| "Hey Nineteen" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Steely Dan | ||||
| from the album Gaucho | ||||
| B-side | "Bodhisattva" (live) | |||
| Released | 21 November 1980[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1978 | |||
| Genre | Jazz fusion, soft rock | |||
| Length | 5:06 (Album version) 4:44 (7" version) | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Gary Katz | |||
| Steely Dan singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official Audio | ||||
| "Hey Nineteen" on YouTube | ||||
"Hey Nineteen" is a song by the band Steely Dan from their album Gaucho (1980).
Background[edit]
According to one reviewer's interpretation, the song "was about a middle-aged man's disappointment with a young lover".[2]
The lyrics are about an aging hipster attempting to pick up a girl who is so young that she does not recognize "'Retha Franklin" playing on the stereo.[3] The song closes with the ambiguous line, "The Cuervo Gold, the fine Colombian, make tonight a wonderful thing," leaving the listener to decide whether the narrator is consuming tequila and drugs with the love interest, or if he is in fact alone.[3][4]
The B-side is a previously unreleased 1974 live version of the song "Bodhisattva", recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, with an introduction one of the band's drivers, Jerome Anition, who is clearly inebriated.[5][6]
Charts[edit]
"Hey Nineteen" peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1981,[7] number 11 on the Adult Contemporary chart,[8] and number 68 on the R&B Singles chart.[9] With a chart run of 19 weeks, "Hey Nineteen" is tied with "Peg" and "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" for being their longest-running chart hit.
Personnel[edit]
- Donald Fagen – lead vocals, electric piano, synthesizer
- Rick Marotta – drums
- Walter Becker – bass guitar, guitar
- Hugh McCracken – guitar
- Victor Feldman, Steve Gadd – percussion
- Frank Floyd, Zack Sanders – backing vocals
Chart history[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
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Year-end charts[edit]
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References[edit]
- ^ "Steely Dan - Hey Nineteen". hitparade.ch.
- ^ Layman, Will. "Jazz Today: The Strange, Mixed Fate of Steely Dan" (April 10, 2006). Accessed July 31, 2006. Archived June 15, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Allmusic song review: "Hey Nineteen."
- ^ "Remembering Walter Becker Of Steely Dan: 'Hey Nineteen' Banter". JamBase. 27 December 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- ^ Mansfield, Brian. "On the Road Again: Steely Dan". USA Today. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Sweet, Brian (August 16, 2018). Steely Dan: Reelin' in the Years. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9781787591295 – via Google Books.
- ^ Steely Dan Chart History: Hot 100, Billboard. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
- ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 228.
- ^ a b Steely Dan Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Billboard. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1981-12-09. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
- ^ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART.
- ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 2/14/81". tropicalglen.com.
- ^ The 1981 Top 100 Singles chart is identified by the RPM Year-End article "Top 100 Singles (1981)". RPM. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
- ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1981/Top 100 Songs of 1981 | Music Outfitters". www.musicoutfitters.com.
- ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 26, 1981". Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
External links[edit]
- "Hey Nineteen" lyrics at Steely Dan archive.com
- Rashida Jones talks about this song with NPR in the article "How Rashida Jones Found Her Inner Music Nerd"
- Bodhisattva (Live At The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, CA on YouTube
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