Song · Steely Dan
“Josie” by Steely Dan
From the album Aja (1977)
“Josie” by Steely Dan appears on 8 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1997 and 2022. It was first released in 1977 on the album Aja. Its best result is #413 on the 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #5,450 indie & aaa song of all time and #412 of the '70s.
Walter Becker and Donald Fagen had an early version of "Josie" kicking around long before the Aja sessions, and on that 1977 album, a record that mostly fuses jazz and rock, AllMusic's Stewart Mason reckoned it the most conventional rocker of the lot. Conventional is relative: it's still loaded with jazz chords, and Don Breithaupt has traced a Delta blues streak in its stark open fifths alongside exotic chords drawn from the Phrygian scale.
The credits are stacked. Fagen sings lead and plays synthesizer, Larry Carlton and Dean Parks play guitar, Becker takes the solo, Chuck Rainey holds down the bass, Victor Feldman plays Rhodes and Jim Keltner handles drums and percussion, with Timothy B. Schmit joining Fagen on backing vocals. Gary Katz produced. Issued as the album's third single, it reached No. 26 on the Hot 100.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 1020 | 102.3 WBAB | WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) | 1023 |
| 2001 | 1459 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2002 | 527 | 92.3 KGON | KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) | 923 |
| 2004 | 519 | 92.3 KGON | KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) | 923 |
| 2014 | 884 | Big 100 | BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) | 1000 |
| 2020 | 1671 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2022 | 413 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
| 2022 | 894 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) | 1043 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Josie" by Steely Dan.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.