The Nightfly

Album: The Nightfly (1982)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The most Steely Dan-sounding song on Nightfly, the title track is a jazz-influenced slice of pop/rock that finds Donald Fagen recalling his adolescent dream of being a late-night radio DJ.

    I'm Lester the Nightfly
    Hello Baton Rouge
    Won't you turn your radio down
    Respect the seven second delay we use
  • The Nightfly was the first solo album by the Steely Dan co-founder. Unlike most of Donald Fagen's previous work, the songs are all autobiographical. "I was compelled to make this," he told Uncut in 2016. "I'd reached a certain age where I could feel some kind of internal dissonance compelling me to examine where I came from, who I was, that kind of thing."

    "t was essentially an identity crisis – a little late-coming identity crisis," Fagen continued. "But it was that all the same. Musicians being a kind of perpetual adolescent, I was able to postpone my appointment with the reality principle. It just happened."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"They're Playing My Song

Gramm co-wrote this gorgeous ballad and delivered an inspired vocal, but the song was the beginning of the end of his time with Foreigner.

In The Cards

In The CardsSong Writing

Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."

Zac Hanson

Zac HansonSongwriter Interviews

Zac tells the story of Hanson's massive hit "MMMbop," and talks about how brotherly bonds effect their music.

Gary Lewis

Gary LewisSongwriter Interviews

Gary Lewis and the Playboys had seven Top 10 hits despite competition from The Beatles. Gary talks about the hits, his famous father, and getting drafted.