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 | November 1980 | |||
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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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.[1]
However, the song's bridge suggests there is pleasure in the relationship as well:
The Cuervo Gold
The fine Colombian
Make tonight a wonderful thing.
Charts
"Hey Nineteen" peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1981,[2] number 11 on the Adult Contemporary chart,[3] and number 68 on the R&B Singles chart.[4] 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
- 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
- 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.
- Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 14, 1981
- The 1981 Top 100 Singles chart is identified by the RPM Year-End article "Top 100 Singles (1981)". RPM. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
- 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"