Walter Becker (born Walter Carl Becker, 20 February 1950, in Queens, New York) is an American musician and record producer. Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. Fusion or more specifically jazz fusion or jazz rock, is a Musical genre that merges Jazz with elements of other styles of music particularly In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music MCA Records was an American -based record company owned by MCA Inc Giant Records was launched as a joint-venture in 1990 between Warner Bros Reprise Records is an American Record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra, which is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated Warner Bros Records Inc is an American Record label that operates as a wholly owned Subsidiary of Warner Music Group. Reprise Records is an American Record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra, which is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated Warner Bros Records Inc is an American Record label that operates as a wholly owned Subsidiary of Warner Music Group. Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York He is perhaps best known as the guitarist (and sometimes bassist) and half of the duo at the core of the jazz-rock band Steely Dan. A guitarist is a Musician who plays the Guitar. Guitarists may perform solo pieces or play with ensembles and bands of a wide variety of genres The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the A duet is a Musical composition or piece for two Performers In Classical music the term is most often used for a composition for two singers Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. A musical ensemble is a group of two or more Musicians who perform instrumental or vocal Music. Steely Dan is a American rock band centered on core members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen.

Career

Becker grew up in Westchester County and Forest Hills and is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, (class of 1967). Westchester County is a primarily Suburban county located in the U Forest Hills is a neighborhood in the central part of the New York City borough of Queens. Stuyvesant High School ( IPA: /ˈstаɪvɛsənt/ commonly referred to as Stuy ( IPA: /ˈstаɪ/ is a New York City Public high school Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York 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. The saxophone (commonly referred to simply as sax) is a conical- bored transposing Musical instrument considered a member of the Woodwind The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression Randy California (born Randy Craig Wolfe; February 20 1951 &ndash January 2 1997 was a guitarist singer and songwriter and one of the original members of the rock group James Marshall Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix) (November 27 1942 – September 18 1970 was an American Guitarist, Singer and Songwriter Spirit was an American Jazz / Hard rock / psychedelic band founded in 1967, based in Los Angeles, California

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. Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948 in Passaic New Jersey) is an American Musician and Songwriter. Bard College, founded in 1860 is a small selective four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Annandale-on-Hudson is a hamlet in Dutchess County, New York, USA, in the Hudson Valley in the Town of Red Hook, across Becker and Fagen's youthful career included a stint with Jay and the Americans under pseudonyms, and in the early 1970s, as pop songwriters, prior to forming Steely Dan. Jay and the Americans were a Pop music group popular in the 1960s A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias) Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both

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. The State of Hawaii ( or həˈwaɪʔiː Hawaiian: Mokuāina o Hawaii) is a state in the United States located on an Archipelago in the In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is a two-time Grammy Award -winning Vocalist, Musician, Songwriter, and producer China Crisis are an English pop / rock band. They formed in 1979 in Kirkby, near Liverpool, Merseyside with Michael Franks (born 18 September 1944 in La Jolla California) is a Smooth jazz singer and songwriter from the United States. 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. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 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. Kamakiriad is the second solo album by Steely Dan Singer Donald Fagen, released in 1993 (see 1993 in music) In turn, Fagen co-produced Becker's belated solo debut album, 11 Tracks of Whack (1994). In Music, a solo (from the Italian solo, meaning alone) is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer An album or record album is a collection of related audio or Music tracks distributed to the public

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. Two Against Nature is an Album by Steely Dan, released in 2000. The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys —are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Everything Must Go followed in 2003. Everything Must Go is the most recent album by Steely Dan, originally released June 10, 2003.

He was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame [1] in 2007. The Long Island Music Hall of Fame is an organization located in Lake Grove New York.

Becker is currently working on another solo album, Circus Money, due to be released on June 10th, 2008 [2]. Circus Money is the second solo album by Walter Becker. It is his first solo album since 11 Tracks of Whack in 1994, having been released on June

Discography

• 11 Tracks of Whack – 1994
• Circus Money – 2008

Other works

Becker produced Fra Lippo Lippi's 1987 Norwegian single, "Angel", as well as the 1985 China Crisis album, Flaunt The Imperfection. Circus Money is the second solo album by Walter Becker. It is his first solo album since 11 Tracks of Whack in 1994, having been released on June Fra Lippo Lippi is a New Wave / Synth pop band from Norway. They had several hits in the 1980s such as "Shouldn't Have To Be Like That" and Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional China Crisis are an English pop / rock band. They formed in 1979 in Kirkby, near Liverpool, Merseyside with In 2005, Becker co-produced and played bass on the Krishna Das album All One. Krishna Das (born Jeffrey Kagel May 31 1947 in Long Island, New York) is a singer who performs Indian chants called Kirtans - chanting the names Becker played solo guitar on the title track of the 2005 Rebecca Pidgeon album Tough on Crime. Rebecca Pidgeon (born October 10 or October 25, 1963 or 1965) is a Scottish-American actress singer and songwriter and the 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. Madeleine Peyroux (born 1974 Athens Georgia) is an American Jazz singer Songwriter, and Guitarist Peyroux (pronounced 'Peru' Half the Perfect World is the fourth studio Album by American jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux. Larry Klein (born 1959 is a Music producer, Songwriter and Bass guitar player commonly known for being the frequent musical collaborator and ex-husband

Awards

In 2001, both Becker and Fagen received Honorary Doctor of Music degrees from Berklee College of Music. Berklee College of Music, founded in 1945 is an independent music College in Boston Massachusetts. They both accepted their degrees in person. ^[1]

References

1. ^ Berklee College of Music: Commencement 2001 - Photographs, retrieved 15 October 2007

External links

• walterbecker.com Walter Becker's official website
• steelydan.com Steely Dan's official website
• Complete discography