B-side "I Got the News" Format Single Genre R&B, Soft rock | Released November 1977 Recorded 1977 Length 3:57 | |
"Peg" is a song by American rock group Steely Dan, first released on the band's 1977 album Aja. The track was released as single in 1977 and reached number 11 on the US Billboard chart in 1978 and number eight on the Cash Box chart. In Canada, "Peg" spent three weeks at number seven during March 1978.
Contents
The song's guitar solo was attempted by seven top studio session guitarists ‒ including Robben Ford and recurring guitarist Larry Carlton (who wrote Room 335 because of the solo played by Graydon)‒ before Jay Graydon's version became the "keeper". He worked on the song for about six hours before the band was satisfied.
Jay Graydon spoke about his famous guitar solo in a 2014 interview:
Michael McDonald can be heard providing multi-tracked backup vocals in the choruses, and keyboardist Paul Griffin can also be heard improvising background vocals in the final chorus and fadeout.
Legacy
Pitchfork rated "Peg" as its 87th best song of the 1970s, describing it as the "perfect Steely Dan song, and one of the strangest hits to ever grace the mainstream." Drummer Rick Marotta calls "Peg" one of the greatest tracks he has ever played on.
"Peg" was heavily sampled on the 1989 De La Soul song, "Eye Know". In 2007, the song was covered by Nerina Pallot.