Black Friday

The Zoo Crew is spinning "Black Friday" by Steely Dan from their 1975 album Katy Lied, and the Zoo Freaks are loving this jazzy rock classic. One juicy piece of trivia about "Black Friday" is that it references the original stock market crash of September 24, 1869, when investors tried to corner the gold market, only to be foiled by the government flooding the market with gold, bankrupting many. The song’s narrator, a crooked speculator, flees to Muswellbrook, Australia, which Donald Fagen chose because it was "the place most far away from LAರ

LA we could think of," as he told Rolling Stone. Amusingly, Fagen didn’t realize locals pronounce it "Musselbrook," omitting the "w," which grates on Australian fans. Another tidbit: the searing guitar solo isn’t by one of the album’s hired guns like Larry Carlton or Rick Derringer, but by Walter Becker himself, using a Fender Telecaster borrowed from guitarist Denny Dias because Becker loved its setup. The song hit #37 on the Billboard Hot 100, modest for Steely Dan, who, as Becker and Fagen noted in a 1995 interview, didn’t sweat chart performance, focusing instead on their craft. Posts on X from @in_yacht in 2022, 2023, and 2024 celebrate Katy Lied’s #13 peak on the Billboard 200, highlighting the track’s enduring fan love.

Steely Dan began in 1971 when Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, both Bard College students in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, met and bonded over their love for jazz, Beat literature, and wry humor. They played in various bands before moving to Los Angeles in 1971 to work as staff songwriters for ABC/Dunhill, recruited by producer Gary Katz. Their songs were too complex for other artists, so Katz suggested they form a band, named after a dildo from William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch. With guitarists Denny Dias, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, drummer Jim Hodder, and vocalist David Palmer, they released their debut, Can’t Buy a Thrill, in 1972, blending rock, jazz, and Latin influences. Hits like "Do It Again" and "Reelin’ In the Years" launched them, though Fagen soon took over lead vocals, finding his voice suited their ironic lyrics. By Katy Lied, they ditched touring to focus on studio perfectionism, using elite session players like Jeff Porcaro and Michael McDonald.

Fans can connect with Steely Dan through their official website and Facebook. While no official Instagram exists, as noted in a 2023 Reddit thread on r/SteelyDan, fans share memes and updates on X. The r/SteelyDan subreddit, with 23K members, is a hub for discussing outtakes and trivia, like Katy Lied demos posted in 2020. Fan sites like The Steely Dan Reader archive four decades of interviews, while Steely Dan Wiki on Fandom offers detailed discography insights. Join the Zoo Freaks in celebrating Steely Dan’s genius!