My Old School is the 6th song on Steely Dan

Steely Dan

Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...

's 1973

1973 in music

-January–April:*January 9 – Mick Jagger's request for a Japanese visa is rejected on account of a 1969 drug conviction, putting an abrupt end to The Rolling Stones' plans to perform in Japan during their forthcoming tour.*January 14...

 album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 Countdown to Ecstasy

Countdown to Ecstasy

Countdown to Ecstasy is the second album by rock group Steely Dan, released in July 1973. The album was written and recorded in rushed sessions between live concerts and produced two Billboard Hot 100 hits, "Show Biz Kids" and "My Old School".-History:...

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In its March 24, 2006 edition, Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

details a return trip to Bard College

Bard College

Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...

 in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York

Annandale-on-Hudson, New York

Annandale-on-Hudson is a hamlet in Dutchess County, New York, USA, in the Hudson Valley in the town of Red Hook, across the Hudson River from Kingston....

 by Donald Fagen

Donald Fagen

Donald Jay Fagen is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, lead singer, and the principal songwriter of the rock band Steely Dan ....

, in which he describes a raid by sheriff's deputies in May 1969. Fagen, his girlfriend Dorothy White, Steely Dan bandmate Walter Becker

Walter Becker

Walter Carl Becker is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, guitarist, bassist and a co-writer of Steely Dan.-Career:...

, and some 50 other students were arrested. Charges were dropped, but the harassment was the origin of the grudge alluded to in "My Old School". Fagen was reportedly so upset with the school being complicit with the arrests that he refused to attend graduation. The same article speculates that a Bard professor's wife, Rikki Ducornet

Rikki Ducornet

Rikki Ducornet is an American postmodernist, writer, poet, and artist.-Biography:...

, was the inspiration for "Rikki Don't Lose That Number

Rikki Don't Lose That Number

"Rikki Don't Lose That Number" is a single released in 1974 by rock/pop/jazz group Steely Dan and the opening track of their third album Pretzel Logic. The record became the group's highest charted album, peaking at #4 on "Billboard" in the summer of 1974....

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The song features a guitar solo by Jeff Baxter

Jeff Baxter

Jeff "Skunk" Baxter is an American guitarist, known for his stints in the rock bands Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers during the 1970s...

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Because of the reference to The College of William & Mary in the lyrics, "My Old School" has long been a favorite of W&M students and alumni, although the song is actually about Bard College.