Walter Becker (b. February 20, 1950) formed a musical partnership with
Donald Fagen (b. January 10, 1948) when both were students at Bard College in the 1960s. They were members of a late edition of
Jay & the Americans in 1969 and were sponsored by
Kenny Vance of that group, writing and recording the soundtrack to a low-budget film called You Gotta Walk It Like You Talk It (Or You'll Lose That Beat) in 1970. Moving to ABC Records as staff writers in 1971, they formed the group
Steely Dan, one of the most popular groups of the 1970s. In 1981,
Fagen went solo and
Becker went into production, both part-time. They reunited when
Becker produced
Fagen's second album,
Kamakiriad, in 1993, and toured as
Steely Dan in the summers of 1993 and 1994.
Becker released his debut solo album,
Eleven Tracks of Whack, in 1994. ~ William Ruhlmann