Song of the Day: Steely Dan, “Hey Nineteen”

Song of the Day 1 Minute

“Hey Nineteen” was the first single from Steely Dan’s 1980 release, Gaucho. The album was two years in the making and required 42 studio musicians to complete as Donald Fagen and Walter Becker dealt with creative, personal and professional issues. This is the story of an older man who takes up with a much younger woman and the things he has to endure as a result, among them her not knowing who Aretha Franklin is. It was released concurrently with the album in November and reached #10 in the US and #3 in Canada, tying with “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” and “Peg” for the number of weeks it spent on the chart.

Published by John Holton

Internet disc jockey, lover of old TV (especially the commercials), inveterate wise guy.

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18 thoughts on “Song of the Day: Steely Dan, “Hey Nineteen””

  1. Pingback: The Baseball’s Back Week That Was – The Sound of One Hand Typing

  2. An aging dude puts the moves on a 19-year-old, bragging about his frat exploits and he tries to set the mood with some Aretha, only to find that this girl “don’t remember the Queen of Soul”.

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  4. As with most of their songs…well crafted pop song. I always connect this with Lennon because it was around the same time…on the radio afterward you would hear John or the current hits of the day…and this was one of them. Very good song.

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