3 Times Steely Dan Caused a Stir With Fellow Musicians

When one thinks of Steely Dan, one rarely thinks of the word “divas”. However, the original lineup of the 1970s antihero jazz-rock outfit was quite famously difficult to work with… And also didn’t bite their tongues when it came to lyricism. Let’s look at just three times Steely Dan ruffled a few feathers of fellow musicians!

1. John Lennon

Walter Becker and Donald Fagen made Steely Dan a somewhat mellow band. However, they weren’t strangers to vitriol in their music. And in the tune “Only A Fool Would Say That”, they famously threw some shade at none other than The Beatles’ John Lennon.

The band was notably annoyed by the tone-deaf nature of “Imagine”, so they penned “Only A Fool Would Say That” as both a response to Lennon’s tune and as a diss track. They even namedropped “Imagine” in their song, too. 

2. Victor Feldman

Steely Dan caused quite a stir with quite a few fellow musicians, namely because they had a tendency to “use” other musicians as if they were just another drum kit or guitar. Their issue with Victor Feldman is a great example of a genuinely talented musician just not being cut out for a specific band.

The famed jazz pianist worked with the band for The Royal Scam in 1976. The band worked on the song “Green Earrings” over and over again, never quite finding satisfaction in Feldman’s timing or improvisation. Allegedly, his “attitude” also didn’t quite fit what Fagen and Becker were looking for. When all was said and done, they brought in a different keyboardist and made Feldman shake what looked and sounded like a salt shaker in the background.

However, it’s worth noting that this has never been officially confirmed by Feldman or Steely Dan and could very well just be conjecture. But we definitely wouldn’t be surprised if it were true.

3. Mark Knopfler

Mark Knopfler is one of the greatest Scottish guitarists of all time, and his tenure with Dire Straits proved that. However, he wasn’t quite cut out for Steely Dan; at least, the two frontmen of the band didn’t think so.

Knopfler has always been great at improvisation and free movement as a guitarist. Steely Dan, however, was one of the most precise and calculating bands to work with. While working on “Time Out Of Mind” with the band, Knopfler said that he had to perform the song over and over again for hours. Nothing he did was up to par. To add insult to injury, the final cut of the song barely featured Knopfler for a few seconds at the start of the track.

“It was a strange experience like getting into a swimming pool with lead weights tied to your boot,” said Knopfler of the experience.

Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage

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