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Steely Dan — East St. Louis Toodle-Oo
Album: Pretzel Logic
Avg rating:
6.6

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1556









Released: 1974
Length: 2:44
Plays (last 30 days): 2
(Instrumental)
Comments (139)add comment
 jjbix37 wrote:

i have aged well, thanks for asking!


Definitely one of Steely Dan's songs that hasn't aged so well.  It's hokey and sounds like something that's played behind someone spinning plates on a bad 1970's variety show. 
 mgoldman wrote:

Just a note for all of you haters.  The tune was written by Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley and originally released in 1926. 



Duke had a simple philosophy. If it sounds good, it is good. 
Truth brother.
6.6? mmm This is a creative and enjoyable interpretation of this happy tune. eh? 
I love this band. I was 22 and down to my last piaster when I heard this album and this song. The Dan introduced me to Duke Ellington. Nobody was being as eclectic, creative and masterful  as Fagen and Becker
Ah yes, the intro tune to Hall's Bar and Grill time slot on good ol' WHFS in Bethesda, MD back in the day 40 some odd years ago. 
This is telepathy. I had it in mind this morning 

Aaaaarrrggghhh oh no

track starts playing and I think “this is interesting in a good way”

I check it out

Horror: it’s Steely Dan and isn’t dull or forgettable… another cherished prejudice slain. At this rate I’ll accidentally like Grateful Dead
this was often spinning on the turntable in my room during my high school years and my Dad would say - you kids and your music...what the...?
 mgoldman wrote:

Just a note for all of you haters.  The tune was written by Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley and originally released in 1926. 



Yes. So let's hear the original instead of this.
https://youtu.be/-_Y0cJ-aEbY
Pedal steel!
anyone catching the star wars cantina band vibe?
 joejennings wrote:
I have aged well - - this song has not.  Bite me!!


You got a mirror?  ...you probably have NOT aged well also!


 mgoldman wrote:

Just a note for all of you haters.  The tune was written by Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley and originally released in 1926. 

Damn, how I hate haters.  Oops. Wad I say?



 jjbix37 wrote:

IMHO their  music has not aged well . . 




You got a mirror?  ...you probably have NOT aged well also!
Listen,

If you tried to walk the way, this song sounds  on the streets of East St Louis...you would be in a heap of trouble. 

Take my word. I was born there. Many moons ago. 

And ...Don't forget the two suburbs to ESTL:  Lovejoy and Venice.

Lovejoy was home to Albert King.
Just a plain 10 for me.
Pure delight
I LOVE this tune. And I LOVE this band. Yep this is a fun/wacky detour for them ... hay just like RP!...
Interesting this is on at the exact moment tornado warnings are out for East St Louis (4/15/2023).  Big storms ongoing.
Ah, the intro and fade out music to the radio show called Hall's Bar and Grill featured 40 some odd years ago on WHFS 102.3 FM in Bethesda MD.
IMHO their  music has not aged well . . 
 mgoldman wrote:

Just a note for all of you haters.  The tune was written by Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley and originally released in 1926. 



AAAAAAAND

no one can hate them???
Stupid song, but very well played.
you see..if you  were born there, grew up nearby...swim in that old river...

you knew how to do the Toodle-oo
 bimmerfan739 wrote:


Any idea who it is?


Jeff Skunk Baxter.
The last segment before the final refrain  (saxophones, clarinet?) is creepily reminiscent of the Star Wars Cantina band. Does anyone else hear that? 😆 
 talexb wrote:

Sublime steel guitar. 100% for the whole track.



Any idea who it is?
I wonder who's on steel?
 talexb wrote:

Sublime steel guitar. 100% for the whole track.




I Agree completely! It is a great rendition of a 1926 Duke Ellington tune!  Thank You RP!
Lonestar wrote:
Get me off this nightmare ride!


 rgio wrote:

Relax...you'll mature soon.

Wait! While the musicianship is pretty good, the tune and style remind me of a merry-go-round ride and it does go on. Add a guy in a clown suit taking tickets and I could see why Lonestar thought he was on a nightmare ride :)


Mmmm, I would sure like a hot pretzel right now. Thanks a lot Bill!

 mgoldman wrote:

Just a note for all of you haters.  The tune was written by Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley and originally released in 1926. 



