On This Day, Sept. 3, 2017: Steely Dan co-founder Walter Becker died

On This Day, Sept. 3, 2017 …

Steely Dan co-founder Walter Becker died at the age of 67, just months after he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of esophageal cancer.

Becker, born in Queens, New York, was the guitarist, bassist and co-songwriter for the group, which he co-founded in 1971 with Donald Fagen.

The band released nine studio albums over the course of their career, including such classics as Pretzel Logic, Aja, Gaucho and 2000’s Two Against Nature, which won four Grammys, including Album of the Year. They released their final studio album, Everything Must Go, in 2003.

Steely Dan was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and Becker and Fagen were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2024.

In October 2018 a ceremony was held naming a street in Forest Hills, Queens, Walter Becker Way.