Steely Dan - Aja [41]

Title: Steely Dan - Aja
Year/Genre/Sub-Genre/City: 1977, Jazz Rock, Yacht Rock, Los Angeles, California 10/26
Matrix #: AA-1006 (ABC Records, runout AA-1006 (RE-2)-B)
Condition: Ex (LM) | Members: Donald F (48' - ), Walter B (50' - 17') | Producer: Gary Katz
Cultural Facts: [41]

1. The Seventh Guitarist Heard It on the Radio: Walter Becker, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Rick Derringer and others all took a shot at the short solo on "Peg" and got turned down. Jay Graydon was roughly the seventh player called, worked on it for hours after Fagen told him to quit the jazz licks and play the blues, and left with no idea whether they would use it. He found out it made the record when he heard "Peg" on the radio.
2. A Name for the Losers: Fagen has said the title came from college football. If a powerhouse like Alabama got a grand name like the Crimson Tide, then the song's loser hero deserved a name too, so they borrowed it from the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest, a team that lost a lot. That is the joke inside the line about having a name when I lose.
3. The Model on the Cover: The striking cover photo is Japanese model Sayoko Yamaguchi, shot by fashion photographer Hideki Fujii. She was one of the first Asian models to become a star of the Paris runways in the 1970s, with a blunt black bob that became her trademark.