Hey Nineteen
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"Hey Nineteen" is a song by American jazz rock band Steely Dan, written by members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, and released on their 1980 album Gaucho. 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 sole survivors / She thinks I'm crazy but I'm just growing old / hey nineteen / no, we can't dance together / no, we can't talk at all")."[1]
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[edit] Background
"Hey Nineteen" peaked at #10 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart (higher than any other Gaucho track), and #68 on the Black Singles chart.[2]
The sixteenth episode of the sitcom Wings' fifth season (88th overall) was named "Hey, Nineteen" after the song, and aired February 10, 1994.[3]
In late July 2006, actor-screenwriter Owen Wilson referred to the song, ostensibly as a potential title for an upcoming film, in a tongue-in-cheek statement released through his spokeswoman. This was in response to the "open letter" to Wilson's brother, actor Luke Wilson, which was posted on Steely Dan's official web site on July 17, 2006.[4] This letter implied, in part, that the film You, Me and Dupree, produced by Owen Wilson, was an uncredited adaptation of their song "Cousin Dupree", released in 2000. Said Wilson: "I have never heard the song `Cousin Dupree' and I don't even know who this gentleman, Mr. Steely Dan, is. I hope this helps to clear things up and I can get back to concentrating on my new movie, `HEY 19.'"[5]
[edit] Trivia
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (February 2008) |
Beginning with their 1993-1994 performances, as documented in the Alive in America release, the phrase "Hey Nineteen/That's Aretha Franklin/She don't remember/Queen of Soul" was replaced with "Hey Nineteen/That's Otis Redding/She don't remember/King of Soul." While singing the song in the Two Against Nature tour of 2000, Fagen often left the name attribution blank for the singing-along audiences to fill in, and when most of them sang "Aretha Franklin," he corrected them by saying, "No, that's Otis Redding." In the 2007 Heavy Rollers tour, Fagen has reverted to the Aretha Franklin reference, presumably for comic effect, since the veteran fans have by now been trained to shout, "Otis Redding."
According to the John Belushi biography, Wired, Belushi called this one of his favorite songs. He was so inspired that he wrote a script based on the story in the song.
The song was also featured on the show Entourage (Season 3, Episode 16, "Gotcha!").
[edit] Notes
- ^ Layman, Will. Jazz Today: The Strange, Mixed Fate of Steely Dan (April 10, 2006). Accessed July 31, 2006.
- ^ Allmusic. (((Gaucho > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles))). Accessed July 31, 2006.
- ^ TV.com. Wings: Hey, Nineteen. Accessed July 31, 2006.
- ^ Becker and Fagen. Open Letter to the Great Comic Actor, Luke Wilson (July 17, 2006). Accessed July 31, 2006.
- ^ Associated Press. Owen Wilson Says 'Dupree' Is No Rip-Off (July 28, 2006). Accessed July 31, 2006.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- "Hey Nineteen" lyrics at SteelyDan.com
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