I met Elliot in Lima Ohio. The 1966-67 in Ohio comment in the interview refers to a stopover on the way to stardom. He taught guitar for a couple years at a local music store (I think it was called Custom Percussion) and took a protégé by the name of Jim Miller. Elliot took Jim on the road at the age of 15 and had him play with him on Broadway in the original version of Jesus Christ Superstar. Well, Jim went on to play for years with different pro bands but came back to Lima to settle down and have a family. He played with several local bands, most notably South Side Rhythm and Blues and The Hipsters. I played drums with the Hipsters for many years and we became the band to see in our small world in Lima, Ohio for about 30 years. Lima is an acronym for Lost in Middle America but it was a dream come true for me. It was an honor to play with such gifted musicians (we had a bit of a rotating line up) and I was blessed to keep the beat (and show off a bit). I met Elliot when he visited Lima some years ago and was very pleased. Truly, one of the best guitarists of his time.
Great post, Tommy. My wife and I grew up on farms near Delphos, Ohio and frequented Lima rock clubs like Yogi's, Springbrook Gardens and the Sherwood Inn in the early '70s, before moving to the Portland, Oregon area in 1979. We remember the bands Canary, Magpie and Foxx because they all had at least one Steely Dan song in their sets. Elliott Randall's lead guitar is the reason I bought the 45 single of "Reelin' In the Years" in early 1973, and it made me a life-long fan of Becker & Fagen's music. We were fortunate to see Steely Dan in April 1974 when they headlined at the U. of Toledo on their Pretzel Logic Tour, where Jeff "Skunk" Baxter did a superb job of recreating Elliott's solo that Jimmy Page calls his favorite of all time. Elliott claims to have met Page when The Yardbirds played Springbrook Gardens on Dec. 4, 1966, a time when the band featured both Page and Jeff Beck on lead guitars. I was just 15 at the time and have no recollection that such a major musical event had taken place just 20 miles east of our farm.
You made that song " Reelin' in the Years" happen & rocked the hell out of it ! Your guitar talent is amazing. You're the BEST. I was 21 in 1973 when you made that song kick - ass.
I remember spending weeks if not months in the 70's to find out who wrote the guitar part of this. I've never forgotten Elliot's name and it's still just as amazing as it was 40 years ago.
