KID CHARLEMAGNE

Three dozen years ago, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen of Steely Dan were putting the finishing touches on one of their lesser known albums – The Royal Scam. It’s a “fusion of a funk rhythm and jazz harmonies with rock and roll instrumentals and lyrical style” according to Wikpedia.

Of particular note is the track, “Kid Charlemagne”. On this song, guitarist Larry Carlton incorporated a jazz-inflected electric solo. It’s become famous for its difficulty to play and also for the finger-tapped hammer-on technique implemented near the end. This effect was not widely used until Van Halen’s first album was released two years later.

Walter Becker and Donald Fagen have stated that the lyrics for “Kid Charlemagne” were loosely based on the exploits and arrest of the infamous 1960s San Francisco-based LSD chemist Owsley Stanley. The 1976 hit was one of Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time”.

The albums that came before, Pretzel Logic and Katy Lied, and the one that came after, Aja, are arguably better Steely Dan records as a whole. But nothing quite touched this song for inventiveness.

The admittedly “hideous” cover was designed by Larry Zox and was originally created for Van Morrison’s unreleased 1975 album, Mechanical Bliss.

(Photographer: Unknown)