Skunkman

Yesterday was the birthday of Denny Dias, a member of Steely Dan back when they were a band.  Today, Friday the 13th, is the birthday of Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, another member of that band.  Though he did a lot more than that.

As a teenager, Baxter was not only a fine musician, but was also an excellent technician who could build and fix guitars.  He played with Jimi Hendrix and in Ultimate Spinach, a psychedelic Boston band that got a lot of attention but never quite made it big.

In the early 1970s he became a session guitarist and was asked to join Steely Dan as they were starting out.  He appears on their first three albums, notably playing pedal steel guitar.



After the third album, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, who ran the band, decided to let everyone go and work with session musicians.  So Baxter joined The Doobie Brothers, playing guitar and writing the occasional tune.  He also brought on singer/keyboardist Michael McDonald, who'd worked with Steely Dan.



Unfortunately, McDonald and Baxter disagreed on the sound the band should have, and McDonald forced Baxter out.

After that, he worked as a session man for numerous artists, including Sheryl Crow, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Joni Mitchell, Dolly Parton, Barbara Streisand, Donna Summer and Rod Stewart. He also toured with Linda Ronstadt, Elton John and others.



But that's not all.  Due to an interest in technology, he became an expert on missile systems, which led to his becoming a Pentagon consultant.  It's good to have a back-up if the musical career doesn't work out.