"Slinky Thing" is a song by

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

, appearing as the first track from his album, ''

Sunken Condos ''Sunken Condos'' is the fourth and most recent solo album from Steely Dan co-founder Donald Fagen, released in October 2012 through Reprise Records. It contains eight new songs and a cover of Isaac Hayes' "Out of the Ghetto". Fagen began recording ...

.'' Telling the story of an older man seeking the affection and companionship of a significantly younger woman, the song details the events surrounding the two as they spend time together and endure comments made by others, who advise the narrator to "hold on to that slinky thing." The narrator himself thinks about if "she (the younger woman) needs somebody who's closer to her own age." The song draws similarities with the Steely Dan songs

Hey Nineteen "Hey Nineteen" is a song by the band Steely Dan from their album ''Gaucho'' (1980). Background According to one reviewer's interpretation, the song "was about a middle-aged man's disappointment with a young lover".Layman, Will"Jazz Today: The ...

and

Janie Runaway "Janie Runaway" is the fourth single from Steely Dan's 2000 album ''Two Against Nature''. Personnel * *Drums: Leroy Clouden *Bass/Guitars: Walter Becker *Rhodes: Ted Baker *Wurlitzer/Lead Vocals: Donald Fagen *Alto sax solo: Chris Potter *Bac ...

, also about older men seeking relationships with younger women.

Personnel

– lead vocal, piano,

Prophet 5 The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the American company Sequential. It was designed by Dave Smith and John Bowen in 1977, who used microprocessors, then a new technology, to create the first polyphonic synthesizer with full ...

, background vocals *

Michael Leonhart Michael Leonhart (born April 21, 1974) is an American jazz trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist. Solo career In 1992 Leonhart was honored with the first Grammy Award for outstanding high school musician in the US (he attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia ...

–

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standar ...

, clavinet,

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist, ...

, percussion,

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The ...

, background vocals *Earl Cooke Jr (alias Michael Leonhart) – drums *

Jon Herington Jon Herington (born Jonathan Reuel Herington on April 14, 1954) is an American guitarist, singer-songwriter, record producer, and session musician. Career Herington was born in Paterson, New Jersey, and grew up in West Long Branch, New Jersey ...

– guitar *

Walt Weiskopf Walt Weiskopf (born July 30, 1959 in Augusta, Georgia) is an American jazz saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, author and educator. He has released sixteen albums as a leader, and performed on countless other albums as a sideman. He ...

– alto saxophone *Charlie Pillow – tenor saxophone *Roger Rosenberg – baritone saxophone *

Jim Pugh Jim Pugh (born February 5, 1964) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. He grew up in Palos Verdes, California and at age 10 began taking tennis lessons from John Hillebrand. He played tennis at UCLA. He became a double ...

–

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrat ...

*Jamie Leonhart – background vocals *Catherine Russell – background vocals *Joe Martin – acoustic bass

References

{{Authority control Songs written by Donald Fagen 2012 songs

Personnel

See also

References