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Johnnie Walker's Long Players: Series 10: Breakfast in America and The Nightfly

Breakfast in America and The Nightfly

Series 10

BBC Radio 2 - Johnnie Walker's Long Players, Series 10, Breakfast in America and The Nightfly

A solo debut for Steely Dan's Donald Fagen and the biggest seller for Supertramp.

The late 70s and early 80s are the setting for a jazzy solo debut for Steely Dan's Donald Fagen and the biggest seller for Supertramp celebrating America.

Johnnie and David Hepworth listen to two favourites from the late 70s and early 80s this week.  

The very different characters Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson wrote Supertramp’s biggest seller and broke America by putting its meal based culture centre stage in Breakfast in America in 1979.

As we discover in a brand new interview with Supertramp member John Helliwell (recorded in Manchester) and archive clips of Roger Hodgson, the Anglo American band behind Crime of the Century and Even in the Quietest Moments went into the Village Recorder studios in Los Angeles right after Steely Dan had finished recording Aja. 

John also mentions that, at the time of recording, he was still in touch with the waitress Kate who portrayed the Statue of Liberty for them on the cover of Breakfast in America and served them Orange Juice on stage on the subsequent tour. Sadly, she has now passed away.

Donald Fagen released the first of his four solo albums to date in 1982, with a memorable late night radio station cover, which David describes as more Steely Dan than Steely Dan and looking ahead to a Jetsons style life in the future. On The Nightfly Donald looks back on his childhood in the 50s, living in the suburbs close to Bruce Springsteen, and we hear excerpts from an archive BBC interview, recorded with him at the then tender age of just 34.

Johnnie and David enjoy the sublime playing of Donald Fagen alongside the Brecker Brothers, Larry Carlton, Rick Derringer and one of the most recorded drummers in history James Gadson– whose collective CVs include the finest recordings of Joni Mitchell, The Crusaders, Miles Davis, Charlie Mingus, Todd Rundgren, James Taylor, Bill Withers, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Beck and Quincy Jones amongst many others.


Johnnie Walker's Long Players: Series 10

Amazing music. Played by an amazing line up.

Radio 2: Amazing music. Played by an amazing line-up. The home of great music, entertainment and documentaries

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Series 10

Breakfast in America and The Nightfly

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