Appraisal
Reviewing the single forJust to clear up a generation's worth of rumors about the lyrics of "Rikki Don't Lose That Number,"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 ...stated for the record in a 1985 interview in the pages of ''Musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...'' that the "number" in question was not slang for amarijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...cigarette ("send it off in a letter to yourself," supposedly a way to safely transport one's dope back before the post office abolishedgeneral delivery ''Poste restante'' (, "remainder post"), also known as general delivery in North American English, is a service where the post office holds the mail until the recipient calls for it. It is a common destination for mail for people who are visiting ...mail, was held up as the key line), and an uncharacteristically forthcomingDonald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his w ...has similarly revealed that the "Rikki" in question was simply a woman he'd had a crush on in college riter_ riter_Rikki_Ducornet">Rikki_Ducornet.html"_;"title="riter_Rikki_Ducornet">riter_Rikki_Ducornet_It_says_something_about_Steely_Dan's_reputation_as_riter_Rikki_Ducornet">Rikki_Ducornet.html"_;"title="riter_Rikki_Ducornet">riter_Rikki_Ducornet_It_says_something_about_Steely_Dan's_reputation_as_Obscurantism">obscurantists_that_even_a_straightforward_lost-love_song_like_"Rikki_Don't_Lose_That_Number"_could_be_so_widely_over-interpreted._..._It's_unsurprising_that_"Rikki_Don't_Lose_That_Number"_ended_up_becoming_Steely_Dan's_biggest_commercial_hit_..._as_it's_one_of_the_group's_most_gentle_and_accessible_songs. ''Billboard_(magazine).html" "title="Obscurantism.html" ;"title="Rikki_Ducornet.html" ;"title="Rikki_Ducornet.html" ;"title="riter Rikki Ducornet">riter Rikki Ducornet">Rikki_Ducornet.html" ;"title="riter Rikki Ducornet">riter Rikki Ducornet It says something about Steely Dan's reputation as Obscurantism">obscurantists that even a straightforward lost-love song like "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" could be so widely over-interpreted. ... It's unsurprising that "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" ended up becoming Steely Dan's biggest commercial hit ... as it's one of the group's most gentle and accessible songs. ''Billboard (magazine)">Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...'' described it as a "catchy, almost tango-like tune." ''Cash Box'' said that the "strong accent on harmonies with keyboard and percussion dominating the musical end make for a very entertaining track."
Personnel
Musicians
*Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his w ...– lead and backing vocals *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 *Dean Parks Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher ...– acoustic guitar *Michael Omartian Michael Omartian (born November 26, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, keyboardist, and music producer. He produced number-one records in three consecutive decades. He has earned 11 Grammy Awards nominations and won three. He sp ...– piano *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 ...– bass guitar, backing vocals * Jim Gordon – drums *Victor Feldman Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987) was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as ...– percussion, flapamba *Timothy B. Schmit Timothy Bruce Schmit (born October 30, 1947) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He has performed as the bassist and vocalist for Poco and the Eagles (band), Eagles, having replaced bassist and vocalist Randy Meisner in both cases ...– backing vocals
Technical
*Gary Katz Gary Katz is an American record producer, best known for his work on albums by Steely Dan. Katz has also produced numerous other recording artists and assisted in the discovery and signing of a number of subsequently successful acts. Career ...– Producer * Roger Nichols – Engineer
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Cover versions
* 1983 Kenji Omura recorded a version of the song for his fourth album ''Gaijin Heaven''. * 1984Tom Robinson Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson ...recorded his version for the album ''Hope and Glory''; the single release of the song matched Steely Dan's original version by peaking at No. 58 in theUK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s .... * 1992Hank Marvin Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He is widely known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows, a group which primarily performed instrumentals and was the ba ...did an instrumental of the song on his album ''Into the Light''. * 1994Far Corporation Far Corporation were a multi-national band created by German record producer Frank Farian, who created the bands Boney M. and Milli Vanilli. The name was shortened from "Frank Farian Corporation", which was originally put together to record a cov ...made a cover of the song for their album ''Solitude''. * 2007 Chuck Loeb did an instrumental cover of the song on his album ''Presence''.
Usage in media
* The song was featured in the 1989 film '' Say Anything...'', in which the lyrics were sung by actorJohn Mahoney Charles John Mahoney (June 20, 1940 – February 4, 2018) was an English-born American actor. He was known for playing Martin Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' (1993–2004), and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for the role in 2000. Mahone .... *The song was referenced in the 2004 ''Fairly Odd Parents'' episode, "Odd Couple." At the end, as Vicky's former boyfriend Rikki drives away with his new lover, she says "Rikki! Don't lose my number! You don't wanna call nobody else!"
References
External links
* {{Steely Dan 1974 singles Steely Dan songs Songs written by Donald Fagen Songs written by Walter Becker ABC Records singles 1974 songs Tom Robinson songs Song recordings produced by Gary Katz Songs about telephone calls