 debut Can’t Buy A Thrill, and was five months away from releasing the follow-up, Countdown To Ecstacy. Both albums were represented throughout the four-song appearance, with takes on “Do It Again” and “Reelin’ In The Years” from Can’t Buy A Thrill alongside “Show Biz Kids” and “My Old School” from Countdown To Ecstacy.
At the time, the band’s roster included Donald Fagen on keyboards and vocals and Becker on bass. David Palmer takes over lead vocals for “Do It Again”, though Fagen sang it on the original recording. Jeff “Skunk” Baxter and Denny Dias share guitar duties and both deliver blistering work throughout, including the harmonious breakdown in “Reelin’ In The Years”. The rest of the lineup is rounded out with drummer Jim Hodder, percussionist Royce Jones, and backing vocalists Gloria “Porky” Granola and Jenny “Bucky” Soule.
Airing after the Friday night edition of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Midnight Special was a major breakthrough in the history of late-night television. The 90-minute variety program employed weekly guest hosts and welcomed top artists of the 1970s and early ’80s, including everyone from AC/DC to The Jackson 5 to Weather Report. The program was also revolutionary for having musicians actually perform live, as opposed to the contemporary standard practice of lip-syncing. Though the show went off the air in 1981, a new YouTube channel has begun uploading troves of archival material on a daily basis, including full episodes.
There’s renewed interest in Steely Dan too, with the previously unreleased Gaucho-era song “The Second Arrangement” rescued last month from a collection of tapes after more than 40 years. The month before, Alex Pappademas published a new book Quantum Criminals: Rambles, Wild Gamblers, and Other Sole Survivors from the Songs of Steely Dan that examines the band’s at-times chaotic history by using characters from its song as lenses to explore various storylines.
Check out the February 9th, 1973 episode of The Midnight Special featuring Steely Dan. The band, helmed by Fagen in the wake of Becker’s death in 2017, is headed out this fall as support on the Eagles‘ The Long Goodbye farewell tour.
Steely Dan – “Do It Again”
Steely Dan – “Reelin’ In The Years”
Steely Dan – “Show Biz Kids”
Steely Dan – “My Old School”
The Midnight Special – 2/9/73 – Full Episode
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