Thursday, 6 January 2011

Gerry Rafferty

I found out via Facebook that musician Gerry Rafferty died on Tuesday of this week. Gerry was best known as the artist behind the song "Baker Street", with it's iconic sax solo.

I was driving home one night and heard that song on the radio. I had heard it a thousand times before, including on the episode of The Simpsons where jazz man Bleeding Gums Murphy dies, but I didn't know who sang it. I needed to know, so I memorized some of the lyrics..

And then he’ll settle down, in some quiet little town
And forget about everything.

..and googled them when I got home, finding out of course that it was Gerry Rafferty, former member of the band Stealers Wheel -- best known for the song "Stuck in the middle with you", otherwise known as the song where the guy gets his ear cut off in Tarantino's Resevoir Dogs.

After reading this bio, it seems that his death is almost a long-sought relief from a painful existence. I really have nothing else to say about Gerry, except that "Baker Street" is one bloody good song. RIP.

And when you wake up it’s a new morning
The sun is shining, it’s a new morning
But you’re going, you’re going home.

8 comments:

  1. Colin6 January 2011 at 15:49

    The Foo Fighters do an absolutely fantastic cover of "Baker Street" (and noted Gerry's passing on their website & Facebook page).

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  2. cherenkov6 January 2011 at 16:53

    It is a good one. I have the CD in my car, actually, but I still prefer the original version. The Foos rock though. Great concert last time they rolled through town.

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  3. the Stiff Rod7 January 2011 at 00:14

    Dudes.....sorry to burst some music bubbles here but what little Lisa was playing with Bleeding Gums Murphy was "Jazz Man" by Carole King.

    BTW, "Right down the Line" was my fave Rafferty song.

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  4. cherenkov7 January 2011 at 08:00

    Oops. I was wrong about the episode. "Baker Street" is in the episode "Lisa's Sax", not in the episode where Bleeding Gums dies ("Round Springfield"). See: I need to eat more fish. My memory is shot.

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  5. the Stiff Rod7 January 2011 at 10:30

    Nah.....eat more cheeseburgers.

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  6. The Traveler7 January 2011 at 20:14

    Sorry to hear this news he was a good musician

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  7. Unknown12 January 2011 at 14:41

    Let us not forget to give credit to Raphael Ravenscroft who played the saxophone on that song, without his memorable sax playing Baker Street would not have become the big hit that it did.

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  8. cherenkov12 January 2011 at 15:28

    Yup. And it wan't even supposed to be sax. It was supposed to be a guitar solo.

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