On this day in music history: May 31, 1976 - “The Royal Scam”, the fifth album by Steely Dan is released. Produced by Gary Katz, it is recorded at ABC Studios in Los Angeles, CA and A & R Studios in  New York City from November 1975 - March 1976. The duo’s second album since retiring from the road, it will be more guitar based than their previous work, featuring top flight guitarists such as Larry Carlton, Elliott Randall, and Dean Parks playing on various tracks, as well as other musicians who are or will become regular contributors to Steely Dan’s albums including Chuck Rainey (bass), Bernard Purdie (drums) Victor Feldman (percussion), and Paul Griffin (keyboards). The album’s cover artwork will feature a painting by artist Zox of skyscrapers morphing into monsters with a photograph of a vagrant man sleeping on a park bench. The painting had originally been done for a Van Morrison album tentatively titled “Naked In The City”, but Morrison will abandon the project leaving the image unused. When Becker and Fagen are in need of something to use as cover art for their album, they will contact their friend photographer and art director Ed Caraeff who will recommend the Zox painting, and superimpose the photo of the man on the bench for the final artwork. The album will spin off two singles (three in the UK) including “The Fez” (#59 Pop) and “Kid Charlemagne” (#82 Pop). “The Royal Scam” will peak at #15 on the Billboard Top 200 and is certified Platinum in the US by the RIAA.

On this day in music history: May 3, 1978 - The comedy “FM” is released in US theaters. Released through Universal Pictures, it is the directorial debut of famed cinematographer John A. Alonzo (“Harold & Maude”, “Lady Sings The Blues”, “Wattstax”, “Chinatown”, “Norma Rae”, “Scarface”), and stars Alex Karras, Eileen Brennan, and Cleavon Little. The comedy about the inner workings of a major market radio station will arrive in theaters with an enormous thud, tanking at the box office. However, the film’s soundtrack (released by MCA Records) will be a huge hit, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Top 200 and is certified Platinum in the US by the RIAA. The 2 LP set will feature a number of major artists including Boston, Linda Ronstadt, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Foreigner, The Eagles, Joe Walsh,  Boz Scaggs, Queen, and James Taylor. Steely Dan will write and perform the film’s title song “FM (No Static At All)” (#22 Pop), which will win a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording, Non Classical (for engineers Roger Nichols and Al Schmitt). It will be the only time in Grammy history that the prize is awarded to a single, rather than to a full album. 

On this day in music history: March 9, 1975 - “Katy Lied”, the fourth studio album by Steely Dan is released. Produced by Gary Katz, it is recorded at ABC Recording Studios in Los Angeles, CA from November 1974 - January 1975. The album’s title is a play on the word “katydid”, the species of grasshopper that appears on the LP’s cover (taken by Fagen’s then girlfriend Dorothy White). Several of the songs will be piano based, with the duo utilizing keyboardist Michael Omartian to play on many of the tracks. For the sessions, they will use a seven foot long Bosendorfer grand piano (at the time costing over $13,000), which they will talk ABC Records into paying for. Becker and Fagen will experience major technical difficulties when the dbx noise reduction system malfunctions (rather than using the industry standard Dolby A noise reduction) while mixing the album. In spite of efforts to correct the problem, they are unable to fix it entirely. Nearly deciding to scrap the album altogether, Becker and Fagen will release it as is but have refused to listen to it since. It will spin off two singles including “Black Friday” (#37 Pop) and “Bad Sneakers” (#103 Pop). In 1978, the audiophile label Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab will issue a half speed mastered pressing of the album. It will sell poorly upon its release, and is deleted not long after. Though it will end up becoming a sought after collector’s item after it goes out of print, commanding as much as $300 - 400 for a sealed copy. “Katy Lied” will peak at #13 on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified Platinum in the US by the RIAA.

On this day in music history: March 2, 1974 - “Pretzel Logic”, the third album by Steely Dan is released. Produced by Gary Katz, it is recorded from October 1973 - January 1974 at The Village Recorder in West Los Angeles, CA and Cherokee Studios in Chatsworth, CA. After the modestly successful “Countdown To Ecstasy”,  the follow up album will mark a major shift in how the band works in the studio, using mostly outside studio musicians, which will lead Becker and Fagen to dismiss the rest of their band except for guitarist Denny Dias. The albums’ cover photo (taken by photographer Raeanne Rubenstein) features a shot of a pretzel seller in New York’s Central Park. The vendor will refuse to sign a release to use his likeness. They’ll use the photo anyway when it is discovered that he doesn’t have a license to operate a food cart in New York City, and is unlikely to sue. The resulting album will be a critical and commercial success, yielding the band’s highest charting single “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” (#4 Pop). ABC Records will also issue a version of the album remixed into Quadrophonic Stereo. “Pretzel Logic” will peak at #8 on the Billboard Top 200 and will be certified Platinum by the RIAA.

