The Mystery Behind Gerry Rafferty's 'Baker Street' - The Atlantic With due respect, theres only 13 chromatic notes, he said. Listening to it now as I write this. Click here for academic and other group subscriptions. The group was beset by legal wranglings, but had a huge hit with "Stuck in the Middle with You", which earned critical acclaim as well as commercial success: a 1975 article in Sounds described it as "a sort of cross between white label Beatles and punk Dylan yet with a unique Celtic flavour that has marked all their work". Subscriptions to Rocks Backpages are available for institutional or personal use. Or why not treat yourself? [citation needed], During November 2009, Rafferty released what would be his final album, Life Goes On. He was an artist through and though., Seemingly alone in its era, Baker Street managed to stand out at the height of punk and new wave and also shined through the summer of Grease and the twilight of discos last saccharine gleaming. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). Because one: youre boss-eyed and you dont want to let the fans see that, and two you really are not a people person, with all your opinions. Nice memories. (Thanks, Jack.). The singer was wary of the media and disliked being asked to analyse his songs, particularly to those outwith his creative circle. Gerry Rafferty's 'Baker Street' Blues: Rolling Stone's 1978 Feature The track appeared on Dickson's albums Don't Think Twice It's All Right (1992) and The Barbara Dickson Collection (2006). Do you remember how old ladies used to have those little baskets on wheels they used to push around the shops? The testimony of Ravenscoft, who died last year, seems to be refuted by the existence of an early demo of the song, where the guitar replaces the sax. The song made No. Succession Recap: Logan Roy Makes Shock Return, Shiv and Tom Get Kinky. I must admit, I could live off that song alone." Scott is the Content Director of Music at Future plc, responsible for the editorial strategy of online and print brands like Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Prog, Guitarist, Guitar World, Guitar Player, Total Guitar etc. [3] Rafferty learned both Irish and Scottish folk songs as a boy. At thirty-one, hes clearly overcome much of the anger he felt as a younger man toward both women and the music business. No matter the true genesis of its sax riff, the song still endures. And yet when it comes to writing tasteful pop songs - songs that you remember long after they've dropped out of the Top Twenty or whatever - he's just about the best and consequently the most underrated in Britain. [7][34], Another World marked a new departure for the singer. Three acoustic guitars, layers and layers of backing vocals, very lush, very evened out sound., (You must log in or sign up to reply here. At first it was part of the melody, and Rafferty reckoned hed sing it. His daughter Martha relaunched Rafferty's old website, gerryrafferty.com, with a full discography, rare photos, and new artwork by John 'Patrick' Byrne. Capitol called me at one point and said, Were going to give him 5 million. So I took the 75., It worked. And I don't plan to be in the public eye too much now either. For decades in England, for instance, there was a widely believed urban myth that Bob Holness, the buttoned-up British gameshow host, had actually performed the saxophone solo in Baker Street.. In the My Sweet Lord case, Harrison admitted he simply hadnt realized that the song so closely resembled Hes So Fine, made most famous by The Chiffons. Well do 4-3-2. They said, What? I said, 4% from the first album, 3% from the next album and 2% from the album after that, I wont disclose how much I earned, but it was a substantial amount of money.. But Gerry Rafferty is wearing a button warning, 'Dangerous Times Ahead,' and he's known bad times in the past as well. [24] No such missing persons report existed. Isnt that interesting because I definitely did not compose it. After listening to the two songs side-by-side, I have to say they are close enough that it seems almost certain that the British saxophone player [Ravenscoft] must have heard Steves record. He added that since Half a Heart came out 10 years before Baker Street, someone must have heard the record. Gerry Rafferty obituary | Gerry Rafferty | The Guardian They based chart positions on what theyd shipped, not what theyd sold. In his interview with Colin Irwin, Rafferty disputed this and said that Ravenscroft had been his second choice to play the saxophone solo, after Pete Zorn, who was unavailable: "The only confusion at the time that I didnt enjoy too much was the fact that a lot of people believed that the line was written by Raphael Ravenscroft, the sax player, but it was my line. Its most popular comment is this: This song makes me think of the Summer of 1978. Signing up for the RBP newsletter provides access to a limited number of free articles, as well as six new free articles every week. Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox! [4], Rafferty grew up in a council house in the town's Ferguslie Park, in Underwood Lane, and was educated at St Mirin's Academy. In the summer of 1978, Gerry Rafferty's song "Baker Street" became a top-five hit in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. "[23][24], Ravenscroft, a session musician, was in the studio to record a brief soprano saxophone part and suggested that he record the now famous break using the alto saxophone he had in his car. Rafferty originally had conceived of Stealers Wheel which he formed after spending three years as the better half of a folk-rock duo, the Humblebums as a quartet of singer/songwriters, sort of a Scottish Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. And theyd pay the radio stations to play the record. It wasnt illegal. A heavy drinker for much of his life, Rafferty died from liver failure in January 2011 at the age of 63. Rafferty was becoming obnoxious with me. BA1 1UA. It's been a huge earner for me. "[42], Generally an autobiographical writer,[7] Rafferty returned to this theme often, in the lyrics of Stealers Wheel songs such as "Stuck in the Middle With You" and "Good Businessman", and later solo tracks like "Take the Money and Run" (from Night Owl), "Welcome to Hollywood" (from Snakes and Ladders), and "Sleepwalking" (from the album of the same name). I went to the studio after I played the gig and I think one of the first songs we played was Baker Street. And I said, This is fantastic. . It goes through a little kind of journey, it takes you through a journey and so, in some sense, its a very complete composition, which is unusual for popular music at that time. Rafferty came up with the hook. Words and phrases he used years ago crop up in similar contexts on City to City. August 1975. So he goes on David Frost, and I think it took four minutes before hed lost his audience. And a whole suite of Irish traditional songs and Scots traditional songs". Not that it was all doom and gloom: He had this great friendship with Billy Connolly [the two men were in folk duo The Humblebums] and Billy told me this amazing story. And Baker Street was an enormous radio record. He recalled, "My father was Irish, so growing up in Paisley I was hearing all these songs when I was two or three. Membership gives you access to all the thousands of articles in the library. Right Down The Line by Gerry Rafferty - Songfacts Please visit our Personal Subscriptions page for pricing and to place your order. [19] Rafferty considered this his first proper taste of success, as he told Melody Maker the following year: "all the records I've ever done before have been flops. 2 on the American Billboard charts behind Andy Gibbs Shadow Dancing.). According to his account, Baker Street had several gaps in it when he was hired to play, and he filled them. She wont have much time to correct her ignorance, however, because Rafferty is rushing off to L.A. and another round of press interviews. Gerry had had a tough upbringing in Glasgow and the manager sensed that he carried tremendous resentment about it. ", Rafferty's next album, Night Owl, also did well. [28], "Right Down the Line" was the second single from City to City. Gerry Rafferty. "[7] On weekends he and a classmate, future Stealers Wheel collaborator Joe Egan, played in a local group named the Maverix, mainly covering chart songs by groups such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. And he also seems to have overcome what he admits was a fondness for one drink too many (as we talked, he royed with a glass of water). Curiously though, the composition of Half a Heart is credited to Gary Burton, a vibraphonist and composer, who went to Berklee College of Music with Marcus in the early 1960s and lived down the block from him when the two moved from Boston to New York to start their music careers. A subscription gives you access to all the articles and audio interviews in the library. Before he parted ways with Rafferty, Brewer recalls a visit from saxophone player Raphael Ravenscroft. "[20], "Baker Street" featured a distinctive saxophone riff played by Raphael Ravenscroft, although the origins of the solo have been disputed. ever-expanding collection of primary-source full-text articles from the music and mainstream press from the 1950s to the present day, along with a collection of For institutions, Rock's Backpages is provided as an unlimited access subscription, meaning