Walter Becker

Hall of Fame musician, songwriter, and music producer; half of the immortal Steely Dan -- via Rolling Stone. Becker and Fagen were masters not only of open-ended, infectiously listenable, and lyrically adventurous songs, but they crafted a kind of perfect, clean, depthless, recorded sound that holds up no matter how high you crank the speakers. The unorthodox arrangements and harmonics were perfectly crafted for each song -- to the extent that I and most of my generation can sing not only their songs, but all the songs' instrumental breaks as well. As writers, they taught us we could aspire to elegance, beauty, and sharpness, and achieve all simultaneously. Exemplary sound artists.