"Show Biz Kids" is a song composed by Walter Becker and

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 ...

and performed by

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 ...

with Rick Derringer on

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

. It was the first single from Steely Dan's 1973 album '' Countdown to Ecstasy'', and reached number 61 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

. It was edited for the single release. ''

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 ...

'' said that the song has "an infectious chorus delivered a la Nilsson's "

Coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

" hit." The song satirizes contemporary Los Angeles lifestyles. Critic Tom Hull described the album lyrics as "a running paste together joke ..sufraintelligent, witty and slyly devious", citing as an example the following lyrics from "Show Biz Kids": "They got the booze they need / All that money can buy / They got the shapely bods / They got the Steely Dan T-shirt / And for the coup de grâce / They're outrageous." A version of "Show Biz Kids" was recorded by Rickie Lee Jones on her album of cover versions "It's Like This" released in 2000.

Personnel

– piano, lead vocals, backing vocals * Walter Becker – electric bass, harmonica, background vocals * Jim Hodder – drums, percussion, background vocals * Rick Derringer –

(recorded at Caribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado, courtesy of

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

) * Victor Feldman –

marimba The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the mari ...

, percussion * Sherlie Matthews, Myrna Matthews, Patricia Hall, Royce Jones, James Rolleston – background vocals

References

External links

Full lyrics for the song at Steely Dan's official website
(Archived December 9, 2015)
Song Review
by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

"Show Biz Kids"
live performance on '' The Midnight Special'', August 31, 1973 1973 songs Steely Dan songs ABC Records singles Songs written by Donald Fagen Songs written by Walter Becker 1973 singles Song recordings produced by Gary Katz {{1970s-rock-song-stub