BRAVO !
Duke Ellington!
Sublime steel guitar. 100% for the whole track.
 Lonestar wrote:
Get me off this nightmare ride!
 
Relax...you'll mature soon.
Get me off this nightmare ride!
I keep waiting for this to turn into "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby"
 ppopp wrote:
SD are like Coldplay - sounds good to these ears until the singing starts.
 

Perhaps the vocals on this track should be lowered in the mix. 
The wah-wah guitar has lips!
As a person who was born there,  I know a few things  about the ole Toodle -Oo. 

You got to watch out for it. It can sneak up on you.  
Love the piano solo on this one
SD are like Coldplay - sounds good to these ears until the singing starts.
Too bad the PSD button doesn't stand for Play Steely Dan.
 ckcotton wrote:
of all the AWESOME Steely songs....
This one? Really?....... 
 
He Plays All Of Steely Dan - This song is is welcome in my world. 
I always imagined hearing this when the bar closed down and the manager was flashing the lights as we danced out to the street holding hands and laughing. 10
Thank the Lord my college roommate turned me on to the Dan.  They're not rock and roll ... or are they?
this sounds like the music accompanying a long goofy Red Skelton pantomime
Always loved this Steely Dan adaption. Genius and playful wonder.
 On_The_Beach wrote:

Yah, written by some hack known as Juke Ellingson, or some such nonsense.
What crap! 
 
True ignorance on display there- thought RP had a more savvy audience - if tou can't get Steely Dan it makes me wonder what all else gets by you-plenty, I'm sure
I couldn't disagree more with my fellow RP listeners... Absolutely fantastic, unique and toe tappingly good
 veegez wrote:
There are plenty of songs that fit RP better from SD's Pretzel Logic album. "Any Major Dude" and "Night By Night" come to mind. Oh and there was this song called "Rikki Don't Lose That Number"....
 
Two of those songs are on the RP playlist.
Loved it!
 rommesw wrote:
One of my favourite bands, but this is the one I do not like at all. Never got the meaning of it, you can skip it pls ..
 
Yeah, written by some hack known as Juke Ellingson, or some such nonsense.
What crap! 
(Apparently I need to add the caveat that I am joking. The Dan and the Duke rule.)
One of my favourite bands, but this is the one I do not like at all. Never got the meaning of it, you can skip it pls ..
 socalhol wrote:
Whoa!  thought the Muppets band took over the airwaves......

 
Or you just walked into the cantina bar in Star Wars - Steely Dan rule!
Whatever cover or not, this is just simply brilliant music.
It was DJ John Hall of the long lost and much revered WHFS in Bethesda Maryland who used that track as the intro to his program slot called Hall's Bar and Grill. You of a certain age in the D.C. region will fondly recall WHFS and WGTB from back in the day. I'm going back 35 - 40 years. Fortunately we now have RadioParadise on the interwebs. You could also support your local gray pony tailed D.C. hippies who began an internet station in their suburban yurt at http:www.hober.com where they serve up awesome  grassroots and world music.
 wycado wrote:
This is such a curveball from a band that likes to throw that pitch. Always liked that about these guys.

 
My sentiments exactly.  Covers rarely exceed originals in my opinion 
This tune introduced me to the magic of Duke Ellington when I was a teenager. Great version but you still can't beat the original. Funny but in my 20s Joe Jackson provided a similar introduction to Thelonious Monk, Louis Jordan & Cab Calloway's music. Rock 'n' Roll.
Nice, albeit different, cover of a Duke Ellington song. 

Ah...East St, Louis. Home to Miles Davis, pig ear sandwiches, and a few shootings a week.    
Steely Dan it seems to be a love hate thang.

I love most of their stuff.....most.
Snazzzy man!  Got me in a knot Brother!  Like a wild hot thing on a cold day in the park!!!
Huh???

Steely Dan? 
 jhorton wrote:
Could I give this a zero please?

Farging HORRIBLE!

Further proof that Steely Dan SUCKS! 
 
