I've listened to this song a thousand times and I still pick up on subtle things I've never heard before. The compositions of steely dan are just on another level.

The Rikki in the song is Rikki Ducornet, an older classmate of Fagen's at Bard College. Not only was she an older woman, she was already married. He saw her at a party, tried some lines on her, which she ignored for obvious reasons. She was later amused by the song immortalizing her. She became a published novelist later in life and probably didn't recall their meeting until people kept asking her about the song.

The opening bass line was a homage to jazz master, Horace Silver's "Song For My Father"

PLEASE play "Don't Take Me Alive," and "Kid Charlemagne."

This is Steely Dan's highest charting single, peaking at #4 in 1974.

The instrument in question is a flapamba, a variant of the marimba.

Steely Dan are musicians' musicians. So glad I grew up with this music. One of my fav bands. Walter Becker, the guitarist, recently passed, but, man, was he talented. So many more songs from this band.

I love how they add a voice to each Chorus. Sometimes it's a harmony, sometimes just an additional voice, (doubling, if you will). Little tricks like this I find to be genius level.

It just warms my heart how the younger generation with ears on get how great they were.

Don’t tease us with Steely Dan this far in advance!😂❤

From the request box. Still waiting on Billy Squire. Every song on his first album were a huge hit.

That's what is so great about Steely Dan. Every song is different and amazing!

They are completely original and so versatile ! All their songs sound like Steely Dan but none of their songs sound like the others

The incomparable studio drummer, Jim Gordon. R.I.P. July 14, 1945 - March 13, 2023.

this is my favorite steely dan song

Crunchy "Pretzel Logic"...😂

You don't know how many people were late to work because this song was on the car radio while in the parking lot.

The instrument in the beginning that’s sounds like bubbles 🫧 is a “flapamba”. It looks like a xylophone with wooden key heads, and the sound is resonated via wooden bases, or tubes, the mallets are usually tipped soft mallets, or even finger tips. It’s a very rare instrument, and recent in its creation, dating back to only 1960.

Way back when, SD listeners were called bougie, wine and cheese snobs. 😲😎

Elton John warned Queen about this point; "When you record a song, ask yourself this; are you prepared to perform this every night for the rest of your life?"

My favortite Steely Dan song!

Peg peg peg peg........

Great song, definitely on the radio all the time back in the day

Don't matter how you spell it, a pretzle is a pretzel is a pretzel is a pretzle .... pretzel logic!

Another great guitar solo from Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. I think this was his last album with Steely Dan. He went on to join the Doobie Brothers after this.

Steely Dan is so deep - you will find at least 20 great songs in their catalog. Most reactors love "Peg", so I guess I'll suggest that one for your next Dan Dive.

This is country blues and Jazz. There's no one better than Steely Dan I am 64 and grew up with them first hand..The band plays all the genres' of music. It's hard to pin them down..

Not the first time I heard Steely Dan, but this song started my love affair with them. That hasn’t changed❤️

Steely Dan is a third of my top three band catalogues while stranded on an island.

A HUGE hit in the summer of 1974. Almost banned from the radio because people thought it was about a joint. This song made me a SD fan for life..

I grew up, listening to Steely Dan. I fucking love this band so much and I mean so much. I love every song they’ve done, but this is my absolute favorite, the musicality lyrics. Everything about this song is genius.

This song is a Time Machine, It's like a stomach punch, then I'm back there.

I bet if Ryan heard this as a small child he'd of loved it. That was the case with me, I was hooked. It wasn't until years later that I learned it was Steely Dan, as my first boyfriend brought the album Aja for us to listen to. It was like a light bulb moment when I realized that that was the group from my childhood that I'd loved so much. Gentleman, please continue to react to Steely Dan. They're such an intellectual band with a huge catalogue. IMO they don't have a bad or even mediocre song.

That repeating 4 note bit is kind of a nod to a jazz song, "song for my father".

I've heard this song a thousand times and never knew what it was about. Thanks for the lesson.

A big hook and somewhat repetitive but in a very pleasing way. To me the big three songs for Steely Dan are Rikki Don't Lose That Number, Do It Again and Reelin' In The Years. I don't think you've heard the latter and I think you'll all love it.

Panicking! I only have 30 minutes left to get rid of my company before my guys premiere starts😳 Wish me luck🤞😂😎

Plz do ‘Hey Nineteen’ (their best song imo) ‘Reelin In the Years’ and ‘FM’. These are 3 of their top 5 and you haven’t even hit them yet. 🔥🔥🔥

"Dirty Work", "Don't Take Me Alive", "The Caves of Altamira"!!!!!

