Song · Steely Dan
“Don't Take Me Alive” by Steely Dan
From the album The Royal Scam (1976)
“Don't Take Me Alive” by Steely Dan appears on 4 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 2001 and 2020. It was first released in 1976 on the album The Royal Scam. Its best result is #442 on the WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,443 indie & aaa song of all time.
"Don't Take Me Alive" comes off The Royal Scam, the fifth Steely Dan album, which ABC Records released in May 1976. Walter Becker and Donald Fagen wrote it, Gary Katz produced it just as he had every Steely Dan record before, and Fagen sings both the lead and the backing vocals. Larry Carlton plays guitar alongside Becker and takes the solo, Becker and Chuck Rainey share the bass, Rick Marotta drums, Gary Coleman adds percussion and Paul Griffin joins Fagen on keyboards. The credits stack up the horns too: Chuck Findley on trumpet, Dick Hyde on trombone, Bob Findley on horn, and Jim Horn, Plas Johnson and John Klemmer on saxophones.
It belongs to the funk album in the Steely Dan story, the one that swerves off the jazz-rock road they traveled before and after it.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 442 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2011 | 980 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) | 1100 |
| 2012 | 1033 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) | 1200 |
| 2020 | 1368 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
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