The Music Places Challenge

Going to Great Music Places with Steely Dan

A musical journey with the legendary band. No tickets or passports required!

AI-generated image designed by the author with Microsoft Copilot

Legendary band Steely Dan released their debut studio album, Can’t Buy a Thrill, in 1972. They kept very busy after that and released six additional studio albums before they broke up in 1981.

In 1993, during a time in which CD box sets were becoming very popular with music lovers, MCA, Steely Dan’s former label, released a comprehensive CD collection entitled Citizen Steely Dan.

The four-disc set contained all seven of Steely Dan’s studio albums, along with a few other extra songs that had not been on those albums, including their hit 1978 single “FM (No Static At All).”

Even though I’d been a fan of them since I was a kid in the 1970s, I didn’t own any Steely Dan albums while the band was together. I finally rectified that when Citizen Steely Dan was released. With one quick purchase, I made up for a lot of lost time.

It turned me on to a lot of great music I hadn’t heard before and it also led to Steely Dan becoming one of my all-time favorite bands.

MCA Records

When I came up with the idea for The Music Places Challenge, I immediately knew I’d want to write a piece centered on Steely Dan songs that mention places in their titles or lyrics.

There are quite a few of them — more, in fact, than the 12 I’m spotlighting in this piece.

Even though Steely Dan reunited in the 1990s and recorded two more studio albums, Two Against Nature (2000) and Everything Must Go (2003), I decided to focus on the music from their original run — the music I fell in love with while repeatedly listening to Citizen Steely Dan.

I’ve included at least one song from each of the seven albums the band released between 1972 and 1980.

Brooklyn (Owes The Charmer Under Me) (1972)

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This song mentioning the popular New York borough comes from the band’s great debut album Can’t Buy a Thrill. The lead vocals on it are by singer David Palmer, who left the band shortly after the album’s release.

If his voice sounds familiar to you, it may be because Palmer also sang lead on Steely Dan’s famous song “Dirty Work,” which is also from the same album.

My Old School (1973)

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This rocking cut from the band’s second album, Can’t Buy a Thrill, has always been one of my favorites by the band.

The music places featured in the lyrics are Annandale (in New York) and Guadalajara, Mexico.

King of The World (1973)

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Next to “My Old School,” this is my favorite song on Can’t Buy a Thrill.

In addition to the “world” in the title, the lyrics also include references to the Rio Grande and Santa Fe.

Barrytown (1974)

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A wonderful song from the Pretzel Logic album. On a related note (musical pun intended), how great a title is Pretzel Logic?!?

I love it.

Also, I now want a pretzel.

The Barrytown sung about here is a small hamlet in Dutchess County, New York. According to the 2020 census, Barrytown had just 100 residents.

Sounds like my kind of place. Assuming they have pretzels there, of course.

Daddy Don’t Live In That New York City No More (1975)

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One of my favorites from the Katy Lied album, which is one of my favorite Steely Dan albums.

Cool Trivia: The lead guitar work on this one was performed by legendary guitarist Larry Carlton.

Doctor Wu (1975)

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This awesome song mentions Biscayne Bay, which is in Florida. I drove through there once and I made sure this song was playing in my car at the time.

Yes, I am the kind of music lover who does things like that. I also make sure James Taylor’s “Carolina in My Mind” is on my car’s stereo every time I drive into North Carolina.

So, in case there was any question as to whether or not I’m a nerd, well, there’s the answer!

Kid Charlemagne (1976)

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This big hit is from the album The Royal Scam, which may be my ultimate top favorite Steely Dan album.

The lyrics include references to L.A. and San Francisco.

And yes, there’s gas in the car.

(If you know, you know.)

Haitian Divorce (1976)

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In addition to the obvious reference to Haiti within the word “Haitian,” this song also mentions the USA.

P.S. — If you don’t know this song, I highly encourage you to listen to it. The music in it is fantastic.

Of course, I highly recommend the other 11 songs here too!

The Royal Scam (1976)

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This quite awesome title cut closes the album. The places mentioned in the lyrics are St. John (in Canada) and New York City.

Deacon Blues (1977)

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This popular song from the Aja album has been a favorite of mine since it was new, when I’d hear it regularly on the radio station WAMS-AM in Wilmington, Delaware.

(Don’t bother searching for it. The station is long gone!)

The place in this song is Alabama and it is mentioned as a reference to multiple sports teams at the University of Alabama, which are nicknamed the Crimson Tide.

Babylon Sisters (1980)

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This truly wonderful song is from the equally wonderful album Gaucho.

The Babylon mentioned in the title and throughout the lyrics is referring to Los Angeles. Other popular California places mentioned in the lyrics are Santa Ana and San Francisco.

Glamour Profession (1980)

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This my favorite song on Gaucho. The upbeat-sounding music in it is a lot of fun to listen to.

There are multiple places mentioned throughout the lyrics — L.A., Eurasia, Szechuan, and Hollywood.

One of my favorite parts of the song is when the female background singers sing the line, “Hollywood, I know your middle name.” Their voices sound fantastic.

So, how about you? Are you a fan of any of these songs? If so, let me know in the comments section.

Also, if you are curious about The Music Places Challenge I wrote this piece for, please click below to learn more about it:

[embed]Join The Music Places Challenge! Share your favorite real or fictional places in musicmedium.com

Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful day!