Rikki Don't Lose That Number

"Rikki Don't Lose That Number" is a single released in 1974 by rock/jazz rock group Steely Dan and the opening track of their third album Pretzel Logic. It was the most successful single of the group's career, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1974.[2]

"Rikki Don't Lose That Number"
side-A label by Probe Records
Side A of the Australian single
Single by Steely Dan
from the album Pretzel Logic
B-side"Any Major Dude Will Tell You"
ReleasedApril 25, 1974
Recorded1973
Genre
Length3:58 (Single version)
4:30 (Album version)
LabelABC
Songwriter(s)Walter Becker, Donald Fagen
Producer(s)Gary Katz
Steely Dan singles chronology
"My Old School"
(1973)		 "Rikki Don't Lose That Number"
(1974)		 "Pretzel Logic"
(1974)
Official audio
"Rikki Don't Lose That Number" on YouTube

The song features Jim Gordon on drums, as does the bulk of the Pretzel Logic album. The guitar solo is by Jeff "Skunk" Baxter who soon after joined The Doobie Brothers.

Victor Feldman's flapamba introduction to the song, which opens the album, is cut from the original ABC single version.[3] The MCA single reissue (backed with "Pretzel Logic") includes the flapamba intro but fades out just before the actual end of the track. The introductory riff is an almost direct copy of the intro of Horace Silver's jazz classic "Song for My Father".[4][5]

Appraisal

Reviewing the single for AllMusic, Stewart Mason said:

Just to clear up a generation's worth of rumors about the lyrics of "Rikki Don't Lose That Number," Walter Becker stated for the record in a 1985 interview in the pages of Musician that the "number" in question was not slang for a marijuana cigarette ("send it off in a letter to yourself," supposedly a way to safely transport one's dope back before the post office abolished general delivery mail,[lower-alpha 1] was held up as the key line), and an uncharacteristically forthcoming Donald Fagen has similarly revealed that the "Rikki" in question was simply a woman he'd had a crush on in college [writer Rikki Ducornet]. It says something about Steely Dan's reputation as obscurantists that even a straightforward lost-love song like "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" could be so widely over-interpreted. ... It's unsurprising that "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" ended up becoming Steely Dan's biggest commercial hit ... as it's one of the group's most gentle and accessible songs.[7]

Billboard described it as a "catchy, almost tango-like tune."[8] Cash Box said that the "strong accent on harmonies with keyboard and percussion dominating the musical end make for a very entertaining track."[9] Record World said that the "salty Latin-ish sound is in an easy vein" and that the song was a "totally nifty number."[10]

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

Chart performance

Cover versions
  • 1983 – Kenji Omura recorded a version of the song for his fourth album Gaijin Heaven.[19]
  • 1984 – Tom Robinson recorded his version for the album Hope and Glory; the single release of the song matched Steely Dan's original version by peaking at No. 58 in the UK Singles Chart.[15]
  • 1992 – Hank Marvin did an instrumental of the song on his album Into the Light.
  • 1994 – Far Corporation made a cover of the song for their album Solitude.
  • 2007 – Chuck Loeb did an instrumental cover of the song on his album Presence.

Usage in media
  • The song was featured in the 1989 film Say Anything..., in which the lyrics were sung by actor John Mahoney.[20]
  • The song was referenced in the 2004 Fairly Odd Parents episode, "Odd Couple." At the end, as Vicky's former boyfriend Rikki drives away with his new lover, she says "Rikki! Don't lose my number! You don't wanna call nobody else!"

Notes
  1. General delivery is still offered by USPS.[6]

References
  1. Panati, Charles (1991). "1974: The Lord's Prayer". Panati's Parade of Fads, Follies, and Manias. New York: Harper Perennial. p. 397.
  2. Steely Dan US chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  3. "Pretzel Logic Album". Broberg.pp.se. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  4. "Song for My Father | 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die". 1000recordings.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  5. Shteamer, Hank (September 3, 2017). "Steely Dan: 10 Essential Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  6. "What is General Delivery". USPS.com. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  7. "Rikki Don't Lose That Number - Steely Dan - Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  8. "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. April 27, 1974. p. 55. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  9. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. April 27, 1974. p. 16. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  10. "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. April 27, 1974. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  11. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5072a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  12. "Steely Dan Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  13. "Steely Dan Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  14. "Top 100 1974-08-03". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  15. "rikki don't lose that number | full Official Chart History". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  16. Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  17. "Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  18. "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1974". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  19. Kenji Omura – Gaijin Heaven at Discogs
  20. "Totally Random Tune At Noon - Steely Dan - Rikki Don't Lose That Number". Sunny 95. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
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