Do It Again (Steely Dan song)

"Do It Again" is a 1972 song composed and performed by American rock group Steely Dan, who released it as a single from their debut album Can't Buy a Thrill as its opening track. The single version differed from the album version, shortening the intro and outro and omitting the organ solo.

"Do It Again"
Single by Steely Dan
from the album Can't Buy a Thrill
B-side	"Fire in the Hole"
Released	November 1972
Recorded	August 1972
Studio	The Village Recorder, Santa Monica
Genre	Soft rock[1] funk rock[2] jazz rock[3] Latin jazz[4]
Length	4:14 (7" version) 5:56 (album version)
Label	ABC (US) EMI (Europe)
Songwriter(s)	Walter Becker Donald Fagen
Producer(s)	Gary Katz
Steely Dan singles chronology
"Dallas" (1972) "Do It Again" (1972) "Reelin' In the Years" (1973)
Official audio
"Do It Again" on YouTube

Released in 1972, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 18, 1972, and reached number 6 on the US charts in 1973, making it Steely Dan's second highest-charting single.^[5]

Song

"Do It Again" features an electric sitar solo by Denny Dias. The "plastic organ" solo by Donald Fagen was performed on a Yamaha YC-30 with a sliding pitch-bending control.^[6] The song is written in the key of G minor and has a tempo of 125 beats per minute. It follows a chord progression of Cm-Dm-E♭-Dm7-Gm-Cm-Dm-E♭-Dm.

David Palmer fronted the band during their live show, and sang "Do It Again" when the group played The Midnight Special in February 1973. Donald Fagen sang the vocal on the album version.^[7]

Cash Box described it as a "fine commercial effort with plenty of potential as a hit record", going on to say that it "is highlighted by some fine vocal harmony and superb arrangement."^[8] Record World called it a "gentle rocker" that "has a bit of the Latin rock sound" and "solid production by Gary Katz."^[9]

Personnel

Steely Dan

• Donald Fagen – lead vocals, electric piano, plastic YC-30 organ
• Jeff "Skunk" Baxter – guitar
• Denny Dias – guitar, electric sitar
• Walter Becker – electric bass
• Jim Hodder – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Victor Feldman – percussion

Production

• Gary Katz – producer
• Roger Nichols – engineer
• Tim Weston – assistant engineer
• Doug Sax – mastering engineer

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1972–1973) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 60 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 6 Germany (GfK)[12] 33 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] 15 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 10 US Billboard Hot 100[5] 6 US Billboard Easy Listening[15] 34 US Cash Box[16] 7 US Record World[17] 8 Chart (1975) Peak position UK Singles (OCC)[18] 39

Year-end charts Chart (1973) Rank Canada Top Singles (RPM)[19] 62 US Billboard Hot 100[20] 73

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[21]	Silver	200,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notable cover versions

• In 1983 Italian group Club House released "Do It Again Medley with Billie Jean," a mashup/medley of the track with Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean". The song peaked at number 79 in Australia.^[22]
• Austrian singer Falco released a cover of the song as the fourth single from his 1988 album Wiener Blut.^{[citation needed]}
• Smash Mouth covered the song for the Me, Myself & Irene soundtrack. It also appears on their compilation album All Star Smash Hits^[23]

References

1. Mason, Stewart. "Do It Again – Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
2. Hoffmann, Frank, ed. (2005). "Steely Dan". Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-93835-X.
3. Marsh, Dave (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Plume. p. 471. ISBN 0-452-26305-0.
4. Sampaio, Gerard (2005). "Steely Dan - Can't Buy a Thrill". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 257.
5. "Steely Dan – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
6. "Discography, or Who Played What On....?". Combo Organ. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
7. Greene, Andy (7 March 2013). "Flashback: Steely Dan Live in 1973". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
8. "Singles Reviews > Newcomer Picks" (PDF). Cash Box. November 4, 1972. p. 20. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
9. "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. November 4, 1972. p. 16. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
11. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5297." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
12. "Steely Dan – Do It Again" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
13. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 1, 1973" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
14. "Steely Dan – Do It Again" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
15. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 228.
16. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending FEBRUARY 17, 1973". Cash Box. Archived from the original on October 2, 2012.
17. "The Singles Chart" (PDF). Record World. February 24, 1972. p. 27. ISSN 0034-1622. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
18. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
19. "Top 100 Singles of '73". RPM. Vol. 20, no. 20. December 29, 1973. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
20. "Top 100 Hits for 1973". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
21. "British single certifications – Steely Dan – Do It Again". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
22. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 278. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
23. "Music". Smash Mouth. Smash Mouth Music, Inc. Retrieved 4 September 2023.