Walter Becker Dead: Steely Dan Guitarist and Co-Founder Was 67
I grew up listening to Walter and his tastefully emotional guitar playing; just one note could set and sustain your mood for a week and Steely Dan was almost the entire soundtrack for my formative years. Walter’s signature licks became bookend bumps while Steely Dan’s songs played in heavy rotation for decades at many FM stations. We will all surely miss him and his masterful, pioneering guitar work as well as his composing skills.
Becker was absent at both of Steely Dan’s performances during July’s Classic West and Classic East concerts due to an unspecified illness.
Steely Dan guitarist and co-founder Walter Becker died Sunday (Sept. 3) at the age of 67.
News of Becker’s death was announced on his official website. Further details of his passing were not revealed.
Becker was absent at both of Steely Dan’s performances during July’s Classic West and Classic East concerts due to an unspecified illness. In August, Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen told Billboard that his bandmate was “recovering from a procedure,” but didn’t elaborate further.
After becoming musical collaborators as students at New York’s Bard College, Becker and Fagen went on to turn out numerous hit songs during the 1970s, including “Rikki Don’t Lose that Number,” “Deacon Blues,” “Kid Charlemagne,” “Hey Nineteen,” and “My Old School.”
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