I'm a gigging bassist, been doing it for five bands over 30 years, a big portion of set lists in two of them from the SD catalog. Point being that I want to highlight that the bassist for "Ricki" was (RIP) Walter Becker. His "signature" bass playing is marked with innovative and complex bass lines. Not difficult in themselves, but the bass lines are so unique that I think most bassists, including top-notch hired guns (greats like Chuck Rainey, Marcus Miller, and Anthony Jackson), as superb as they played, wouldn't have ever put together a groove/bass line like Walter's. It's difficult to describe how/why his style was so different, but when learning his bass lines--the most iconic being the mysterious (?) bass in "Deacon Blues"--only then could I appreciate his style, his thought process for creating a unique, yet perfectly suited bass line. He carried on with his unique playing when he transitioned to electric six-string guitar: mysterious, sensual, distinctive smooth soloing is Walter's trademark.

Lettah, numbah, bettah.... this is how I knew it was Steely Dan when I was a little kid. As an adult I cannot live without them!!!

Steely Dan. .... Your favorite bands favorite band.

I'd like to see a future episode where you each share your top 5 songs that you have found since doing this.

"You tell yourself you're not my kind But you don't even know your mind" My favorite line. Not my fav SD song, heard way too many times as a kid but that line always stuck with me.

This band is the epitome of what great musicians can do. They come and go, but every musician contributed something great to the collective. My love of Steely Dan keeps growing year by year.

Back in '74, my dad had gotten a very good job after having retired from the military. About ten years ago, I found a shoe box that had every check receipt he had gotten from that job. The very first check he got had his base pay listed. It was a bit over $5 an hour. In the '70s 15 cents didn't come easily...

Marimba is the instrument you’re looking for

Huge hit in the summer of '74.

I love hearing stuff fresh from your ears. I was a teenager when this came out; music like this was all around, just in the air. It was a wonderful time for music 🎶.

The late, great, Wreaking Crew drummer, Jim Gordon.

How "clean" is that track? Impeccable on the headphones and stood out at 16 and became a FAN.

Steely is Dan good !! This is one of those songs where we tell the hosts ... get ready !

Great great song , one of the best guitar solos

This has a beat that is known as a basa nova, an import from Brazil that hit US airwaves in the mid-1960s.

The way you all are moving & grooving, heads bopping, is just the way we were doing it back in the day. Classic song.

Please keep going with the Dan, you will not regret a moment of it.

I want to hear and see reactions to these groups: Montrose 1. Bad Motor Scooter 2. Space Station #5 Fastway 1. Stand Up 2. Don't Stop the Fight Blues Image 1. Take Me 2. Fugue U/Parchman Farm/Wrath Of Daisey 3. Clean Love 4. Reality Does Not Inspire Ten years after 1. I'd Love To Change The World 2. Love Like a Man Especially Blues Image, such a vigorous mixture

I'm supposed to be doing dishes, but I'm dancing in the kitchen instead. Arguably my favorite Dan song, love the piano and the guitar solo.😊🥰

That intro always makes me think I' 'cleaning my palette", like when tasting wines or whiskeys.

Skunk Baxter

This song brings me back to being 17yrs old. I can smell it, taste it.

You guys always keep it real, you allow one another the freedom of differing opinions. I respect you guys for being open to so many genres of music, especially music that for the most part was probably before you were born. You are keeping the music alive!

I like both thin, crunchy pretzels and soft hot pretzels with mustard. I always thought Riki was suicidal and got out of the hospital and he was trying to cheer her up when she got out.

Steely Dan is best know as Your Favorite Band's Favorite Band. People didn't really know t hem, but knew the music, but ask any musician in the 70s - 2000 and that was it.

This band was led and played by absolute perfectionists. I'm sure you guys can tell.

You guys really need to hit Black Cow, FM, Deacon Blues, The Fez, Pretzel Logic off Album same name...these are "some" of their most jazzy/funk songs guaranteed to put a big smile on Ryan's face for sure(lotta sax)...lol

Kid Charlemagne and Don’t Take Me Alive- for some cracking guitar.

@Views From The 502! The opening piano riff is taken from jazz pianist great, Horace Silver from his 1965 album title track "Song For My Father"! Peace guys!!!

A Flapamba - wooden xylophone/vibraphone instrument.

Love Steely Dan… my favorite is Hey Nineteen. Donald Fagan also had a popular solo song called I.G.Y. What a beautiful world… I absolutely love that song!

