ROCK MOMENT – Steely Dan ‘FM’ (No Static At All)

By the late 1970s, FM radio was at its peak. Unlike AM’s tight, hit-driven playlists, FM stations were the home of adventurous DJs spinning long album tracks, deep cuts, and emerging artists. It was in this golden era of radio that Steely Dan—already legends for their razor-sharp songwriting and pristine production—were asked to write a theme song for a new Hollywood film about rebellious disc jockeys called FM.

The request was unusual. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker had a reputation for being fiercely independent and reluctant to take on outside projects. They rarely collaborated outside their own albums, and they resisted commercial tie-ins. But in this case, they agreed, perhaps because the subject matter—radio culture—was so closely tied to their own rise.

The result was ‘FM (No Static at All),‘ a song that perfectly reflected both the clarity and the irony of the FM radio era. The chorus tagline—“No static at all”—was a literal nod to FM’s superior sound quality, yet the sly delivery hinted at Steely Dan’s trademark satire. Produced by longtime collaborator Gary Katz, the recording was sleek, jazz-tinged, and immaculately polished.

The sessions featured some of the top session musicians of the time. Guitarist Larry Carlton contributed a smooth, expressive solo that gave the track its distinctive character. The production was so meticulous that the song went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical in 1979.

While the film FM was a critical and commercial disappointment, Steely Dan’s song became its most enduring legacy. The single reached #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and found heavy rotation on the very stations it celebrated.

Over the years, ‘FM‘ has become a fan favorite and a staple of classic rock radio, outliving the movie by decades. It remains a rare example of Steely Dan stepping outside their carefully guarded album world—and as always, they delivered perfection on their own terms.