Do you know who played the guitar solo on Steely Dan’s Reelin’ In The Years? No it wasn’t Jeff Baxter, it was Elliott Randall and he’s an interesting dude. He also played the solo on Irene Cara’s Fame. He began recording with friends around 1968, including Tim Rose, and made demo recordings with Donald Fagen and Walter Becker—who at the time were with Jay and the Americans. In 1969 he recorded on the album Electric Black Man, featuring Eric Mercury, and toured with the ensemble, which included Bill Lordan on drums, later to be in the Robin Trower Band and with Sly Stone. In 1969, he joined the band Seatrain, opting for that band rather than joining Wilson Pickett in Muscle Shoals. In 1970, Randall signed with the Robert Stigwood Organization, which managed Cream, The Bee Gees, John Mayall and The Staple Singers. He formed a band called Randall's Island, which recorded on Polydor for two albums.
I have their debut album and it’s very good with a few tracks that are guitar workouts and some far out sleeve notes typical of the era. But it didn’t sell and the only copy I’ve seen is the one I’ve got. In 1972, The Stigwood Organization bought the rights to Jesus Christ Superstar and produced the show on Broadway. They hired Randall's band to perform the music. There, Randall met guitarist Vinnie Bell, who was experimenting with various electronic effects. Randall began to dabble in electronics as well, and whenever Bell couldn't make a gig, he recommended Randall.
In 1972, Randall left New York for California. He reunited with Becker, Fagen and childhood friend Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter, and recorded the first Steely Dan album, Can't Buy a Thrill. Randall’s stock soared and he began getting calls from other artists.
He got a reputation for turning down permanent gigs, instead favoring session work. He did become a touring member of Sha Na Na in 1974 for a year. Becker and Fagen asked Randall to become a permanent member of Steely Dan, but Randall declined. Later, he played with Steely Dan on their fourth and fifth albums, Katy Lied (1975) and The Royal Scam (1976). In 1980, John Belushi asked him to be musical director for The Blues Brothers, but he turned it down. Jeff Porcaro and David Paich offered him the chance to be a founding member of Toto, and he rejected that too.
As a session player, he was on records by The Doobie Brothers, Tom Rush, Elkie Brooks, Carly Simon, Carl Wilson, Peter Wolf, Peter Frampton, James Galway, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and The American Symphony Orchestra, among many others. He was also a music consultant for the American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show Saturday Night Live and for American film director, screenwriter and producer Oliver Stone and did projects with music producers Gary Katz, David Kershenbaum, The Tokens, Steve Lillywhite, Eddie Kramer and Jerry Wexler.
Randall appeared as a guest at London's Hammersmith Apollo on July 1, 2009 with Steely Dan to play lead guitar on "Reelin' in the Years", and did so again at London's SSE Arena on February 25, 2019. I like these session people who contribute so much to our musical landscape.
