Rikki Don't Lose That Number
"Rikki Don't Lose That Number" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Side A of the Australian single | ||||
Single by Steely Dan | ||||
from the album Pretzel Logic | ||||
B-side | "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" | |||
Released | April 25, 1974 | |||
Recorded | 1973 | |||
Genre |
| |||
Length | 3:58 (single version) 4:30 (album version) | |||
Label | ABC | |||
Songwriter(s) | Walter Becker, Donald Fagen | |||
Producer(s) | Gary Katz | |||
Steely Dan singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Official audio | ||||
"Rikki Don't Lose That Number" on YouTube | ||||
"Rikki Don't Lose That Number" is a single released in 1974 by rock/jazz rock group Steely Dan and the opening track of their third album Pretzel Logic. It was the most successful single of the group's career, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1974.[2]
The song features Jim Gordon on drums, as does the bulk of the Pretzel Logic album. The guitar solo is by Jeff "Skunk" Baxter who soon after joined The Doobie Brothers.
Victor Feldman's flapamba introduction to the song, which opens the album, is cut from the original ABC single version.[3] The MCA single reissue (backed with "Pretzel Logic") includes the flapamba intro but fades out just before the actual end of the track. The introductory riff is an almost direct copy of the intro of Horace Silver's jazz classic "Song for My Father".[4][5]
Appraisal
Reviewing the single for AllMusic, Stewart Mason said:
Just to clear up a generation's worth of rumors about the lyrics of "Rikki Don't Lose That Number," Walter Becker stated for the record in a 1985 interview in the pages of Musician that the "number" in question was not slang for a marijuana cigarette ("send it off in a letter to yourself," supposedly a way to safely transport one's dope back before the post office abolished general delivery mail,[a] was held up as the key line), and an uncharacteristically forthcoming Donald Fagen has similarly revealed that the "Rikki" in question was simply a woman he'd had a crush on in college [writer Rikki Ducornet]. It says something about Steely Dan's reputation as obscurantists that even a straightforward lost-love song like "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" could be so widely over-interpreted. ... It's unsurprising that "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" ended up becoming Steely Dan's biggest commercial hit ... as it's one of the group's most gentle and accessible songs.[7]
Billboard described it as a "catchy, almost tango-like tune."[8] Cash Box said that the "strong accent on harmonies with keyboard and percussion dominating the musical end make for a very entertaining track."[9] Record World said that the "salty Latin-ish sound is in an easy vein" and that the song was a "totally nifty number."[10] John Lennon, in a 1974 interview discussing recent hit songs, said "I liked "Rikki Don't Lose That Number," that was a good commercial record."[11]
Personnel
Musicians
- Donald Fagen – lead and backing vocals
- Jeff Baxter – electric guitar
- Dean Parks – acoustic guitar
- Michael Omartian – piano
- Walter Becker – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Jim Gordon – drums
- Victor Feldman – percussion, flapamba
- Timothy B. Schmit – backing vocals
Technical
- Gary Katz – Producer
- Roger Nichols – Engineer
Chart performance
Weekly charts
|
| Year-end charts
|
Cover versions
- 1983 – Kenji Omura recorded a version of the song for his fourth album Gaijin Heaven.[20][citation needed]
- 1984 – Tom Robinson recorded his version for the album Hope and Glory; the single release of the song matched Steely Dan's original version by peaking at No. 58 in the UK Singles Chart.[16]
- 1992 – Hank Marvin did an instrumental of the song on his album Into the Light.
- 1994 – Far Corporation made a cover of the song for their album Solitude.
- 2007 – Chuck Loeb did an instrumental cover of the song on his album Presence.
Usage in media
- The song was featured in the 1989 film Say Anything..., in which the lyrics were sung by actor John Mahoney.[21]
- The song was referenced in the 2004 Fairly OddParents episode, "Odd Couple." At the end, as Vicky's former boyfriend Rikki drives away with his new lover, she says "Rikki! Don't lose my number! You don't wanna call nobody else!"[citation needed]
Notes
References
- ^ a b Panati, Charles (1991). "1974: The Lord's Prayer". Panati's Parade of Fads, Follies, and Manias. New York: Harper Perennial. p. 397.
- ^ Steely Dan US chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
- ^ "Pretzel Logic Album". Broberg.pp.se. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
- ^ "Song for My Father | 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die". 1000recordings.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
- ^ Shteamer, Hank (September 3, 2017). "Steely Dan: 10 Essential Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
- ^ "What is General Delivery". USPS.com. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
- ^ "Rikki Don't Lose That Number - Steely Dan - Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
- ^ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. April 27, 1974. p. 55. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. April 27, 1974. p. 16. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ^ "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. April 27, 1974. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
- ^ "1974/09/25 John Lennon Interview with Paul Drew at RKO Radio Promoting Walls and Bridges". YouTube. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5072a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ "Steely Dan Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Steely Dan Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
- ^ "Top 100 1974-08-03". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
- ^ a b "rikki don't lose that number | full Official Chart History". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- ^ Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
- ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
- ^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1974". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
- ^ Kenji Omura – Gaijin Heaven at Discogs
- ^ "Totally Random Tune At Noon - Steely Dan - Rikki Don't Lose That Number". Sunny 95. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
External links
- Steely Dan - Rikki Don't Lose That Number on YouTube
- v
- t
- e
- Walter Becker
- Jeff "Skunk" Baxter
- Denny Dias
- Jim Hodder
- David Palmer
- Royce Jones
- Michael McDonald
- Jeff Porcaro
- Can't Buy a Thrill (1972)
- Countdown to Ecstasy (1973)
- Pretzel Logic (1974)
- Katy Lied (1975)
- The Royal Scam (1976)
- Aja (1977)
- Gaucho (1980)
- Two Against Nature (2000)
- Everything Must Go (2003)
- Alive in America (1995)
- Plush TV Jazz-Rock Party (2000)
- Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz with Steely Dan (2005)
- Northeast Corridor (2021)
- "Dallas"
- "Do It Again"
- "Reelin' In the Years"
- "Show Biz Kids"
- "My Old School"
- "Rikki Don't Lose That Number"
- "Pretzel Logic"
- "Bad Sneakers"
- "Kid Charlemagne"
- "Peg"
- "Deacon Blues"
- "FM (No Static at All)"
- "Josie"
- "Hey Nineteen"
- "Time Out of Mind"
- "Cousin Dupree"
- "Aja"
- "Any Major Dude Will Tell You"
- "Dirty Work"
- Greatest Hits (1978)
- Steely Dan (1978)
- Gold (1982/91)
- A Decade of Steely Dan (1985)
- Reelin' In the Years (1985)
- Do It Again (1987)
- Citizen Steely Dan (1993)
- Then and Now (1993)
- Showbiz Kids (2000)
- The Definitive Collection (2006)
- Found Studio Tracks (2007)
- Discography
- Gary Katz
- Members
- Roger Nichols
- Yacht rock
Category