(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Wed 11 February 2026 20:31, UK
In 1973, Michael McDonald found himself in luck when he was given the chance to join one of his favourite bands. After trying to piece together a last-minute band for a function gig, McDonald ended up meeting Jeff Porcaro, who was working with Steely Dan.
McDonald recalled on the Ultimate Classic Rock Nights radio show, “I remember hearing Jeff talk about this Steely Dan album he was doing. I remember thinking, listening to Jeff going, ‘What a lucky stiff. I would give anything to play in that band.’ Because it was just my favourite group in the world.”
Soon enough, McDonald, known for his potent singing voice, was recruited by Steely Dan to perform backing vocals, beginning in 1974 as a touring member. The following year, he appeared on the band’s fourth studio album, Katy Lied, continuing to work with Steely Dan until 1980.
“I literally threw my piano in the back of my Pinto and drove down to where they were rehearsing and auditioned,” he told the Ventura County Star. “Remarkably I got the gig, not because of my keyboard playing but because I could sing all the high parts. I could tell that appealed to Donald [Fagen]—’cause I could sing like a girl”.
McDonald brought his soulful voice to Katy Lied, cementing himself as an important addition to the band. However, one song tested his vocal abilities: ‘Doctor Wu’. The song, which contains the line “Katy lies, you could see it in her eyes,” rounds off the end of side one.
(Credits: Far Out / Steely Dan / Shockwaves Records)
Walter Becker, speaking to Rolling Stone. once stated: “It’s about that uneasy relationship between the patient and doctor. People put faith in doctors, yet they abuse their power and become dangerous.”
McDonald’s ability to perform the song was tainted by his cigarette penchant. In an interview with Mojo, he was asked to discuss Steely Dan’s intense dedication to perfectionism and whether it took a toll on him. He explained, “It was always a challenge to pull it off; sometimes I did and sometimes I didn’t. They sent me ‘Dr. Wu’ to learn, and right away I realised I needed to sing the part in one breath. I wasn’t able to do it because I smoked way too much at that point.”
Thus, McDonald is absent from the recording of ‘Doctor Wu’. However, he performs backing vocals on other tracks such as ‘Bad Sneakers’, one of the first songs he contributed to during production, and ‘Black Friday’, which charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 37.
In many ways, the episode with ‘Doctor Wu’ underlines just how exacting Steely Dan could be in the studio. A single sustained breath was not a minor detail but a non negotiable requirement, and if it could not be achieved, it simply was not used. For McDonald, it was an early lesson in the band’s pursuit of flawlessness, where even a distinctive voice had to submit to the architecture of the song.
Yet his brief absence on one track hardly diminished his impact on their catalogue. McDonald’s smooth, elastic harmonies would become a defining texture of mid-1970s Steely Dan, adding warmth to their cool precision. Even if he could not quite conquer ‘Doctor Wu’, his presence helped shape the sound of an era, proving that sometimes contribution is measured across albums rather than within a single breath.
Listen to the song below.