Credit: Sandrine LeeThe previously announced ceremony at which the street where late Steely Dan bassist/guitarist Walter Becker grew up in New York City will be renamed after him will be held this Sunday, October 28, at noon ET. During the hour-long event, a street sign dubbed “Walter Becker Way” will be unveiled at the corner of 112th Street and 72nd Drive in the Forest Hills section of Queens, New York.
Family members and friends of Becker will share remembrances of and tributes to him the ceremony, which was planned by Walter’s fans. Local New York City council member Karen Koslowitz, who proposed the street renaming, will present opening remarks, while a childhood friend of Becker’s, screenwriter Howard A. Rodman, will give a keynote speech.
In addition, organizers of the celebration are planning to hand out USB drives with digital files of Becker’s music to attendees. Also, t-shirts promoting Walter’s 2008 solo album Circus Money will be sold for one dollar. The money raised will be donated to one of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s favorite charities, the Jazz Foundation of America, which provides support to musicians in need.
For more details about the ceremony, visit WalterBeckerWay.com.
Becker — with band mate Donald Fagen — co-wrote nearly every song that Steely Dan recorded. As a member of the group, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Becker died of esophageal cancer in September 2017 at the age of 67.
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