Hey Nineteen
"Hey Nineteen" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Steely Dan | ||||
from the album Gaucho | ||||
B-side | "Bodhisattva (Live)" | |||
Released | November 1980 | |||
Recorded | 1978 | |||
Genre | Jazz fusion, soft rock | |||
Length |
5:10 4:44 (7" version) | |||
Label | MCA | |||
Writer(s) | Walter Becker, Donald Fagen | |||
Producer(s) | Gary Katz | |||
Steely Dan singles chronology | ||||
|
"Hey Nineteen" is a song by American jazz rock band Steely Dan, written by members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, and released on their 1980 album Gaucho.
Background
According to one reviewer's interpretation, the song "was about a middle-aged man's disappointment with a young lover ("Hey Nineteen, that's 'Retha Franklin / She don't remember the Queen of Soul / It's hard times befallen the Soul Survivors / She thinks I'm crazy but I'm just growing old")."[1] Donald Fagen once said in an interview that his hope was that "songs like 'Hey Nineteen' would be enjoyed by soccer moms in dentist chairs bobbing their heads unaware of the filthy lyrics".
Charts
"Hey Nineteen" peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1981,[2] and #68 on the R&B Singles chart.[3]
Personnel
- Donald Fagen – electric piano, synthesizer, vocals
- Walter Becker – bass, guitar
- Hugh McCracken – guitars
- Rick Marotta – drums
- Victor Feldman, Steve Gadd – percussion
- Frank Floyd, Zack Sanders – backup vocals
See also
Notes
- ↑ Layman, Will. Jazz Today: The Strange, Mixed Fate of Steely Dan (April 10, 2006). Accessed July 31, 2006. Archived June 15, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Steely Dan USA chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
- ↑ Allmusic. (((Gaucho > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles))). Accessed July 31, 2006.
External links
- "Hey Nineteen" lyrics at SteelyDan.com
- Rashida Jones talks about this song with NPR in the article "How Rashida Jones Found Her Inner Music Nerd"