Editing Steely Dan (section)

===''Can't Buy a Thrill'' and ''Countdown to Ecstasy'' (1972–1973)===
''[[Can't Buy a Thrill]]'', Steely Dan's debut album, was released in November 1972. Its hit singles "[[Do It Again (Steely Dan song)|Do It Again]]" and "[[Reelin' In the Years]]" reached No. 6 and No. 11 respectively on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]. Along with "[[Dirty Work (Steely Dan song)|Dirty Work]]" (sung by [[David Palmer (vocalist)|David Palmer]]), the songs became staples on rock radio.

Because of Fagen's reluctance to sing live, Palmer handled most of the vocal duties on stage. During the first tour, however, Katz and Becker decided that they preferred Fagen's interpretations of the band's songs, persuading him to take over. Palmer quietly left the group while it recorded its second album; he later co-wrote the No. 2 hit "[[Jazzman]]" (1974) with [[Carole King]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Steely Dan: Reelin' in the Years|first=Brian|last=Sweet|publisher=Omnibus Press|year=2018|isbn=9781787591295}}</ref> ''[[The Village Voice|Village Voice]]'' rock critic [[Robert Christgau]] was pleased with the elevation of Fagen, noting that Palmer "fit in like a cheerleader at a crap game."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=steely+dan|website=RobertChristgau.com|title=Steely Dan|accessdate=March 19, 2023}}</ref>

Sometime after recording ''Can't Buy a Thrill'', Steely Dan wrote and recorded a jingle for [[Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company|Schlitz Beer]] that was rejected and never aired. Long considered lost, it was rediscovered in July 2023 by Cimcie Nichols in the archive of her late father Roger Nichols.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Malooley |first=Jake |date=July 21, 2023 |title=Expanding Dan |url=https://expandingdan.substack.com/p/steely-dan-schlitz-jingle-beer-ad-song-audio |access-date=August 7, 2023 |website=Hear Steely Dan's Schlitz beer jingle}}</ref> The 1 minute and 50 second jingle has a distinct Steely Dan sound with layered vocals by Fagen, after a spoken word introduction in Spanish by Baxter (in a squeaky inhaled helium voice), with Fagen speaking an English translation. Recording took place in Studio A at The Village in Los Angeles. At the session, a photo was taken of Fagen in reindeer sweater and Dias in overalls and sombrero while holding a tank of helium that subsequently appeared on the back cover of ''[[Katy Lied]]''. 

Steely Dan's second album, ''[[Countdown to Ecstasy]]'', was released in July 1973 but was not as commercially successful as the band's debut album. Becker and Fagen were unhappy with some of the performances on the record and believed that it sold poorly because it had been recorded hastily on tour. The album's singles were "[[Show Biz Kids]]" and "[[My Old School (song)|My Old School]]", both of which stayed in the lower half of the Billboard charts, although "My Old School", and to a lesser extent, "Bodhisattva", became FM rock staples in time.