Gerry Rafferty, the Scottish-born singer/songwriter behind such ‘70s hits as "Stuck in the Middle With You," "Right Down the Line," and "Baker Street," passed away peacefully at his home in Poole, Dorset, on Tuesday, January 4, after a two decades-long battle with alcoholism that culminated in his death by liver failure. The singer had received treatment at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital in November but was given a grim prognosis. He was eventually taken off life support and showed some improvement until this week. Rafferty was 63 years old.
Born Gerald "Gerry" Rafferty in Paisley, Scotland, on April 16, 1947, Rafferty is said to have been "an unwanted third son." His father, Joseph, was a hard-drinking, Irish-born miner. His mother, Mary, would often drag young Gerry around the streets on Saturday nights so that they wouldn't be home when his father came back drunk. Mother and son would wait outside, in all weather, until Joseph had fallen asleep to avoid a beating. Rafferty's father died when he was 16. Upon his father's death, Gerry left school to become a musician.
Inspired by the Irish and Scottish folk tunes his mother had taught him as a boy and by the music of his time (The Beatles and Bob Dylan), Rafferty began writing his own songs while in his mid-teens. He kept a day job working in a butcher shop and a local tax office and on weekends, he busked for money in the London Underground and played with friend Joe Egan in a local group called The Mavericks. The two appeared with the band The Fifth Column in 1966 on Rafferty’s song "Benjamin Day," but when the single failed, he quit the group and in 1969, joined forces with Billy Connolly as a member of Connolly’s folk-pop outfit, the Humblebums. After releasing a couple albums that went nowhere, and with tensions escalating between Rafferty and Connolly, the Humblebums disbanded in 1971. Connolly went on to become a renowned stand-up comedian and actor, while Rafferty continued on his musical path. He struck out on his own as a solo artist and released his first album, Can I Have My Money Back, in 1972. Although the record was a critical success, it performed poorly both on the charts and in record sales.
Rafferty re-teamed with Egan that same year to form the soft-rock group Stealers Wheel, who were considered at the time to be Britain’s answer to the American folk-rock supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The band’s eponymous debut album burned up the charts with the million-selling single, "Stuck in the Middle With You." Said to have been conceived as a parody of Bob Dylan’s distinctive lyrical style in order that Stealers Wheel might attain chart success, "Stuck in the Middle" sold over one million copies, eventually peaking at #6 in 1973 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and at #8 on the UK Singles Chart. In 1992 director Quentin Tarantino used the song in the infamous ear-cutting torture scene of his debut film Reservoir Dogs, introducing it to a whole new generation. "Stuck in the Middle" has been covered by such diverse musical acts as Michael Bublé, who added an upbeat brass arrangement to the song, and the Eagles of Death Metal, whose version, titled "Stuck in the Metal," appeared on their album Peace, Love, Death Metal.
Although Stealers Wheel were a hit right out of the gate, they were a band plagued by problems. With a revolving door of lineup changes that included Rafferty himself leaving in protest to huge touring demands and album commitments put upon him by his record company (he was persuaded to return some months later), coupled with a poorly negotiated record contract that saw the band’s royalties filched, Stealers Wheel were perched on wobbly legs from the start. Beset by legal wrangling, they disbanded in 1975 after three albums. Rafferty was barred from releasing any new material for the next three years, but after his legal disputes were finally resolved in 1978, he re-launched his solo career. And this time out, Gerry Rafferty hit the motherlode.
Rafferty released the multi-platinum selling album City to City in January 1978. Fueled by the smash hit single "Baker Street"—named after the famous London street of the same name and the song with which Rafferty remains most identified—the album went to #1 on the Billboard 200 and made Rafferty a millionaire "overnight." With its theme of unrealized dreams and the futility in mourning them, "Baker Street" is famous for its knockout saxophone riff, played between verses by Raphael Ravenscroft. The solo, which had originally been intended for guitar, came about when Ravenscroft happened to be in the studio to record a brief saxophone part. When he heard that the guitarist would not be available to play the solo, he suggested that he record it using the alto sax he had in his car. "Baker Street" has since been covered by everyone from Waylon Jennings to the Foo Fighters.
The irony of the success of "Baker Street" is that the lyrics reflect Rafferty’s disenchantment with certain elements of the music industry. According to music journalist Paul Gambaccini for BBC World News, "'Baker Street' was about how uncomfortable [Rafferty] felt in the star system, and what do you know, it was a giant world hit. The album City to City went to #1 in America and suddenly, he found that as a result of his protest, he was a bigger star than ever. And he now had more of what he didn’t like. And although he had a few more hit singles in the United States, by 1980 it was basically all over, and when I say 'it,' I mean basically his career, because he just was not comfortable with this."
City to City also popped the singles "Home and Dry," which reached #28 on the US Top 40 in early 1979, and "Right Down the Line." That song hit #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts in the US, making it the only Rafferty song to ever reach #1 on any US or UK chart.
Refusing to tour America to stump for City to City, Rafferty played a few British dates and then went back in the studio to record his successful follow-up, Night Owl (1979). Guitarist Richard Thompson helped by performing on the track “Take The Money and Run.” The album yielded further hits including "Days Gone Down," "Get It Right Next Time," and the title track.
These, plus the acclaimed but less lucrative albums Snakes and Ladders (1980), Sleepwalking (1982), and North and South (1988), make up the gorgeously produced works of Gerry Rafferty’s prime. Sadly, around this time he spiraled into alcoholism. He eventually lost his 300-acre farm, his house in Hampstead, and his wife of 20 years, who divorced him in 1990. His drinking troubles made the news in 2008 when a five-day binge at a five-star London hotel ended when the management had him admitted to a hospital. Rumors swirled about his health in 2009, prompting Rafferty to issue a statement saying that he was doing "extremely well," living in Tuscany and preparing a new album. While he may have been relatively well, he was living in Dorset, not Tuscany. That year, Rafferty released Life Goes On, which featured six new recordings, re-mastered tracks from his previous records, covers of Christmas carols and traditional songs.
Gerry Rafferty was a man plagued by demons. For all his success, he disliked being recognized and had a longstanding reluctance to perform live. Behind his aggressive front and strong awareness of his own musical excellence was fear. He turned down work with Eric Clapton, McCartney and others, telling his wife "nobody was good enough." In truth, he dared not sit down with superstars without a drink. Or five.
In an obituary for the British newspaper The Guardian, Rafferty’s former manager Michael Gray praised Rafferty, calling his voice as "redolent of both Lennon’s and McCartney’s, yet unmistakably his own," and his music, "a shimmering delta of sound; the songs, romantic yet pushily sardonic, thanks to Gerry’s gift of perfect pitch and an obdurate determination to stick to his guns."
Gerry Rafferty passed away surrounded by family. He is survived by his daughter Martha, a granddaughter named Celia, and his brother Jim.
