On this day in music history: September 23, 1977 - “Aja”, the sixth album by Steely Dan is released. Produced by Gary Katz, it is recorded at Village Recorders in West Los Angeles, CA, Producer’s Workshop, ABC Recording Studios, Sound Labs in Hollywood, CA, Warner Bros Recording Studios in North Hollywood, CA, and A&R Studios in New York City from January - July 1977. Following the critically and commercially successful “The Royal Scam”, Steely Dan will record what will become the most musically ambitious and biggest selling album of their career. Walter Becker and Donald Fagen will work with a team of top notch studio musicians on project including Chuck Rainey (bass), Bernard Purdie, Jim Keltner, Steve Gadd, Paul Humphrey, Rick Marotta (drums), Joe Sample, Victor Feldman, Paul Griffin, Michael Omartian (keyboards), Larry Carlton, Dean Parks, Denny Dias, Jay Graydon, Steve Khan (guitars), Tom Scott, Wayne Shorter (saxophones), Venetta Fields, Shirlie Matthews, Clydie King, Rebecca Louis, and Michael McDonald (background vocals). The album’s title will come from the name of a Korean woman married to the brother of one of Donald Fagen’s high school friends. The elegant and enigmatic cover photo (taken by photographer Hideki Fujii) is of Japanese fashion model Sayoko Yamaguchi. The albums’ seamless mixture of jazz and R&B influenced pop will resonate with the public and critics alike. It will spin off three singles including “Peg” (#11 Pop), “Deacon Blues” (#19 Pop) and “Josie” (#26 Pop). In 2011, “Aja” will be added to the United States National Recording Registry of The Library Of Congress, as being deemed culturally, historically, and aesthetically important. “Aja” will peak at number three on the Billboard Top 200 and is certified 5x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.
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