On this day in music history: November 21, 1980 - “Gaucho”, the seventh album by Steely Dan is released. Produced by Gary Katz, it is recorded at Soundworks, A&R Studios, Sigma Sound Studios, Automated Sound in New York City, Village Recorders in West Los Angeles, CA, and Producer’s Workshop in Hollywood, CA from March 1978 - September 1980. Issued as the follow up to the hugely successful “Aja”, the duo will spend over two years working on it, and will experience numerous setbacks. These will include the loss of the song “The Second Arrangement” when it is partially erased by a tape operator, and when Walter Becker is hit by a cab (severely fracturing his leg) while walking to the studio, not to mention the duo’s notorious perfectionism. There will also be a battle with MCA Records over the list pricing of the album which will be set at $9.98 against Steely Dan’s wishes. Becker and Fagen will be forced to capitulate when the label threatens to shelve the album unless they agree to the higher price point. In spite of all the behind the scenes drama, the album is well received upon its release, though it will end up being the last new new studio album from Steely Dan for 19 years. It will spin off two singles including “Hey Nineteen” (#10 Pop, #64 R&B), and “Time Out Of Mind” (#22 Pop). “Gaucho” will peak at #9 on the Billboard Top 200 and is certified Platinum in the US by the RIAA.

On this day in music history: September 23, 1977 - “Aja”, the sixth album by Steely Dan is released. Produced by Gary Katz, it is recorded at Village Recorders in West Los Angeles, CA, Producer’s Workshop, ABC Recording Studios, Sound Labs in Hollywood, CA, Warner Bros Recording Studios in North Hollywood, CA, and A&R Studios in New York City from January - July 1977. Following the critically and commercially successful “The Royal Scam”, Steely Dan will release what is be their most musically ambitious and biggest selling album of their career. The duo of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen will work with a team of top notch studio musicians on project including Chuck Rainey (bass), Bernard Purdie, Jim Keltner, Steve Gadd, Paul Humphrey, Rick Marotta (drums), Joe Sample, Victor Feldman, Paul Griffin, Michael Omartian (keyboards), Larry Carlton, Dean Parks, Denny Dias, Jay Graydon, Steve Khan (guitars), Tom Scott, Wayne Shorter (saxophones), Venetta Fields, Shirlie Matthews, Clydie King, Rebecca Louis, and Michael McDonald (background vocals). The album’s title comes from the name of a Korean woman married to the brother of one of Donald Fagen’s high school friends. The elegant and enigmatic cover photo (taken by photographer Hideki Fujii) is of Japanese fashion model Sayoko Yamaguchi. The LP’s seamless mixture of jazz and R&B influenced pop will resonate with the public and critics, spinning off three singles including “Peg” (#11 Pop), “Deacon Blues” (#19 Pop) and “Josie” (#26 Pop). In 2011, the album will be added to the United States National Recording Registry (The Library Of Congress), as being deemed culturally, historically, and aesthetically important. “Aja” will peak at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 and is certified 5x Platinum by the RIAA.

On this day in music history: July 6, 1973 - “Countdown To Ecstasy”, the second studio album by Steely Dan is released. Produced by Gary Katz, it is recorded at The Village Recorder in Santa Monica, CA and the Caribou Ranch in Nederland, CO in Early 1973. Issued as the follow up to their successful debut “Can’t Buy A Thrill”, the album will be written and recorded during breaks from touring to support the previous album. Original band member and singer David Palmer will leave the band prior to the sessions, leaving Donald Fagen as the sole lead vocalist. Upon its release, the album will be well received by critics, but lacks a major hit single (“Show Biz Kids” (#61 Pop) and “My Old School” (#63 Pop), and will initially sell far less than their first. The cover features a watercolor painting by Fagen’s then girlfreind Dorothy White. When record company execs complain that there only three figures in the painting instead of five (like there are in the band), two others will be painted into the background. “Countdown To Ecstasy” will peak at #35 on the Billboard Top 200.

On this day in music history: May 31, 1976 - “The Royal Scam”, the fifth album by Steely Dan is released. Produced by Gary Katz, it is recorded at  ABC Studios in Los Angeles, CA and A & R Studios, New York City from November 1975 - March 1976. More guitar based than their previous work, it features guitarists such as Larry Carlton, Elliott Randall, and Dean Parks playing on various tracks, as well as other SD stalwarts like Chuck Rainey (bass), Bernard Purdie (drums) Victor Feldman (percussion), and Paul Griffin (keyboards). The album will spin off two singles (three in the UK) including “The Fez” (#59 Pop) and “Kid Charlemagne” (#82 Pop). “The Royal Scam” will peak at #15 on the Billboard Top 200 and is certified Gold by the RIAA (later going Platinum).

On this day in music history: March 9, 1975 - “Katy Lied”, the fourth studio album by Steely Dan is released. Produced by Gary Katz, it is recorded at ABC Recording Studios in Los Angeles, CA from November 1974 - January 1975. The album’s title is a play on the word “katydid”, the species of grasshopper that appears on the LP’s cover. Becker and Fagen will experience major technical difficulties when the dbx noise reduction system malfunctions while mixing the album. It will spin off two singles including “Black Friday” (#37 Pop) and “Bad Sneakers” (#103 Pop). “Katy” will peak at #13 on the Billboard Top 200.

On this day in music history: March 2, 1974 - “Pretzel Logic”, the third album by Steely Dan is released. Produced by Gary Katz, it is recorded between October 1973 and January 1974 at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles, CA and Cherokee Studios in Chatsworth, CA. It will mark a major shift in how the band works in the studio, using mostly outside studio musicians, which will lead Becker and Fagen to dismiss the rest of their band except for guitarist Denny Dias. The resulting album will yield the band’s highest charting single “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” (#4 Pop). “Pretzel Logic” will peak at #8 on the Billboard Top 200 and will be certified Platinum by the RIAA.