People have shared their shock after only just learning how Steely Dan got their stage name – with some admitting they ‘love their music but hate the story behind their name’
They’ve been creating music for almost 55 years – but some Steely Dan fans are only just questioning what their stage name actually means.
Formed by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, the American rock band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 after selling more than 40 million albums worldwide.
Not only this but VH1 ranked them as number 82 on their list of the 100 Greatest Musical Artists of All Time, and the Rolling Stones placed them at number 15 on their list of 20 Greatest Duos of All Time. Some of their most popular songs include Reelin’ In the Years, My Old School, Black Cow, Do It Again, Peg, Hey Nineteen, Dirty Work and Don’t Take Me Alive.
Despite their popularity over the decades, one curious fan asked on Reddit: “Why are they called Steely Dan and not something like Steely Doug?” But according to The Lion, Steely Dan actually has a very X-rated meaning. It turns out the band decided to name themselves after an object in the book Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs, which is considered to be “one of the most shocking novels ever written”.
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A statement reads: “The ‘Steely Dan’ in question was a steam-powered, mechanical dildo. Right away, the name suited the music to a T. Something so obscene, naughty, anti-societal, was buried under the innocuous, a careful blend of clean sound that owed as much to the Stones as it did to Duke Ellington. What seemed sleep-inducing was anything but if you gave a damn. “
Adding to this, a statement in American Songwriter reads: “Fagan and Becker must have had a laugh at the idea and well, it stuck. So, there you have it, folks. One of your favourite bands is named after a sex toy. Just goes to show you not all greatness comes from where you’d expect.”
Naked Lunch tells the story of a narcotics addict in New York, Tangier, and into a “nightmarish wasteland” known as Interzone. Commenting on this revelation, one Reddit user said: “Why not just Steely D?” Another added: “Because William S. Burroughs called the dildo in the book Naked Lunch Steely Dan and not Steely Doug.”
A third user said: “Don’t get me wrong, I love Steely Dan, just not the origin of the name.” One more user added: “Thank you for the good belly laugh to get my day started.” A final user said: “I had this conversation with my mum a while ago. I think I said something about that ‘personal massager’ that was in the Sears mail order catalogue in the 70/80s. She got the drift…”
