Singer/songwriter Gerry Rafferty died today of liver failure
brought on by alcoholism. He was 63.
Rafferty’s final years were difficult ones.
He caused alarm in the summer of 2008 when he left a London
hospital where he was being treated for liver problems and was not
heard from for nearly six months.
Nevertheless, Rafferty is best remembered for two songs. In
1972, as one half of the Scottish folk-rock duo Stealers Wheel,
Rafferty scored a hit with “Stuck in the
Middle.” This song gained a new lease on life two decades later
after its inclusion in the Quentin Tarentino movie Reservoir
Dogs.
But Rafferty reached the pinnacle of his success as a solo
artist in 1978 with the release of his multi-platinum selling album
City to City. This album produced two hit singles,
“Baker
Street” and “Right
Down the Line.” While “Right Down the Line” has become
something of a lost classic, “Baker Street” endures as one of the
greatest rock n’ roll songs ever recorded. “Baker Street” stood out
as an island of introspection in a sea of mindless boogie during
the disco era. The combination of Rafferty’s understated vocals and
that alto saxophone solo have ensured “Baker Street” will
stand the test of time.
