"Dirty Work" is a song written by Donald Fagen and

Walter Becker Walter Carl Becker (February 20, 1950 – September 3, 2017) was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter of the jazz rock band Steely Dan.Russonello, Giovanni,Listen t ...

of Steely Dan, which appeared on the band's 1972 debut album ''

Can't Buy a Thrill ''Can't Buy a Thrill'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released in November 1972 by ABC Records. The album was written by band members Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, recorded in August 1972 at the Village Recorder ...

''.

Theme

The song's lyrics describe an affair between a man and a married woman, sung by the man. ''Steely Dan FAQ'' author Anthony Robustelli describes "Dirty Work" as a "song of self-loathing", while ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' describes the narrative as

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

tic. The singer recognizes that the woman is using him, but is too infatuated to end the affair. The second verse features the lyrics: "Like a castle in its corner in a medieval game", referencing the

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

-piece the

rook Rook (''Corvus frugilegus'') is a bird of the corvid family. Rook or rooks may also refer to: Games *Rook (chess), a piece in chess *Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game Military * Sukhoi Su-25 or Rook, a close air support aircraft * USS ...

, chess being a hobby of Becker's.

Style and arrangement

The song's music has been described as more commercial-sounding than most of the band's other material. ''

'' says that it sounds like "a radio-friendly stroll of a song," at least at first.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

critic Stewart Mason attributes this, in part, to the "upward- modulating" refrain and "soulful" clavinet as well as the

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

part played by guest musician

Jerome Richardson Jerome Richardson (November 15, 1920 – June 23, 2000) was an American jazz musician, tenor saxophonist, and flute player, who also played soprano sax, alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto flute and piccolo. He played with C ...

. Steely Dan biographer Brian Sweet describes Richardson's sax solo as being "perfectly understated." "Dirty Work" is one of the songs on ''Can't Buy a Thrill'' on which David Palmer provided the lead vocal. Brian Sweet hypothesizes that Fagen did not want to sing the song himself because he and Becker did not even want to include it on the album, but the executives at ABC Records wanted some more conventional tunes on the album and therefore insisted that "Dirty Work" be included. The ABC executives had also thought the song would be ideal for

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael A ...

The Grass Roots The Grass Roots are an American rock band that charted frequently between 1965 and 1975. The band was originally the creation of Lou Adler and songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. In their career, they achieved two gold albums, two go ...

to record. After Palmer left the group, touring vocalist

Royce Jones Royce Jones (born December 15, 1954) is an American musician best known for his work as a touring vocalist with the bands Steely Dan (in 1973 and 1974) and Ambrosia (joined 1978).

would sing the song live in concert. It was revived in 2006, however, with the band's female backing vocalists singing it from the perspective of a woman having an affair with a married (or attached) man.

Release and reception

The song was included on the band's 1972 debut album ''

''. The same year it was released as single, on the Probe label, in the Netherlands.

critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine describes "Dirty Work" as a "terrific pop song that subvert traditional conventions" and is one of the best songs on ''Can't Buy a Thrill'', while ''

MusicHound MusicHound (sometimes stylized as musicHound) was a compiler of genre-specific music guides published in the United States by Visible Ink Press between 1996 and 2002. After publishing eleven album guides, the MusicHound series was sold to London-b ...

'' author Gary Graff refers to it as being "instantly memorable." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' critic James Isaacs attributes the song's success to the fact that it "juxtaposes David Palmer's sweet

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

voice with misogynistic lyrics." Robustelli similarly agrees that part of the song's effect is the contrast between Palmer's smooth voice and the harsh lyrics. "Dirty Work" was included on several Steely Dan compilation albums, including ''

Citizen Steely Dan ''Citizen Steely Dan'' is a four- CD box set compilation album by Steely Dan, released in 1993. The set is a collection of all of Steely Dan's albums (up to 1980) in chronological order, and also contains a non-album single (" FM (No Static at ...

'' in 1993, '' Showbiz Kids: The Steely Dan Story, 1972–1980'' in 2000 and '' Steely Dan: The Definitive Collection'' in 2006.

