The Making of Peg.

Walter and Donald were just basic English lit/music major nerds who by sheer fortune of time and place ended up together and doing what they were meant to do.

If Chevy Chase had been just a little better drummer...

Good times.

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musical bands

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Bob Seger did this to a degree during his peak era - he would swap out the SBB and the Swampers, depending on which band had the best vibe for the songs. Even on the first record with the Silver Bullet Band (Seven), he was plug and play with over a dozen other musicians. The next record, Beautiful loser, the SBB only played on his cover of Nutbush City Limits, with the Swampers playing on most of the rest of the record. For years after, it was about a 50/50 split on the studio albums all the way through Against the Wind.

(Folks only familiar with the songs and not the personnel would likely be surprised, for example, to learn that:

Katmandu
Mainstreet
Old Time Rock and Roll
We've Got Tonight
Fire Lake

...were all essentially Bob Seger and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, and not Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band.)


Nobody rotated session players like Walter and Donald, though.

And the talent they pulled - take Pretzel Logic - all the drums were Jim Gordon except for 1 track Jeff Porcaro. The next album, Porcaro played all the drums except for 1 Hal Blaine. Perdie played drums for them at times. Steve Gadd and Rick Marotta - nobody would say no to them and they had no B-listers.

Dozens of musicians on every album. Many household names (or household names for music fans). Just the roster of guys they got to play guitar (and Walter was a great guitar player in his own right) - Carlton, Graydon, Baxter, Dias, Parks, Ritenour, Kahn, Bullock, even Rick Derringer and Mark Knopler.

Boggles the mind to this day.

sdarchive.com is a great resource, although they haven't updated it much since Walter died and never really changed from their "early internet" format.

Brian Sweet's bio is probably the best thing going on the print side, although I think it is paperback only right now - no audiobook or kindle (I don't think).

Fagen wrote a book before Walter died called "Eminent Hipsters" that I suppose Steely Dan fans need to read (although I haven't read it).

Jay's solo

Man, I remember this tune on the radio, in heavy rotation with Rod Stewart, Jerry Rafferty...

This jazzy-assed solo is a stringophile's wet dream.

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ust the roster of guys they got to play guitar (and Walter was a great guitar player in his own right) - Carlton, Graydon, Baxter, Dias, Parks, Ritenour, Kahn, Bullock, even Rick Derringer and Mark Knopler.

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Where’s Elliott Randall, created possibly one of the most recognizable guitar intro riffs of all time?

How Toto ended up flat broke is just so sad