Biography
Born on February 20, 1950, Walter Becker began a musical alliance with Donald Fagen, born January 10, 1948, while the pair attended Bard College during the 1960s. In 1969 they joined a later lineup of Jay & the Americans, backed by the group’s Kenny Vance, and composed and tracked the score for the low-budget film You Gotta Walk It Like You Talk It (Or You'll Lose That Beat) the following year. After relocating to ABC Records as staff songwriters in 1971, they assembled Steely Dan, which became one of the 1970s’ most successful acts. Fagen launched a solo career in 1981 and Becker shifted into production work, each on a part-time footing. The two resumed their partnership in 1993 when Becker produced Fagen’s second solo album, Kamakiriad, and the duo performed together as Steely Dan throughout the summers of 1993 and 1994. Becker also issued his first solo album, Eleven Tracks of Whack, in 1994.