Chevy Chase as soon as performed drums in a band that may later develop into Steely Dan.
For years, a declare has circulated on-line that comic Chevy Chase as soon as performed drums in a band that may finally, after Chase’s departure, develop into the favored rock group Steely Dan.
One 2017 Reddit post (archived) that includes the declare had acquired greater than 35,000 upvotes and 1,500 feedback as of this writing. Referring to Chase, one individual responded: “He might have been well-known.”
The declare additionally appeared in quite a few posts on different social media platforms, together with Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), and X (archived).
Within the replies to at least one Aug. 31, 2024, X post (archived) making the declare, a number of X customers requested whether or not it was actually true that Chase performed drums in a band with Steely Dan’s founding members, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, years earlier than any of the three grew to become well-known. One consumer wrote: “It is astounding if true. Is it?” One other wrote: “Is that this actually true??”
In accordance with a number of public statements made by Chase and Fagen in interviews and books, the declare is true. Chase did play drums in a musical group consisting of him, Fagen, and Becker whereas the three had been students at Bard Faculty in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.
One instance might be present in “I am Chevy Chase… and You are Not,” a licensed biography concerning the comic that was printed in 2007 and primarily based on in depth interviews its creator, Rena Fruchter, carried out with Chase. A piece of that biography specializing in Chase’s twenties read:
A short while later, he grew to become a drummer with a rock ‘n’ roll group and his profession began shifting. For some time, he performed with musicians Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, who later shaped the group Steely Dan. However Chevy did not assume he was adequate and left the band, advising them to discover a higher drummer.
Equally, in his 2013 autobiography “Eminent Hipsters,” Fagen, the Steely Dan co-founder, wrote (archived):
For the ’67 Ward Manor Halloween occasion, we assembled a dance band that included our classmate Chevy Chase on drums. Chevy appeared like a frat boy who’d wandered onto the fallacious campus, however he was skilled, proficient and compulsively humorous. He stored glorious time and, not less than that evening, did not embarrass us by taking off his garments or doing any of his Jerry Lewis bits.
The fundamentals of this story had been additionally confirmed in a 2006 Leisure Weekly article concerning the origins of Steely Dan:
On Halloween 1967, a celebration is raging inside Ward Manor, an Elizabethan-style mansion-turned-dorm at Bard Faculty, in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. On a small stage arrange within the nook of the frequent room, a band known as the Leather-based Canary tears via the Rolling Stones’ “Dandelion,” Moby Grape’s “Hey Grandma,” and Willie Dixon’s “Spoonful,” … Behind the drums is Chevy Chase, acquainted round campus as a gifted musician and good-natured goofball who’s been recognized to drop his pants after shedding late-night video games of “dare” poker. Simply in entrance of him is a long-haired muso named Walter Becker, one of many college’s most completed guitarists. And the shy singer behind the electrical piano? That is Don Fagen, decked out in a leather-based jacket with feathers hooked up to it (therefore the band’s identify). Only a few years later, Chase will discover fame as one of many biggest comedians of his era. Fagen and Becker, in the meantime, will evolve into Steely Dan.
One element associated to the declare that would not be instantly confirmed was the identify of the band when Chase performed in it. In accordance with the 2006 Leisure Weekly article, which was primarily based on interviews with Fagen, Becker, and Chase, the band was named the Leather-based Canary.
Nonetheless, when Chase appeared on a 2023 episode of the podcast “WTF with Marc Maron,” he said of the band (between 19:18 and 19:59): “We known as ourselves The Very Unhealthy Jazz Band. That was actually our identify.”
In his 2023 book concerning the historical past of Steely Dan, “Quantum Criminals,” the leisure journalist Alex Pappademas stated the band was generally known as the Leather-based Canary and generally the Unhealthy Rock Band:
[Fagen and Becker] play collectively in a few pupil bands, with names just like the Unhealthy Rock Band and the Leather-based Canary, generally with a drummer named Chevy Chase, whom they will later describe as having been one of many funniest drummers they labored with—however possibly not the funniest.
Snopes reached out to Chase for affirmation of the identify — or names — of the band whereas he was a member and can replace this story if he responds.
Whatever the band’s actual identify, each Chase and Fagen have repeatedly said on the report that Chase performed drums in a band with Fagen and Becker whereas the three had been college students at Bard Faculty. Because of this, we rated this declare as “True.”
