Hugh Burns hadnt heard Half a Heart, but he was dismissive of the idea that it had been lifted from something else, at least intentionally. When he gets there, Artie Mogull is in a hurry. 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. Mainly philosophy, art, religion, psychology and many a biography."). For full terms, please click here. Burns also nodded to the songs unusual structure, which he compared in its unorthodox nature, to Queens Bohemian Rhapsody., Its not just opening, verse, chorus, he said. The Gerry Rafferty Interview - Rock's Backpages Gerry Rafferty Buy album Year of Release: 1978 Appears in: 141 charts Rank Score: 881 Rank in 1978: 35 Rank in 1970s: 375 Overall Rank: 1,918 Average Rating: 76 (159 votes) Comments: 8 2. Gerry Rafferty. Hows that for capitalism?. But 80,000? [38] In the late 1980s, Rafferty had told journalist Colin Irwin: "I was always very conscious about keeping a low profile because that's the way I like to go about it. GERRY RAFFERTY rarely comes up in interviews, seldom works on the road and is in London even less often. And he now had more of what he didn't like. [3] Rafferty learned both Irish and Scottish folk songs as a boy. Tue 4 Jan 2011 14.01 EST. 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. According to Burns, a lot of the songs that seem to have some longevity tend to feature, for the most part, real instruments. For a while, the saxophone was a key feature of that dynamic. Despite being credited with the song, at least across the Internet, Burton himself hadnt been familiar with Half a Heart. Moreover, he was baffled when I told him that he had been listed as the songs composer. 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Affiliate programs and Jerry Gilbert, The mass was streamed live over the Internet. Gordon Laurie, director of the housing association behind the project, commented: "It is a fitting tribute to a brilliant musician who lives on through his music. [11] Billboard praised the album as "high-grade folk-rock", describing it as Rafferty's "finest work" to date: "His tunes are rich and memorable with an undeniable charm that will definitely see him into the album and very possibly singles charts soon". Billy Connolly recalls his first meeting with Gerry Rafferty - BBC Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by flyingdutchman, Aug 17, 2021. GERRY RAFFERTY rarely comes up in interviews, seldom works on the road and is in London even less often. "[74], Other entertainers also paid tribute to Rafferty, with comedian and ex-bandmate Billy Connolly calling him "a hugely talented songwriter and singer who will be greatly missed" and musician Tom Robinson saying, "His early work with Stealers Wheel was an inspiration to a whole generation of songwriters in the 70s, including me. They got married and ran off together. Many listeners come to Baker Street (and stay) for its hypnotic saxophone line. I never heard before until I just now listened, but I am sure if I had actually written the song back in the day I would have retained my copyright as I always did and would have been aware of it. "[55] As the 1980s progressed, Rafferty's growing drinking problem placed his marriage under impossible strain;[38] his wife divorced him in 1990,[61] although they remained close. [citation needed], Also in 1983, Rafferty announced his intention to take a break and devote more time to his family: "It dawned on me that since Baker Street I had been touring the world, travelling everywhere and seeing nowhere. Baker Street and Half a Heart are songs that were made that way. If you listen to Stealers Wheel self-titled album, there was a lot to like besides Stuck in the Middle With You. In a 2006 interview with The Times, Ravenscroft recalled the episode differently, claiming he was presented with a song that contained "several gaps": "If you're asking me: 'Did Gerry hand me a piece of music to play?' [Rafferty's] approach seemed claustrophobic. "[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. The 10 solo albums made by Gerry Rafferty during his lifetime form a distinguished legacy, from 1971's cult favourite Can I Have My Money Back, through the platinum-selling years of City to. During this time, he met Enzina Fuschini, an Italian artist living in Dorset. 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. He was the third son of Irish miner and lorry driver Joseph Rafferty and Rafferty's Scottish wife Mary Skeffington. And theres still another wrinkle on the other side of the pond. 28 in the US Top 40 in early 1979. It was a pretty scary kind of feeling. He really cant stand anyone in the music industry, anyone in the music publishing industry, and all he wants to do is write songs for his daughter., So I go back to Gerry," says Brewer, "and say, Youve got to stop doing this were going to run out of record companies!. "Stuck in the Middle With You" has received over 4million plays worldwide, and "Right Down The Line" has had over 3million plays. "[75] Speaking after the funeral, Charlie Reid of The Proclaimers said: "I think Gerry Rafferty was one of the few people who really successfully straddled the worlds of both folk and popular music. [12] Yet although the album was a critical success, it did not enjoy commercial success. The Celtic thing is the drone, you know -its fifths, the same as in country music, a lot of which comes from Scotland and Ireland, anyway. He was one of the most talented musicians and singers I ever knew but he completely underestimated his own talent. He wouldnt sit in my Rolls, he wouldnt sit in my offices, we had to meet in these pubs and it all became very strange. Contributing artists included his friend Rab Noakes, The Proclaimers, Barbara Dickson, Ron Sexsmith, Jack Bruce, Paul Brady, Emma Pollock, James Vincent McMorrow and Betsy Cook. According to Murphy, interviewed a decade later: "Gerry had made three albums on the trot and I think he was pretty jaded at that time and feeling the pressure and he just thought, 'Well, I'll try another tack,' which is understandable". Back in England, says Brewer, he and Gerry Rafferty were becoming more and more estranged. Brewer's offices were just across the road. 