Dirty Work: The Oral History of Recording with Steely Dan – Part III
Leaving behind the road, Donald and Walter become one with the studio.
What follows is Part III of “Dirty Work,” my oral history of recording with Steely Dan. (Read the introduction, Part I, and Part II.) Only paid subscribers to Expanding Dan will have access to all seven parts.
Part III: Becoming One with the Studio
Michael McDonald (keyboard, vocals): The way I got involved with Steely Dan was through Jeff Porcaro and Denny Dias. Denny first heard me at a gig I played with Jeff, his brother Mike Porcaro, and David Paich, who later would be in Toto. With literally no rehearsal, we played this wrap party at a Universal Studios lot for a TV show called Emergency!. During the evening we took a couple of breaks and went out to have a smoke outside on the studio lot, and I got to know Jeff a little better. He was talking about playing on this album with Steely Dan, which was my favorite band at the time. And I thought, “Wow, what a lucky guy—at his age to be playing with Steely Dan!” About a year later, I get this call from my girlfriend: “Jeff Porcaro needs you to call him right away.” So I called, and Jeff goes, “Can you get down here today? Bring your piano. The guys in Steely Dan are looking for a different configuration with the band, and I told them that you could sing background and play keyboards.” So I went down there. That became the first rehearsal for the band that would tour from that point on for the last couple tours of Steely Dan.