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 stated for the record in a 1985 interview in the pages of ''Musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...'' that the "number" in question was not slang for a marijuana 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 (, "waiting mail"), 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 a particular locat ...mail, was held up as the key line), and an uncharacteristically forthcoming Donald Fagen has similarly revealed that the "Rikki" in question was simply a woman he'd had a crush on in college riter Rikki Ducornet">Rikki_Ducornet.html" ;"title="riterriter 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 advertis ...'' 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." ''Record World'' said that the "salty Latin-ish sound is in an easy vein" and that the song was a "totally nifty number."John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ..., in a 1974 interview discussing recent hit songs, said "I liked "Rikki Don't Lose That Number," that was a good commercial record."
Personnel
Musicians
*Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who is the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the rock band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker ...– 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. Parks has one Grammy nomination. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los A ...– acoustic guitar *Michael Omartian Michael S. 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. H ...– 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 to ...– 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 The flapamba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of tuned wooden bars pinched on one side over the node and mounted over resonator boxes. Sliding the bars slightly forward or backward affects their tuning. Unlike the mar ...* Timothy B. Schmit – 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. He has four ...– 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 Living people 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 hi ...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 the UK Singles Chart. * 1992Hank Marvin Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter. He is known as the lead guitarist for the Shadows. Early life and career Marvin was born as Brian Robson Rankin at ...did an instrumental of the song on his album ''Into the Light''. * 1994 Far Corporation made a cover of the song for their album ''Solitude''. * 2007Chuck Loeb Charles Samuel "Chuck" Loeb (December 7, 1955 – July 31, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist and a member of the groups Steps Ahead, Metro and Fourplay. Early years and education Loeb was born in Nyack, New York, near New York City. At ...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-American actor. He played retired police officer Martin Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, receiving nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and two P .... *The song was referenced in the 2004 ''Fairly OddParents'' 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!"
Notes
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