Fagen and Becker were great songwriters and as many do, they "borrowed" ideas from others. Listen to the opening to Horace Silver's Song for My Father then listen to this opening. Something similar happened with their song Gaucho from the album of the same name. Listen to the opening to Keith Jarret's song "Long As You Know You are Living Yours" from his album Belonging, then listen to the opening to Gaucho. Jarrett did, took them to court and won and is now credited with co-writing Gaucho. This song was a big radio hit for them.

I absolutely LOVE Donald Fagen’s enunciation on this hit! “Numbah”, Lettah, and that line… “you tell yourself you’re not my kind, but you don’t even know you’re MINE!”🔥🔥🔥🔥. I’ve been to many Steely Dan concerts and I do not recall them ever playing this song! I’m enjoying these Steely Dan reactions🥰

So love Steely Dan ❤

Marimba, probably. Anyhow, teenage drummer learning Zepp, Rush, etc, heard this, there was always more to learn . Love it. Those harmonies.

My favorite Steely Dan song ... 8th grade summer, two-week-long girlfriend at the beach, I'll always associate this song with her.

Phil Collins must have been listening. He took a boy's name Billy and made a song about a girl who better not lose his number. Then later Milli Vanilli sang or lipsynched a similar song about "Baby, don't forget my number.... I been searching high, I been searching low." I like all three songs . You decide which is best. Rikki apparently had the widest appeal of all SD songs hitting the highest number on the Billboard charts. Hey 19 should have hit #1 but what do I know?

I was lucky enough to see them on this tour and they did play this. The title track from this album, Preetzel Logic is one of my very favorite tracks by the Dan.

The opening riff (after the marimba) is the same riff as "Song For My Father" by jazz great Horace Silver.

Steely Dan is a band that grew on me. I remember when Rikki Don't Lose that Number and Reelin' in the Years came out. They weren't my favorite songs, but I enjoyed them. I think the one that really hooked me was Deacon Blues. And then I began listening to an Album Oriented Rock station back in the mid-1970s, and they played deeper cuts such as My Old School, and then Gaucho came out. I've been a fan ever since.

I'm sure he thought this song would be fast because of Phil Collins' "Billy, Don't Lose My Number".

That is the sound of the 70”s. 1974 I was 10yrs old

Sigh, you know how many times I had that song sang to me. 😂

Love Steely Dan ❤! Great reaction! Was it know that Jeff Porcaro played drums on Black Friday and Bad sneakers? Lee Ritenour and Larry Carlton have played guitar. Guys so many songs FM, Deacon Blues, Babylon Sisters, hey 19, Peg with Michael McDonald on backup vocals! ❤ Grew up on this incredible music through my father who had a scholarship at University of Kentucky for trumpet. Incredible time in the world for music 🎵.

I used to hate this song but the older I get the more I like it. I'm 61 now and finally appreciate it. Love you guys. I grew up with the best music ever.

You cant predict this band cause your listening to the greatest band of all time!!! So many brilliant songs!! I was so lucky to be brought up in the 70s and getting all their great albums when they were released

For me, this was Summer or even end of Summer music. I think of driving near the beach or on vacation. My first day at college someone was blasting Steely Dan out of their dorm room window. You could hear across the whole campus.

As an Army Brat in Bamberg, West Germany... This song was in constant rotation❤

A real Masterpiece. I'm glad I grew up with the music from the sixties and seventies. 🎶🎶🎶

A really fun and overlooked song by Steely Dan is Show Biz Kids. So great. Haitian Divorce too. But Steely Dan’s catalog is truly amazing.

Steely Dan is Donald Fagen (keyboards, vocals) and Walter Becker (Lead Guitar). Becker passed away a while back. The others are different studio musicians and they change somewhat from album to album. But the core duo is Becker and Fagen.

This is a great song. Period.

Big condolences and love out to the 502 today. Thanks for making us smile a bit with some Dan. ♥️

I feel like another common thread in Steely Dan songs is lyrics that demonstrate a high degree of confidence. Or something like that. 😂

master musicians... composers maxxxx 💥🎸💯

Thanks for continuing reactions to Steely Dan. I would strongly recommend "King of the world". Just can't get enough "stankface" Nick!

The opening rhythms of the song was lovingly taken from jazz musician Horace Silver's Song For My Father.

Totally understand Ryan's take on this. It's not for everyone. You guys should check out New Order's "Blue Monday".

Kid Charlemagne would be a good one for you guys to do if you haven't reacted to it yet.

"These pretzels are making me thirsty!"

Steely Dan was so unique!! Loved all of their music. I was 14 when this song was a huge hit on the radio. This started a wonderful ride for us 70’s teens!!❤️