"Do It Again" is a 1972 song composed and performed by American rock group

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band formed in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971 by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Originally having a traditional band lineup, Becker and Fagen cho ...

, 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. 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.

Song

"Do It Again" features an electric sitar solo by Denny Dias. The "plastic organ" solo by

Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who is the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the rock band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker ...

was performed on a Yamaha YC-30 with a sliding pitch-bending control. The song is written in the key of

G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. The G natural minor scale is: Changes n ...

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. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' 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 In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' called it a "gentle rocker" that "has a bit of the Latin rock sound" and "solid production by Gary Katz."

Personnel

Steely Dan

– 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

Year-end charts

Certifications

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 Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's "

Billie Jean "Billie Jean" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 3, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, ''Thriller (album), Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson, produ ...

". The song peaked at number 79 in Australia. *Austrian singer Falco released a cover of the song as the fourth single from his 1988 album '' Wiener Blut''. *

Smash Mouth Smash Mouth is an American Rock music, rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994 and was originally composed of Steve Harwell (lead vocals), Kevin Coleman (drums), Greg Camp (guitar), and Paul De Lisle (bass). Harwell's ...

covered the song for the

Me, Myself & Irene ''Me, Myself & Irene'' is a 2000 American slapstick black comedy film directed by the Farrelly brothers, and starring Jim Carrey and Renée Zellweger. Chris Cooper, Robert Forster, Richard Jenkins, Daniel Greene, Anthony Anderson, Jerod Mixo ...

soundtrack. It also appears on their compilation album All Star Smash Hits

References

{{authority control 1972 singles 1972 songs ABC Records singles EMI Records singles Funk rock songs Song recordings produced by Gary Katz Songs written by Donald Fagen Songs written by Walter Becker Steely Dan songs Smash Mouth songs