Hey Nineteen
"Hey Nineteen" is a song by the band Steely Dan from their album Gaucho (1980).
"Hey Nineteen" | ||||
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Single by Steely Dan | ||||
from the album Gaucho | ||||
B-side | "Bodhisattva (Live)" | |||
Released | 21 November 1980 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1978 | |||
Genre | Jazz fusion, soft rock | |||
Length | 5:10 4:44 (7" version) | |||
Label | MCA | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Gary Katz | |||
Steely Dan singles chronology | ||||
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Official Audio | ||||
"Hey Nineteen" on YouTube |
Background
According to one reviewer's interpretation, the song "was about a middle-aged man's disappointment with a young lover":
Hey Nineteen, that's 'Retha Franklin
She don't remember the Queen of Soul
It's hard times befallen the Soul Survivors
She thinks I'm crazy but I'm just growing old.[2]
The song's bridge suggests there is pleasure in the relationship as well, though the song is ambiguous enough to suggest the song's protagonist is indulging by himself.
The Cuervo Gold
The fine Colombian
Make tonight a wonderful thing.
"Colombian" is another name for cocaine from Colombia.[3] In the 1960s, "fine Colombian" was marijuana.
The B-side is a previously unreleased 1974 live version of the song "Bodhisattva", recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, with drunken host Jerome Aniton.[4]
Charts
"Hey Nineteen" peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1981,[5] number 11 on the Adult Contemporary chart,[6] and number 68 on the R&B Singles chart.[7] With a chart run of 19 weeks, "Hey Nineteen" is tied with "Peg" and "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" for being their longest-running chart hit.
Personnel
- Donald Fagen – electric piano, synthesizer (solo), vocals
- Walter Becker – bass guitar, guitar
- Hugh McCracken – guitars
- Rick Marotta – drums
- Victor Feldman, Steve Gadd – percussion
- Frank Floyd, Zack Sanders – backup vocals
Chart history
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Notes
- Hung, Steffen. "Steely Dan - Hey Nineteen". hitparade.ch.
- Layman, Will. "Jazz Today: The Strange, Mixed Fate of Steely Dan" (April 10, 2006). Accessed July 31, 2006. Archived June 15, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- Bender, Steven (2008). The Significance of Spanish in English-only Times. Floricanto Press. p. 109. ISBN 9781888205084.
- Sweet, Brian (August 16, 2018). Steely Dan: Reelin' in the Years. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9781787591295 – via Google Books.
- Steely Dan Chart History: Hot 100, Billboard. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
- Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 228.
- Steely Dan Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Billboard. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
- "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1981-12-09. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
- "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART.
- Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- "Cash Box Top 100 2/14/81". tropicalglen.com.
- The 1981 Top 100 Singles chart is identified by the RPM Year-End article "Top 100 Singles (1981)". RPM. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
- "Top 100 Hits of 1981/Top 100 Songs of 1981 | Music Outfitters". www.musicoutfitters.com.
- "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 26, 1981". Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
External links
- "Hey Nineteen" lyrics at Steely Dan archive.com
- Rashida Jones talks about this song with NPR in the article "How Rashida Jones Found Her Inner Music Nerd"
- Bodhisattva (Live At The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, CA on YouTube