Ignorance at its absolute finest. 
 gekkosan wrote:
Ah well - I liked it. Lots! |-)
 
me2!
Ah well - I liked it. Lots! |-)
Whoa!  thought the Muppets band took over the airwaves......
This is such a curveball from a band that likes to throw that pitch. Always liked that about these guys.
I can not put into words how much I can't stand this "band"
Been listening to RP for a long time and totally love the music. Great selections. UNtil this song: the first song ever played on RP that I absolutely did not like. A real clunker! Pure cheese.
This track is a pleasant surprise on a great album.
 Bat wrote:

Many years ago I had a superb collection from the Smithsonian of very early Duke Ellington recordings.  According to the liner notes this song, which was recorded in the late '20s, was originally titled "East St. Louis Toad Low", named after an old man named "Toad" who was bent over so low by age that he walked as low as a toad.  The name of the song morphed into Tootle-oo, slang for goodbye.

This was the Duke Ellington Orchestra's signature/theme song in the early years before he wrote songs like "Take the A Train".

What is wah-wah guitar in the Steely Dan version was Bubber Miley playing coronet muted with a toilet plunger wah-wah.



 
Bat, what happened to that collection? And thank you for all this wonderful, valuable information regarding Duke Ellington and the song in question.  I always appreciate the history behind a song or a remake.

Um, and a coronet muted with a toilet plunger - I know I've seen that image before...

of all the AWESOME Steely songs....
This one? Really?....... 
You do not say Toodle-Oo in East St. Louis. Maybe long ago, not now.
That was a joke right?
To me this sounds like a guitar imitating Tom Waits' voice.

Many years ago I had a superb collection from the Smithsonian of very early Duke Ellington recordings.  According to the liner notes this song, which was recorded in the late '20s, was originally titled "East St. Louis Toad Low", named after an old man named "Toad" who was bent over so low by age that he walked as low as a toad.  The name of the song morphed into Tootle-oo, slang for goodbye.

This was the Duke Ellington Orchestra's signature/theme song in the early years before he wrote songs like "Take the A Train".

What is wah-wah guitar in the Steely Dan version was Bubber Miley playing coronet muted with a toilet plunger wah-wah.



Completely concur.  Everyone has those bands that invoke a gag response, Steely Dan does that for me.  But this gets a 7 from me as well.

fredriley wrote:

I'm precisely the opposite. I'd never have guessed this as Steely Dan - I just wish they'd stuck to wah-wah and honky-tonk as more of this would have been nice. This sounds like it should be on the soundtrack to The Sting. 7 from the toe-tapping Nottingham jury.

 


This is lame. Unless it is 1920 and I somehow missed the memo.
Just a note for all of you haters.  The tune was written by Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley and originally released in 1926. 

 tapatia1072 wrote:
I love Steely Dan, but I hate this song. IMO, It mucks up what is otherwise an outstanding album.
 

Trivia - Rolling Stone designated Pretzel Logic as one of the five best albums of the year when it was released in the early '70's.
 tapatia1072 wrote:
I love Steely Dan, but I hate this song. IMO, It mucks up what is otherwise an outstanding album.
 
I'm precisely the opposite. I'd never have guessed this as Steely Dan - I just wish they'd stuck to wah-wah and honky-tonk as more of this would have been nice. This sounds like it should be on the soundtrack to The Sting. 7 from the toe-tapping Nottingham jury.

Could I give this a zero please?

Farging HORRIBLE!

Further proof that Steely Dan SUCKS! 
 tapatia1072 wrote:
I love Steely Dan, but I hate this song. IMO, It mucks up what is otherwise an outstanding album.
 


My thoughts as well. Nice tune, but doesn't work with the rest .
I love Steely Dan, but I hate this song. IMO, It mucks up what is otherwise an outstanding album.
I had come to the conclusion that there was some sort of law that prohibited the playing this sort of thing on the radio: dusting off an obscure album track by a rock band covering a Duke Ellington tune: 4 years' hard labour with Barbie Girl by Aqua played on constant repeat while you break rocks.

It seems not, and the world is a better place for it.

Bang on, Bill... 
Reminded me of Pate de Fua 

https://www.myspace.com/patedefua

Last Played: Mar 22, 2010 - 20:30

And it's now 4/23, 2:15pm

 
Does Feb 19 at 6:18am PST count or does it have to be synced with the sun?

