Gerry Rafferty Dies
TheEye is a big fan of Gerry Rafferty’s music, and it’s very sad to hear that he’s just died at the age of 63. But for those of us who have followed his career it’s not a huge surprise.
Born into a working-class family at Paisley, he earned money busking on the London Underground before working with Billy Connolly in a band called The Humblebums. In 1972, Rafferty and Joe Egan formed Stealers Wheel, which was best known for the hit “Stuck in the Middle With You”; especially after its reprise during the torture scene in the 1992 movie Reservoir Dogs. But say his name and most people will think of Baker Street and that marvellous saxophone solo by Raphael Ravenscroft.
It is a huge personal regret never to have seen him play live – something he did very little of especially in the decade before his health deteriorated. The CDs are usually near the top of the pile around here, and there’s one spinning right now.
RIP “Gerry” Rafferty (16 April 1947 – 4 January 2011)
If you get it wrong, you’ll get it right next time…
Huge fan too. Still have some of his classic stuff on good old fashioned vinyl, including ‘City To City’ from which your excellent choice of track is taken from I believe.
A very sad loss. Thank you for such a fitting tribute.
Thanks for that Max. I’ve got some vinyls in excellent condition but they’re safely stored away. In fact, as I type this, no…if now isn’t a good time to play them then when will be, eh? Will get them out now.
A sad day indeed.
Hi ASE,
I wrote a reply on the DT blogs to this and was saddened to hear of his death. He was not just one of Scotland’s/Britain’s greatest musicians but the worlds. He was a superb musician, a brilliant lyricist and an excellent songwriter. Without a doubt nothing really has close to his skill in the last 30 years. There’s no doubt about that whatsoever. As for the song Get it Right Next Time, that comes from the 1979 album Night Owl, the one after the brilliant debut album City to City.
Oh yes, agree completely. A huge talent and as you say very rounded in his gifts.
I chose Get It Right Next Time to end this post for a combination of personal memories and because it’s a damn good song. It was one of the two singles from that album, along with Days Gone Down which I also like immensely.
I’ve got City To City myself, Eye – also on vinyl – I loved his songwriting and recording abilities and I’m sure he was from the era where he would have had to be brilliant live – unlike the mime shows and out-of-tune-ness that pass for gigs these days. 🙁