This is my version of the old Steely Dan song ‘Rikki Don’t Lose That Number’.
“Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” is a single released in 1974 by the American rock band Steely Dan and the opening track of their third album Pretzel Logic. It was the most successful single of the group’s career, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1974.[3]
The song features Jim Gordon on drums, as does the bulk of the Pretzel Logic album. The guitar solo is by Jeff “Skunk” Baxter who soon after joined The Doobie Brothers.
Victor Feldman‘s flapamba introduction to the song, which opens the album, is cut from the original ABC single version.[4] The MCA single reissue (backed with “Pretzel Logic”) includes the flapamba intro but fades out just before the actual end of the track. The introductory riff is an almost direct copy of the intro of Horace Silver‘s jazz classic “Song for My Father“.[5][6]
Appraisal
Reviewing the single for AllMusic, Stewart Mason said:
Just to clear up a generation’s worth of rumors about the lyrics of “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” Walter Becker stated for the record in a 1985 interview in the pages of Musician that the “number” in question was not slang for a marijuana cigarette (“send it off in a letter to yourself,” supposedly a way to safely transport one’s dope back before the post office abolished general delivery mail,[a] was held up as the key line), and an uncharacteristically forthcoming Donald Fagen has similarly revealed that the “Rikki” in question was simply a woman he’d had a crush on in college [writer Rikki Ducornet]. It says something about Steely Dan’s reputation as obscurantists that even a straightforward lost-love song like “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” could be so widely over-interpreted. … It’s unsurprising that “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” ended up becoming Steely Dan’s biggest commercial hit … as it’s one of the group’s most gentle and accessible songs.[8]
Billboard described it as a “catchy, almost tango-like tune.”[9] Cash Box said that the “strong accent on harmonies with keyboard and percussion dominating the musical end make for a very entertaining track.”[10] Record World said that the “salty Latin-ish sound is in an easy vein” and that the song was a “totally nifty number.”[11] John Lennon, in a 1974 interview discussing recent hit songs, said “I liked “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” that was a good commercial record.”[12]
Personnel
- Donald Fagen – lead and backing vocals
- Jeff Baxter – electric guitar
- Dean Parks – acoustic guitar
- Michael Omartian – piano
- Walter Becker – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Jim Gordon – drums
- Victor Feldman – percussion, flapamba
- Timothy B. Schmit – backing vocals
Technical
- Gary Katz – Producer
- Roger Nichols – Engineer
Flapamba
| Flapamba (from the Emil Richards Collection) | |
| Percussion instrument | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Keyboard percussion |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 111.212 (Sets of percussion sticks) |
| Inventor(s) | Brent Seawell |
| Playing range | |
| F2–C4 or C4–C6 | |
The flapamba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of tuned wooden bars pinched on one side over the node and mounted over resonator boxes. Sliding the bars slightly forward or backward affects their tuning. Unlike the marimba or xylophone, the sound is not as focused tonally. It is a bit more percussive, sounding closer to tuned log drums.[1]
History
The original flapamba was invented in the 1960s by Brent Seawell. Studio percussionist Emil Richards later bought the flapamba from the Professional Drum Shop in Hollywood and added it to his instrument collection. Richards started using it in recording sessions and let other studios rent it out, leading to its inclusion in several film scores. To play it, he used either soft mallets or his fingers to get a warm, resonant sound. This original flapamba had a range from middle C up two full octaves (from C4 to C6 in scientific pitch notation).[2]
In 2009, Richards decided to extend the lower range of the instrument. Specialty mallet craftsman Chris Banta made new bars spanning F2 to C4 and dubbed this the “bass flapamba”. He also replaced the bars on the original set to create a consistent sound between the two. Both sets combined have a range from F2 to C6.[3]
Use
The flapamba can most often be heard in film music, such as on Michael Giacchino‘s soundtrack for Lost.[4] Composer Elmer Bernstein used it on the soundtrack for McQ.[5] The beginning of the Steely Dan track “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” features Victor Feldman playing the flapamba, although his contribution was cut from the single version.[6][7]