Kid Charlemagne

Steely Dan, 1976. Solo by Larry Carlton.

Jazz-trained precision, worked over for hours.

Larry Carlton recorded these solos on his Gibson ES-335 after trying a Stratocaster, working through pass after pass for nearly two hours while Becker and Fagen let him find his own lines. The final solo is a composite of two takes. The main break runs from about 2:18 to 3:08 and is packed with twisting single-note lines, bends and melodic runs that track the tricky chord changes, blending jazz vocabulary with rock bite. It is often cited as one of the finest examples of session guitar. Listen for how Carlton's lines follow the chord changes exactly; he is outlining the harmony while still sounding free.

Kid Charlemagne by Steely Dan is ranked #54 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Larry Carlton and the song was released in 1976. It appears on 12 lists, placing as high as #8 (Rolling Stone).

The story of Kid Charlemagne

Kid Charlemagne opens Steely Dan's album, The Royal Scam, and its story is borrowed from the counterculture. Walter Becker and Donald Fagen said the lyrics were loosely modeled on the rise and fall of Owsley Stanley, the San Francisco chemist whose LSD fuelled the 1960s scene. The song's underground genius finds the party over and the law closing in, and its last verse echoes Stanley's 1967 arrest after his car ran out of gas.

The Royal Scam sessions stretched from late 1975 into early 1976 and moved between coasts. Work began at Davlen Sound in North Hollywood with engineer Elliot Scheiner, but after two unproductive weeks the band decamped to A&R Recording in New York to cut roughly half the basic tracks, then finished at ABC Recording in Los Angeles with Roger Nichols. The Kid Charlemagne backing track was nailed at A&R in a single take.

As usual, Becker and Fagen surrounded themselves with elite session players. Bernard Purdie played drums and Chuck Rainey bass, Don Grolnick supplied Fender Rhodes and Paul Griffin clavinet, and Larry Carlton handled the guitars. Fagen sang lead, with Michael McDonald among the backing vocalists. The funky, harmonically slippery groove gave Carlton a demanding set of changes to solo over, which he tackled in overdub sessions after the track was cut.

The Royal Scam came out in June 1976 on ABC, and an edited Kid Charlemagne, backed with Green Earrings, spent three weeks on the Hot 100 that July, peaking at No. 82. The album itself reached No. 15 and went platinum. Three decades later Kanye West sampled the song for Champion on Graduation; Becker and Fagen first declined, then relented after West wrote them a letter explaining its meaning to him.

The solo

Larry Carlton recorded his solos weeks or months after the basic track, arriving with chord charts he had prepared. Guitar Player reports that he tried takes on a Fender Stratocaster before switching to his Gibson ES-335, paired with a small late-1950s Fender Tweed Deluxe, the combination that became his Steely Dan lead sound. Once everyone agreed on the tone, Becker and Fagen simply let him try pass after pass without suggesting licks; the process took nearly two hours, and the final solo is a composite of two takes, which Carlton recalls cutting in two parts. The main break runs from about 2:18 to 3:08 and is packed with twisting single-note lines, bends and melodic runs that track the tricky chord changes, and some players have cited it as an early instance of tapping. Rolling Stone called it a multi-sectioned, cosmic-jazz lead complex enough to be a song in itself.

Legacy

Carlton's work on Kid Charlemagne is regularly named among the finest guitar solos ever recorded. Rolling Stone ranked it No. 80 in 2008 and moved it up to No. 8 in its 2026 update. Nick Hornby celebrated its dexterous exuberance in Songbook, Cory Wong has called it his favorite solo of all time, and St. Vincent argues it should be played note for note because it is compositionally sacrosanct. Carlton himself says nothing else he recorded still thrills him as much.

Top 10 facts about Kid Charlemagne

Becker and Fagen said the lyrics were loosely based on the rise and fall of LSD chemist Owsley Stanley.
Wikipedia
The final verse draws on Stanley's 1967 arrest, which followed a traffic stop when his car ran out of fuel.
Wikipedia
The backing track was recorded at A&R Studios in New York in one take, though Carlton's solo needed many attempts.
Wikipedia
Carlton spent nearly two hours on solo takes, and the finished solo was assembled from just two of them.
Wikipedia
Carlton tried a Stratocaster first before settling on his ES-335 through a late-1950s Fender Tweed Deluxe.
Guitar Player
Carlton recalled that Becker and Fagen never suggested licks, patiently letting him keep trying until something special happened.
MusicRadar via Joni Mitchell Library
Adrian Belew and Rob Fetters have pointed to the solo as an early example of guitar tapping.
Wikipedia
Rolling Stone ranked the solo No. 80 in 2008 and No. 8 in its updated 2026 list of greatest guitar solos.
Wikipedia
St. Vincent says she wants to hear the solo played note for note, calling it compositionally sacrosanct.
Guitar Player
Kanye West sampled the song for Champion in 2007 after persuading Becker and Fagen with a personal letter.
Wikipedia

Live versions

Alive in America (Clarkston, Michigan) (1995) Recorded August 27, 1994 on Steely Dan's first tours since 1974, with Georg Wadenius on guitar.
Plush TV Jazz-Rock Party (Sony Studios, New York) (2000) Recorded in January 2000 at Sony Studios for a concert special released that June.
The Dukes of September: Live at Lincoln Center (2014) Fagen, Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs performed it in November 2012 with Jon Herington on guitar.

Notable covers

The Woody Herman Band Listed by SecondHandSongs among the song's cover versions.
Don Braden Listed by SecondHandSongs among the song's cover versions.
Rachel Z Listed by SecondHandSongs among the song's cover versions.
Kanye West (sample in Champion) (2007) Not a cover, but a prominent sample on Graduation approved by Becker and Fagen.

In our lists

Deep Cuts — #22
The 25 Greatest Classic Rock Guitar Solos — #18
The 25 Greatest Fusion Guitar Solos — #6
The 1970s — #20

Sources

What guitar was used on the Kid Charlemagne solo?

A gibson es-335, according to widely reported accounts.

Where does Kid Charlemagne rank among the greatest guitar solos?

#54 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 12 of them.

Who played the guitar solo on Kid Charlemagne?

Session guitarist Larry Carlton played the solo, using a Gibson ES-335 and a Fender Tweed Deluxe amp.

Who is Kid Charlemagne about?

The song was loosely inspired by Owsley Stanley, the San Francisco chemist famous for producing LSD in the 1960s.

What album is Kid Charlemagne on?

It is the opening track of Steely Dan's 1976 album The Royal Scam.

What song samples Kid Charlemagne?

Kanye West's Champion, from his 2007 album Graduation, samples it.

How long did Larry Carlton take to record the Kid Charlemagne solo?

He spent close to two hours recording takes, and the final solo was pieced together from two of them.