Later use

The song was used in the first episode of

season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In tempera ...

of ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

'', " Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood," as

Tony Soprano Anthony John Soprano is a fictional character and the antihero protagonist in the HBO television drama series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), portrayed by James Gandolfini. Soprano is a member of the Italian-American Mafia and, especially late ...

sings it while driving his SUV unaware that the FBI are watching him. The song was also used in the 2013 film '' American Hustle'', although Fagen and Becker did not give permission for it to be included on the soundtrack album. In the eighth episode of

season 28 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'', "

Dad Behavior "Dad Behavior" is the eighth episode of the twenty-eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 604th episode of the series overall. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 20, 20 ...

," Homer Simpson sings a parody of the song’s chorus. The song was later used in the fourteenth episode of season 33, " You Won't Believe What This Episode Is About – Act Three Will Shock You!". It's also featured in the 2018 documentary '' Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind''. It also appeared in the trailers and television advertisements for the 2021 film '' The Suicide Squad''. The song was used in the first episode of the second season of hit HBO drama '' Euphoria''.

Personnel

(from album cover credits) * David Palmer – lead vocals * Donald Fagen – piano,

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is concept ...

, Yamaha YC-30 organ, and backup vocals *

Denny Dias Dennis Dias (born December 12, 1946) is an American guitarist, best known for being a founding member of Steely Dan. Career Dias was working with his own band out of his basement in Hicksville, New York, when he placed an ad in ''The Village Vo ...

– acoustic guitar *

Jeff Baxter Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter (born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, known for his stints in the rock bands Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers during the 1970s and Spirit in the 1980s. More recently, he has worked as a defense cons ...

– electric guitar *

– bass guitar, backup vocals * Jim Hodder – drums, backup vocals *

–

Snooky Young Eugene Edward "Snooky" Young (February 3, 1919 – May 11, 2011) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known for his mastery of the plunger mute, with which he was able to create a wide range of sounds. Biography Young was lead trumpeter of t ...

– flugelhorn

Other recordings

Iain Matthews Iain Matthews (born Ian Matthews MacDonald, 16 June 1946) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He was an original member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention from 1967 to 1969 before leaving to form his own band, Matthew ...

recorded the song, appearing on his 1974 album, '' Some Days You Eat the Bear And Some Days the Bear Eats You''. The

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

-based studio group Songbird (

Mike Flicker Mike Flicker (born 1950) is an American music producer in Los Angeles who has numerous credits on music and film projects. He is critically acclaimed for his work with Heart.Howard Leese Howard M. Leese (born June 13, 1951, in Hollywood, California, United States) is an American guitarist, record producer, and musical director who played with Heart as guitarist and keyboardist for 23 years (1975 through 1998). He continues to rec ...

and Rob Deans) had a Mushroom Records single release of "Dirty Work" which was a minor hit in Canada, peaking at #75 on the national hit parade in the autumn of 1974. The song is the first track of the 1974 album '' I'm Not Making Music for Money'', the thirteenth and final studio album by

Kenny Rogers and The First Edition Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, until 1970 billed as The First Edition, were an American rock band. The band's style was difficult to singularly classify, as it incorporated elements of country, rock and psychedelic pop. Its stalwart memb ...

that was only issued in New Zealand.

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early l ...

recorded "Dirty Work" on her 1977 LP ''Help Is on the Way''.

The Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, bl ...

recorded a version for their 1978 album ''

Energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...

''. "Dirty Work" was recorded by

Max Merritt Maxwell James Merritt (30 April 1941 – 24 September 2020) was a New Zealand-born singer-songwriter and guitarist who was renowned as an interpreter of soul music and R&B. As leader of Max Merritt & The Meteors, his best known hits are " Slipp ...

and released as a single, on the

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States ...

label, in Australia and New Zealand, in 1979.

References

Notes

{{Authority control Steely Dan songs Songs written by Donald Fagen Songs written by Walter Becker Song recordings produced by Gary Katz 1972 songs José Feliciano songs Melissa Manchester songs Iain Matthews songs The Pointer Sisters songs Mushroom Records singles Songs about infidelity