My favorite Steely Dan song.
Who is the redhead lead singer? Wikipedia doesn’t say.
Link Do It Again (Steely Dan song) - Wikipedia
Redhead dude on the left and Fagan is on the right in the thumbnail preview.
David Palmer.
From Wikipedia:”David Palmer fronted the band during their live show, and sang “Do It Again” when the group played The Midnight Special. Donald Fagen sang the vocal on the album version.”
Thank you.
I had looked under the personnel section and didn’t find Palmer. He sang the crap out of Do It Again. Excellent
They only show closeups of Fagen practically shouting the lyrics and Denny Dias on guitar. Who is on bongos? It looks like Jeff “Skunk” Baxter yet I also didn’t see Walter Becker (unless he was playing keyboard).
I didn’t know either Jeff or Walter played the bongos. And David Palmer sings Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me) on the same album. That tune has a terrific Baxter solo on the pedal steel too.
This version you can hear both Palmer and Fagen singing. And definitely Skunk on the bongos - and closing the song with a solo while Dias - who plays an electric sitar on the album version is having all the fun on guitars.
These Midnight Special videos - esp. of an elusive band like Steely Dan - are a treasure. Look for “My Old School” from the same show - Baxter and Dias - two of the greatest guitarists of the last 50+ years - playing off eachother.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SM_eJKVlzs](https://Do it again with full vocals and Skunk soloing on bongos)
Skunk’s hands would be hurting for awhile after that gig on bongos.
I never liked playing them. It’s a cool sound but I’ll let the percussionist get the calluses.
Becker is playing bass and standing behind Baxter.
It’s a crime that they didn’t continue the live band. How can anyone say these guys didn’t rock? I know, I know, the music changed. But we’ll always have “Bodhisattva” live.
Speaking of My Old School, here’s a fantastic cover version by Leonid & Friends:
The drummer also has his own song off their first album.
OK, weird. @Coriolanus 's link is to the actual Midnight Special video with Palmer on vocals. The video linked in the OP is the same video, but overdubbed with the studio version of the song. Which explains why the lip syncing was so off.
Good that you can see it. I must be doing something wrong as I apparently cannot embed content like these other youtube videos - just paste in links.
The video I posted is a bit longer too. More of Skunk soloing on the bongos and as Exapno_Mapcase noted you can see Walter Becker back there playing bass. Palmer does a nice job here dueting (!) with Fagan. I saw one of the Rock & Soul revue shows where Fagan at least sings some songs with the likes of Phoebe Snow and Michael McDonald but they’re not really duets like this one is (being a bit loose with the term)
Steely Dan released a down-tempo version of Brooklyn with Fagan on vocals which is okay yet I prefer the album version and Palmer’s vocal on Dirty Work is spectacular. I’d like to see any live performances of him singing either.
And a slight correction: It’s another of the Midnight Special performances - Reelin’ in the years - where Skunk and Dias face eachother (though both of them have their eyes closed) in a terrific guitar jam. I’d try and post it but it’s easy to find. Also note that in that song Fagan is standing and playing a small Hohner keyboard on top of the Yamaha grand and at one point where he’s holding the mic you can see his hand trembling. Stage fright I reckon. Partly why they stopped touring and definitely the reason I’ve never seen XTC live (Alan Partridge has an immense case of SF).
“Do It Again” is from the February 9, 1973 Midnight Special.
“My Old School,” “Reelin’ in the Years,” and “Show Biz Kids” are all from the August 31, 1973 Midnight Special.
Okay, slight Skunk-related hijack as YIL he wails on bongos when he’s not playing guitar. Here he’s playing bongos with Linda Rondstandt. I reckon she is backing his band but I dunno.
I’ve only seen him with the Doobie Brothers and never saw him put a beat-down on bongos. For at least one of their songs “South City Midnight Lady” he’d play the pedal steel and while there might be better players of that instrument in both kinds of music: Country and Western, he’s the best I’ve seen play it live. It was always nice to see Jerry Garcia play it yet Skunk is the best I’ve seen.
It is amazing how many great bands appeared on that show. I didn’t appreciate the show enough at the time. Groups like Steely Dan didn’t do much tv.
Almost 50 years ago - a few months after “Countdown to Ecstasy” came out so of course they had to return. Fagan is out front, they’ve got backing singers. Nobody is touching those bongos (I mean the percussions) and if there is a contemporary performance of Bodhisattva I would love to see & hear it!
One of the rocking-est opening songs of any album and one of the greatest outro’s (King of the World) of any album. And in between Razor Boy and Pearl of the Quarter with Baxter on the pedal steel.
You know they don’t give a <****> about anybody else (You go to Lost Wages)
I didn’t hear it but Donald sang it. Steely Dan will never be on the Sullivan show again!
I don’t think there are any videos, but YouTube has a ton of audio from 1974. The most famous is the Santa Monica gig with the two-minute drunken intro that got included on their 1978 Greatest Hits album. Blows the house down.
Here is the Letterman appearance. Letterman said it was Steely Dans first tv appearance in over 20 years.
This was promoting Alive in America album.
Skip to 4:20
Walter makes his playing seem effortless.
Yeah, that’s kind of weird because in the studio recording the dominant voice is obviously Fagens. Was he unable to duplicate his singing live or is there some other reason Palmer is out front?
<nitpick>
They’re not bongos, they’re congas !!
(Pet peeve of all my percussionist friends)
</nitpick>