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. Baker Street Singer Gerry Rafferty Dead At 63 - Rolling Stone Its almost identical, only a little bit different and that wouldnt happen by chance seeing as it was so close.. Fuschini contested the will, but it was later reported that she had lost her case and 75,000 legal costs were awarded against her. Billy Connolly recalls his first impressions of Gerry Rafferty. Gerry in a very rare interview from a radio scotland programme in 2003.This is a rare insight into the world of one of the past centurys greatest songwriters. Click here for academic and other group subscriptions. What did you do before Baker Street? theyll ask, and as he answers politely, concealing both his boredom and bemusement, through his head may well run the lines, Fools to the left of me, jokers to the right/Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.. (The song spent six weeks stuck at No. Given the songs ubiquity and influence, its understandable that Ravenscroft might later fib about his role. Accept | Cookies policy | Privacy policy, Click here to sign in via the UK federation WAYF. Some of these old ladies used to pass out. Rafferty continues to ponder and juxtapose the differences between urban and pastoral life, and many of his new songs (especially, and most eloquently, Whatevers Written in Your Heart) still seem attempts to bridge the communication chasm between a man and a woman. 2023 Rolling Stone, LLC. "[77], In November 2012, Rafferty's hometown of Paisley paid tribute to the singer by naming a street in the Shortroods area "Gerry Rafferty Drive". Scottish singer/songwriter Gerry Rafferty, best known for his solo hit "Baker Street" and "Stuck In The . [65] Subsequently, Rafferty's spokesperson Paul Charles told The Independent that he had been in touch with Rafferty a fortnight previously and that he was alive and well but had no plans to either record or tour. [20], In 1980, Rafferty and Murphy produced a record for Richard and Linda Thompson; though never released, it eventually evolved into their album Shoot Out the Lights. [50], Rafferty's death in January 2011 rekindled interest in the singer's work. The remaining tracks are remastered tracks from his previous three albums. In The Times, critic David Sinclair was particularly scathing: "On North and South, it sounds as if he has thumbed a lift up the road to a mock-Texan bar somewhere in his native Scotland. To search for precise terms or phrases, it is advisable to place quote marks at either end of the phrase. Christopher Neil replaced Hugh Murphy, Rafferty's usual producer, introducing synthesisers and drum machines that give the album a harder, less acoustic sound, and apparently eschewing the richly detailed arrangements notable on Rafferty's three previous records. Bath His solo hits in the late 1970s included "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line", and "Night Owl". Harvey left shortly afterwards, and Rafferty and Connolly continued as a duo, recording two more albums for Transatlantic Records. Joel Whitburn, "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (6th Edition)", p. 493. If I have to listen to the album, Ill give you 50 thousand. But theres something special about four or five guys in a studio and working with an artist and honing whatever it is that the song is and fine-tuning it. [17] After the disputes were resolved in 1978, he recorded his second solo album, City to City, with producer Hugh Murphy, which included the song with which he remains most identified, "Baker Street". In fact, most of what I played was an old blues riff, he once explained. One new note does creep in: a hint of gospel music -particularly on The Ark -and with this, a sense of hard-won peace. A Scotsman bred on traditional music, he was never a proper folkie - not really - and his alliance with Billy Connolly in The Humblebums at the end of the '60s always seemed a bizarre blend of opposites, though Gerry maintains it was . His next door neighbour was [Island Records owner] Chris Blackwell. Chaos! Then, in the most offhand, glory-belying way, Burns dropped in this aside: Strangely enough, another record that I played on, which was a massive hit, certainly in this country and I think in America as well, was called Careless Whisper, that also had a massive opening solo. For his self-titled album, see, Undated "Prank call" video of Billy Connolly on YouTube, uploaded 25 November 2007, Connolly remembers Rafferty as a prank call "expert he used to make me scream. We were looking for. ", Rafferty's next album, Night Owl, also did well. Has he undergone, by any chance, a religious experience? Still, they managed to record a brilliant second album, Ferguslie Park, which was produced, like its predecessor, by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. And he played City To City and Baker Street a demo without the sax part. "[5] Two decades later, speaking to the press after Rafferty's funeral, Charlie Reid of The Proclaimers confirmed Rafferty's dislike of celebrity: "He was not entirely comfortable with fame. Guitarist Richard Thompson helped by performing on the track "Take The Money and Run", and the title track was a UK No. I just now went to the Internet and, sure enough, found out the history of Rafferty and Baker Street, and viewed a YouTube performance of it. Roy Wood Jr. [4] His Irish-born father, an alcoholic, was a miner and lorry driver who died when Rafferty was 16. It makes me think of home, nostalgia and happiness. 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. Thompson's usually spontaneous, no-frills attitude toward recording was at odds with Rafferty's approach. Another World, almost an esoteric work, also with the assistance of Mark Knopfler and Egan, featured an album cover illustrated by John 'Patrick' Byrne, who also illustrated the covers for Can I Have My Money Back?, City to City, Night Owl, and Snakes and Ladders, and all three Stealers Wheel albums. Nice memories. (Thanks, Jack.). In the liner notes to the album, Rafferty's long-time friend and collaborator Rab Noakes commented: "Let's hope [the Baker Street demo] will, at last, silence all who keep on asserting that the saxophone player came up with the melody line. Its most popular comment is this: This song makes me think of the Summer of 1978. I'm older and my audience is older. He has a flight to catch. Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox! "Gerry Rafferty went to meet his maker sober and unafraid, curious and brave", "Gerry Rafferty's 'Baker Street' Blues: Rolling Stone's 1978 Feature".
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