Flashback: Steely Dan Play 'Do It Again' on 'The Midnight Special' in 1973

By Andy Greene | Rolling Stone – Thu, Mar 7, 2013 12:10 PM EST

David Palmer was only the lead singer of Steely Dan for a few short months in late 1972 and early 1973. It was during that brief time, however, that the band cut their debut album Can't Buy a Thrill and launched their first major tour. Palmer came into the Can't Buy a Thrill sessions late (largely at the insistence of the brass at ABC Records), and he sings lead on "Dirty Work" and "Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me.)" He also doubled up Donald Fagen's voice on "Reelin' in the Years." 

500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Steely Dan, 'Can't Buy a Thrill'

Palmer fronted the band during their live show, and he sang their hit "Do It Again" when the group played The Midnight Special in January of 1973. (Fagen sang it on the album.) As the group's fame rose, having one guy sing lead in concert and another sing lead on the most of the studio material made little sense. The band let Palmer go in April of 1973, and Fagen very reluctantly agreed to take over full-time singing duties. Palmer moved around the California music scene in the Seventies and Eighties (even singing a song on the Teen Wolf soundtrack in 1985), but he now works as a photographer.

Related

This article originally appeared on Rolling Stone: Flashback: Steely Dan Play 'Do It Again' on 'The Midnight Special' in 1973

News for You

  • NYPD investigating actress Bynes allegations

    NEW YORK (AP) — Internal Affairs officers on Saturday were looking into allegations made by actress Amanda Bynes that New York Police Department officers sexually assaulted her when she was charged with heaving a marijuana bong out the window of her 36th-floor Manhattan apartment.

  • Museum starts night tours of signs from Vegas past

    LAS VEGAS (AP) — The junked signs that attracted throngs to old Las Vegas have for years gathered dust in a neon boneyard just a few miles from the sleek mega-casinos on the Strip.

  • A controversial victory lap for Lewis at Cannes

    CANNES, France (AP) — Jerry Lewis, so beloved in France, isn't quite overcome with emotion now that he's back at the Cannes Film Festival.

  • Latest 'Bachelorette' won't say if she's engaged

    NEW YORK (AP) — ABC's newest "Bachelorette," Desiree Hartsock, says it's not hard to keep the details of her experience on the show a secret from her friends.

  • Actress Bynes accused of bong toss out NYC window

    NEW YORK (AP) — Actress Amanda Bynes appeared disheveled in a long blond wig and sweats Friday in a criminal court where she was charged with reckless endangerment after police said she heaved a marijuana bong out the window of her 36th-floor Manhattan apartment.

  • Rare Superman comic found in house insulation

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — It's considered the Holy Grail of comic books: Action Comics No. 1 from 1938, featuring the debut of Superman. And David Gonzales found one mixed in with old newspapers insulating a house he was renovating in a small town in Minnesota.

Show More