Donald Fagen’s open letter pays moving tribute to Walter Becker

Walter Becker (left) and Donald Fagen

In a moving open letter, Steely Dan vocalist Donald Fagen paid tribute to the jazz-rock band’s cofounder and guitarist, Walter Becker, who recently died at the age of 67.

Donald reminisced his college days with Walter—a “friend and writing partner”—at Bard College, where they penned “nutty little tunes on an upright piano.”

He also talked about how Walter’s “very rough childhood” helped shape the latter’s artistry.

“He was cynical about human nature, including his own, and hysterically funny,” wrote Donald, who also described Walter as being “smart as a whip, an excellent guitarist, and a great songwriter.” “Like a lot of kids from fractured families, he had a knack for creative mimicry, reading people’s hidden psychology, and transforming what he saw into bubbly and incisive art.”

Steely Dan, which rose to prominence in the early 1970s for melding jazz, pop and R&B, is behind such hits as “Do It Again,” “Reelin’ in the Years,” “Dirty Work” and “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number.” “I intend to keep the music we created together alive as long as I can with the Steely Dan band,” Donald vowed. —ALLAN POLICARPIO