2/19 and it's comes back around on the guitar.

More Dan please.


 jzekeb wrote:

Not so fast there.  It's 8:46pm January 18 PST in Paradise.

 

Curses, foiled again. I would've gotten away with it too if it weren't for you pesky kids.
 Jamunca wrote:
And lo, it has come to pass. On January 19 in our Lord's year two thousand and ten... the pattern continues. Nicely done Bill, you cheeky monkey.

 
Not so fast there.  It's 8:46pm January 18 PST in Paradise.

And lo, it has come to pass. On January 19 in our Lord's year two thousand and ten... the pattern continues. Nicely done Bill, you cheeky monkey.

 Captn_Pea wrote:
12/18  It's Back again....
So is the progression going to be 1/19? or will he re-set the clock at the new year?
 
Dang, I missed it. Yep, Jan 19 would seem to be the next logical broadcast. Stay tuned . . .

I'll only buy into the conspiracy if it plays again on Trivember 19th. 
12/18  It's Back again....
So is the progression going to be 1/19? or will he re-set the clock at the new year?
 the 18th! A conspiracy!!!
It's
On_The_Beach wrote:

(insert Twilight Zone music here) . . . Check the playlist on Dec 18!

 


12/18 - right on schedule!!!
Yup, 12/18,  it's here.  Nice Bill....nice.
 On_The_Beach wrote:

(insert Twilight Zone music here) . . . Check the playlist on Dec 18!

 

and here it is.
yet it does nothing for me.

 On_The_Beach wrote:

(insert Twilight Zone music here) . . . Check the playlist on Dec 18!

 

And here it is!
 timmus wrote:
No, nothing against the song, I was just noting the arithmetic progression - obviously it will next be played on 9/15, then 10/16...
HA!  It came on today, 11/17!  Is Radio Paradise on some sort of robot playlist?
 
(insert Twilight Zone music here) . . . Check the playlist on Dec 18!

No, nothing against the song, I was just noting the arithmetic progression - obviously it will next be played on 9/15, then 10/16...

HA!  It came on today, 11/17!  Is Radio Paradise on some sort of robot playlist?
 andrewmi wrote:

No, nothing against the song, I was just noting the arithmetic progression - obviously it will next be played on 9/15, then 10/16...

(sorry, can't help it; I'm an engineer)
 
As a fellow geek, I would like to congratulate you on your prescience.  It did appear to have been played on 9/15, and is now being played on 10/16, which happens to be my DOB.  Good job.  See you on the 17th of November.

If you get stuck in East St. Louis say toodle-oo to your life.....
. . . can't wait for 11/17

 
andrewmi wrote:

No, nothing against the song, I was just noting the arithmetic progression - obviously it will next be played on 9/15, then 10/16...

(sorry, can't help it; I'm an engineer)
 


 andrewmi wrote:

No, nothing against the song, I was just noting the arithmetic progression - obviously it will next be played on 9/15, then 10/16...

(sorry, can't help it; I'm an engineer)
 

And the beat goes on.
What? No Muppet videos?

 andrewmi wrote:

No, nothing against the song, I was just noting the arithmetic progression - obviously it will next be played on 9/15, then 10/16...

(sorry, can't help it; I'm an engineer)
 

I believe that's called being in monthly rotation.
'70s Steely Dan: Always, always, always a 10!

 countyman wrote:

5/11/09 was the first time ever, and WAAAY over due.


 
No, nothing against the song, I was just noting the arithmetic progression - obviously it will next be played on 9/15, then 10/16...

(sorry, can't help it; I'm an engineer)


 andrewmi wrote:
This song was played 5/11, 6/12, 7/13, and now 8/14...

?
 
5/11/09 was the first time ever, and WAAAY over due.


 mr_toad wrote:
les paul?
  R.I.P. Les - 8.13.09   {#Guitarist}

I know steely, but this sounds different!?
This song was played 5/11, 6/12, 7/13, and now 8/14...

?
Pretty amazing job by Skunk Baxter of making a guitar sound like a muted cornet.

Great, as always!


Blech!
Annie Nightingale on Radio One!!!