walter becker Rest in Peace

This is sad news. I was trying to think of my favorite Becker solos. I think that it is probably "Green Earrings". I also like his solo albums. He had a terrific sense of humor..

I was hoping Becker was working on another solo album as I love his other 2, as well as being a Steely Dan fan from the first album on. Back in the 70s if you were a working musician like I was you were generally astonished at what these guys came up with…hipper, funnier, and simply cooler than just about anything around, and it always just kicked ass. Saw them live a couple of years ago with Elvis Costello as the opener, and that live band (I'd also seen an earlier tour with the original band) was insanely great. Damn.

R.I.P., will be missed.

I was driving in my car (but not smoking my cigar) and had WXPN (U Penn radio station) on and heard a number of Steely Dan songs and hoped that it did not mean something like this.  But it did, unfortunately.  I never got to see/hear them live, did see Fagan playing piano at one of the Barn concerts at Levon's place in Woodstock, and saw him at a recording studio across from where my daughter works in NYC (I walked by and simply said "Hey 19", he looked and smiled).  I think my favorite disc is Aja.  No, I know it is.  A real loss for music lovers and admirers of great songwriting and great musicianship.

What a true loss to the music industry, any genre. I am sure Donald Fagan feels a severe loss in this news. My sympathies to him and Walters family.