Walter Becker
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| Walter Becker | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Walter Carl Becker |
| Born | 20 February 1950 |
| Origin | Queens, New York |
| Genre(s) | Rock, Jazz fusion |
| Occupation(s) | singer, songwriter, record producer, musician |
| Instrument(s) | bass, guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1971 – present |
| Label(s) | MCA Records Giant/Reprise/Warner Bros. Records Reprise/Warner Bros. Records |
| Website | Official Site |
Walter Becker (born Walter Carl Becker, 20 February 1950, in Queens, New York) is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, guitarist, bassist and a co-writing half of the duo which make-up the rock band Steely Dan.
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[edit] Career
Becker grew up in Westchester County and Forest Hills, Queens and is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, (class of 1967).[1] After starting out on saxophone, he switched to guitar and received instruction in blues technique from neighbor Randy Wolfe who, as Randy California, played with Jimi Hendrix and was soon to found the group, Spirit.
He met his long-time musical partner, the other half of Steely Dan, Donald Fagen, while attending Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Becker and Fagen, along with now famous actor/comedian Chevy Chase, formed a college band called The Leather Canary. At the time, Chase called the group "a bad jazz band."[2] Becker and Fagen's youthful career also included a stint with Jay and the Americans under pseudonyms, and in the early 1970s, as pop songwriters, prior to forming Steely Dan.
Following Steely Dan's breakup in 1981, Becker moved to Hawaii, and began a career as a record producer, producing artists as diverse as Rickie Lee Jones, China Crisis and Michael Franks. Becker is actually credited as one of five official members of China Crisis on the sleeve of their 1985 album Flaunt the Imperfection, which he also produced; he also produced tracks on their 1989 album Diary of a Hollow Horse, although he is not credited as a band member on that release.
Becker reunited with Fagen briefly to collaborate on the debut album of U.S. singer, former fashion model Rosie Vela. Their partnership resumed in the mid-1990s as they undertook a tour under the Steely Dan moniker in 1993, and Becker produced Fagen's album Kamakiriad in that year as well. In turn, Fagen co-produced Becker's belated solo debut album, 11 Tracks of Whack.
Becker and Fagen reunited again in 2000 to release the first Steely Dan studio album in two decades, Two Against Nature, which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Everything Must Go followed in 2003.
Becker was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame[3] on 30 October 2008. His second solo album, Circus Money, was released on June 10, 2008.[4]
[edit] Discography
- 11 Tracks of Whack – 1994
- Circus Money – 2008
[edit] Other works
Becker produced Fra Lippo Lippi's 1987 Norwegian single, "Angel," as well as the 1985 China Crisis album, Flaunt The Imperfection. In 2005, Becker co-produced and played bass on the Krishna Das album All One. Becker played solo guitar on the title track of the 2005 Rebecca Pidgeon album Tough on Crime. Madeleine Peyroux's 2006 album Half the Perfect World featured a single, I'm All Right, that was co-written with Peyroux and producer Larry Klein.
[edit] Awards
In 2001, both Becker and Fagen received Honorary Doctor of Music degrees from Berklee College of Music. They both accepted their degrees in person.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Sweet, Brian. "Steely Dan", p. 11. Omnibus Press, 2000. ISBN 0711982791. Accessed June 18, 2009. "Walter Becker was born on Monday, February 20, 1950, in the Forest Hills area of Queens in New York."
- ^ Fruchter, Rena. I'm Chevy Chase...and You're Not. Virgin Books, 2007.
- ^ limusichalloffame.org
- ^ walterbecker.com
- ^ Berklee College of Music: Commencement 2001 - Photographs, retrieved 15 October 2007
[edit] External links
- walterbecker.com Walter Becker's official website
- steelydan.com Steely Dan's official website
- Complete discography
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