::Wiki "Facts" on Gerry Rafferty::
Gerald "Gerry" Rafferty (16 April 1947 – 4 January 2011) was a Scottish singer and songwriter best known for his solo hits "Baker Street" and "Right Down the Line", and "Stuck in the Middle" with the band Stealers Wheel.
Rafferty was born on
16 April 1947 into a working-class family at Paisley. He was the unwanted third son of Mary Skeffington and Joseph Rafferty (died 1963).[1] Rafferty grew up in a council house on the town’s Glenburn estate and was educated atSt Mirin's Academy. His Irish-born father, an abusive alcoholic, was a miner and lorry driver who died when Rafferty was 16. Inspired by his Scottish mother who had taught him Irish and Scottish folk songs as a boy, and heavily influenced by the music of The Beatles and Bob Dylan, the young Rafferty started to write his own material.[2]
In 1963, Rafferty left St Mirin's Academy and worked in a butcher's shop and, later, as a civil service clerk. At weekends, he and a schoolfriend, Joe Egan, played in a local group, Maverix. In the mid-1960s, Rafferty earned money for a time busking on the London Underground. In 1966, Rafferty was a member of the band The Fifth Column along with future Stealers Wheel collaborator Joe Egan. The group unsuccessfully released the single, "Benjamin Day"/"There's Nobody Here" (Columbia 8068).
In 1972, Rafferty and Joe Egan formedStealers Wheel, a group which was beset by legal wranglings, but did have a huge hit "Stuck in the Middle" (which 20 years later was used prominently in the 1992 movie Reservoir Dogs) and the lesser top 40 hit "Star" ten months later. The duo disbanded in 1975.[citation needed]
Legal issues after the breakup of Stealers Wheel meant that, for three years, Rafferty was unable to release any material.[citation needed] After the disputes were resolved in 1978, he recorded his second solo album, City to City, which included the song with which he remains most identified, "Baker Street". The single reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 2 in the U.S. [3] The album sold over 5.5 million copies, toppling the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in the U.S. on 8 July 1978. {{cn]] "Baker Street" featured a very distinctive saxophone solo by Raphael Ravenscroft which remains a mainstay of soft-rock radio airplay. [4] In October 2010 the song was recognised by the BMI for surpassing 5 million plays worldwide. "Stuck in the Middle With You" has received over 4 million plays worldwide, and "Right Down The Line" has had over 3 million plays [5]
In November 2010, Rafferty was admitted to a hospital in Bournemouth, Dorset, suffering from liver failure. He died at home on 4 January 2011, of liver disease.[15] He is survived by his daughter, Martha.[16]
Singer Gerry Rafferty Dies at 63 By: GLEN LEVY
Gerry Rafferty, Singer of 'Baker Street,' Dead at 63
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