Donald Fagen
| Donald Fagen | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Donald Jay Fagen |
| Also known as | Illinois Elohainu, Phonus Quaver, Harlan Post, Tristan Fabriani |
| Born |
January 10, 1948 Passaic, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | Vocals, keyboards, melodica |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Labels | ABC, MCA, Giant, Reprise, Warner Bros. |
| Associated acts | Jay & the Americans, Steely Dan, The Dukes of September |
| Website | Official Site |
Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and co-founder of the band Steely Dan.
Fagen was born in Passaic, New Jersey, on January 10, 1948, to Jewish parents, Joseph "Jerry" Fagen, an accountant, and his wife, Elinor, a homemaker who had been a swing singer in upstate New York's Catskill Mountains from childhood through her teens. His family moved to the suburb of Fair Lawn around 1958 and soon after to a house on Bedford Road in the Kendall Park section of South Brunswick, New Jersey. The transition upset him; he detested living in the suburbs. He later recalled that it "was like a prison. I think I lost faith in [my parents'] judgment... It was probably the first time I realized I had my own view of life." His life in Kendall Park, including his teenage love of late-night radio, inspired his album The Nightfly.
Fagen became interested in rock and rhythm and blues (R&B) in the late 1950s. The first record he bought was Chuck Berry's "Reelin' and Rockin'". At age 11, he was recommended music by a cousin and went to the Newport Jazz Festival, becoming what he called a "jazz snob": "I lost interest in rock 'n' roll and started developing an anti-social personality." He regularly took the bus to Manhattan to see performances by jazz musicians Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis. Soon after, he learned to play the piano. He played baritone horn in the high school marching band. During his teens, he developed a lifelong fondness for table tennis.
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