In Memoriam: Walter Becker

It’s another tough day in the music world. Steely Dan co-founder Walter Becker has died at the age of 67. A cause of death was not announced.

Fellow Steely Dan songwriter Donald Fagen paid tribute to him in a piece for Rolling Stone: “Walter Becker was my friend, my writing partner and my bandmate since we met as students at Bard College in 1967,” he wrote. “He was smart as a whip, an excellent guitarist and a great songwriter. He was cynical about human nature, including his own, and hysterically funny.”

While Becker was a multi-instrumentalist, he was the band’s primary bassist. While session musicians played a large role in the band’s catalog, he played bass on most of the albums as well as the hit songs “Reelin’ In The Years,” “Dirty Work,” “My Old School,” “Deacon Blues,” and more. He also released two solo albums – Circus Money and 11 Tracks of Whack – and played on albums by Krishna Das, Madeleine Peyroux, Roger Rosenberg, and more.

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Walter Becker.