that all staff, students and library patrons have So to hear him talk about his career with such passion, and be. [citation needed], Other artists continue to be inspired by Rafferty's work. In the right music it sounds fantastic, its the only way to make certain kinds of music. But they were old-school producers. Its important to say that in the case of that particular instrumental opening to Baker Street, it was entirely Gerrys line, said Burns. It included three tracks co-written with Rafferty's brother Jim, also a singer-songwriter, who had been signed to Decca Records in the 1970s. A gospel -influenced love song inspired by the weary resignation of a relationship that has run its course, this moving masterpiece has all the style . Just graduated high school and was getting ready to head off to college. In fact, most of what I played was an old blues riff. Some of these old ladies used to pass out. All content on the site is the property of Rock's Backpages and protected by copyright laws. Although Richard Thompson eventually rejected the Gerry Rafferty version of SHOOT OUT THE LIGHTS as too commercial . [41], Rafferty released two further albums in the 1990s in what musician Tom Robinson later described as "a major return to form". It wasnt, yknow, playing cricket, but thats the way record companies worked. Letters: Supernova Sleuth; Gerry Rafferty : NPR His background was soaked in Scottish socialism and poverty, his mind sharp and his personality acerbic, and he wasn't going to be dazzled by the glamour of success. Rafferty was born on 16 April 1947 into a working-class family of Irish Catholic origin in Underwood Lane in Paisley,[1] a son and grandson of coal miners. Gerry liked to triple track everything, wed get three pianos, it became a bit of a Phil Spector issue. His solo hits in the late 1970s included "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line", and "Night Owl". The liner notes to the compilation album Right Down the Line, written by Jerry Gilbert with Rafferty's close co-operation, note his consistent refusal to tour the United States and "generally 'play the industry game'. This article appeared in the August 24, 1978 issue of Rolling Stone. Joseph Rafferty died when Gerry was just sixteen, but if he bequeathed anything to his last-born son it was an affinity for songs in the Irish and Scottish folk tradition. Gerry was one of those guys that had been turned down by every record company. Artists write the best songs when theyre hungry., "Anyway, they gave him five million and he pissed off and bought a house in the Caribbean. [30], The lyrics of "Baker Street" reflected Rafferty's disenchantment with certain elements of the music industry. [20][21][22] As the singer recalled in a 1988 interview with Colin Irwin: .mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, "When I wrote the song I saw that bit as an instrumental part but I didn't know what. Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns/Getty. "Gerry Rafferty went to meet his maker sober and unafraid, curious and brave", "Gerry Rafferty's 'Baker Street' Blues: Rolling Stone's 1978 Feature". Gerry Rafferty : Best Ever Albums [5], In his next album, Sleepwalking (1982), Rafferty took a very different approach to his work. Many listeners come to Baker Street (and stay) for its hypnotic saxophone line. 1 in America, and suddenly he found that as a result of his protest, he was a bigger star than ever. But few people know the origin story of rocks most iconic sax riff, which is complicated, to say the least. Barry Recap: A Tragic Death Shakes Up Bill Haders Dark Satire (Singer/songwriters were crawling out of every apartment at that time.) But two of the initial recruits deserted before they even recorded, and as musicians came and went, Stealers Wheel deteriorated into Rafferty and Egan backed by a cast of dozens. Theres no question about that either. [1] He is survived by his daughter Martha, granddaughter Celia, and brother Jim. So I had to get on to [A&M co-founder] Jerry Moss and say, Look: Ive been told that hes never going to record for you again and I need to get him off the label. affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network, and After they disbanded in 1971, he recorded his first solo album, Can I Have My Money Back? They never toured America because the band, according to Rafferty, when it existed at all, was a fucking shambles, and they wrangled angrily with their managers. Saved Stories. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "[40], In the early 1990s, Rafferty recorded a cover version of the Bob Dylan song "The Times They Are a-Changin'" with Barbara Dickson, who had contributed backing vocals to both City to City and Night Owl.