My Old School (song)
{{Infobox song
| name = My Old School
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Steely Dan
| album = Countdown to Ecstasy
| B-side = Pearl of the Quarter
| released = October 1973
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre = Rock{{cite book|first= Jamie|last= Dickson|editor-first= Robert |editor-last= Dimery |year= 2005 |title= 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die |chapter= Steely Dan – Countdown To Ecstasy|publisher= Cassell Illustrated |location= London |page= 301}}
| length =
| label =
| writer = Donald Fagen, Walter Becker
| producer =Gary Katz
| prev_title = Show Biz Kids
| prev_year = 1973
| next_title = Rikki Don't Lose That Number
| next_year = 1974
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|FGG0yPsSPDw|"My Old School"|link=no}}}}
}}
"My Old School" is a song by American rock band Steely Dan. It was released in October 1973, as the second single from their album Countdown to Ecstasy, and reached number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100.{{Cite magazine |title=Billboard Hot 100 – Week of December 1, 1973 |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1973-12-01/ |access-date=June 16, 2022 |magazine=Billboard}}
Content
The song's lyrics tell the story of a May 1969 drug bust at Bard College in Dutchess County, New York, referred to in the lyrics by its location, Annandale. The singer vows he will never go back to the college until "California tumbles into the sea".{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/my-old-school-mt0003450675|title=My Old School – Steely Dan – Song Info|author=Stewart Mason|date=|website=AllMusic|access-date=September 5, 2017|quote="My Old School" is the pair's most overt song about their alma mater, a sarcastically chipper-sounding remembrance of the time Becker and Fagen, along with several dozen other students, found themselves caught up in a trumped-up drug raid during an election cycle.}} The song also makes a reference to the Wolverine rail service, which stopped at Rhinecliff, New York, near to Bard College, the alma mater of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker.
The incident happened while both Fagen and Becker were students there, and the song recounts how a female acquaintance betrayed them to "Daddy Gee" (G. Gordon Liddy), then a local assistant district attorney. Contemporary news reports noted that 44 people were arrested,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-drug-raid-nets-44-at-ba/127657846/ |title=Drug Raid Nets 44 At Bard College |agency=AP |newspaper=The Buffalo News |page=1 |date=May 8, 1969 |accessdate=July 5, 2023 |via=newspapers.com}} approximately 10% of the school's enrollment.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-record-44-students-arrested-in/127658057/ |title=44 Students Arrested In Dope Raids |agency=AP |newspaper=The Times Record |location=Troy, New York |page=1 |date=May 8, 1969 |accessdate=July 5, 2023 |via=newspapers.com}} According to a 2014 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article, among those arrested was Fagen, whose long hair was cut off at the Poughkeepsie jail.{{cite web|url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/music/2014/08/21/uncovering-the-mysteries-of-steely-dan/14367409/|title=Uncovering the mysteries of Steely Dan|first=Scott|last=Mervis|date=August 21, 2014|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|via=detroitnews.com|accessdate=July 29, 2021}} A contemporary newspaper article mentioned the arrest of Donald Fagan {{sic}} for "the sale of a dangerous drug" with bail set at $5,000.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kingston-daily-freeman-45-drug-arres/127658384/ |title=45 Drug Arrests at Bard |first1=Tim |last1=Schuster |first2=Hugh |last2=Reynolds |newspaper=Daily Freeman |location=Kingston, New York |page=1 |date=May 8, 1969 |accessdate=July 5, 2023 |via=newspapers.com}}
Cash Box described the song as a "departure from the group’s usual fare, but definitely a track that’s going to have programmers and listeners buzzing."{{cite news|title=CashBox Record Reviews|date=October 13, 1973|page=18|accessdate=2021-12-11|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1973/Cash-Box-1973-10-13.pdf|newspaper=Cash Box}}
Key signature and composition
The song was written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker{{cite web|url=http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0089665&|title=MusicNotes|website=Musicnotes |date=4 January 2011|access-date=November 28, 2014}} and is in the key of G major. The original studio track features a guitar solo by Jeff Baxter.
Legacy
Fagen reneged on his promise of never going back, when he returned to Bard College to receive an honorary Doctor of Arts degree in 1985.{{cite news|title=Donald Fagen & Walter Becker|accessdate=2022-02-11|url=https://www.bard.edu/bardmakesnoise/steelydan.php|newspaper=Bard Makes Noise}}
Personnel
- Donald Fagen – piano, lead vocals, backup vocals
- Walter Becker – bass
- Denny Dias – rhythm guitar
- Jeff Baxter – lead guitar
- Jim Hodder – drums, percussion
- Sherlie Matthews, Myrna Matthews, Patricia Hall, Royce Jones – backup vocals
- Ernie Watts – saxophone
- Johnny Rotella – saxophone
- Lanny Morgan – saxophone
- Bill Perkins – saxophone
- Jimmie Haskell – horn arrangement
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Steely Dan}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Walter Becker
Category:Songs written by Donald Fagen
Category:Song recordings produced by Gary Katz
{{1970s-rock-song-stub}}