Gerry Rafferty

Who? 

Scottish singer and songwriter who wrote “Stuck in the Middle With You” and “Baker Street”

Tributes

Stuart Maconie in the Mirror:

My personal and silly part in a sad story is that as an NME writer I invented the urban myth claiming that Bob played the sax solo on Gerry’s 1978 hit Baker Street.
That’s not true. What is, is that Gerry’s enigmatic, wry songcraft and his way with a nagging melody made him a ­reluctant star in successive eras of 70s pop.

New York Times:
[He] combined a gift for melody, a distinctive voice and a fatalistic worldview

Paul Gambaccini on the BBC news website:
He just wasn't of the constitution to deal with the music business, or to respect it.

Michael Gray in the Guardian:
He had always drunk too much

Rob Hastings in the Independent:
His wife Carla, whom Rafferty met in 1965 when she was a 15-year-old apprentice hairdresser, endured his aggressive behaviour in airports and restaurants for many years

Biography:

Almost from his birth in Paisley, Scotland, on April 16, 1947, Gerald Rafferty knew plenty about life’s dark side. He and his mother would hide from his father to avoid being beaten when he stumbled home drunk. But music pervaded the family’s life, as young Gerry assimilated Roman Catholic hymns, traditional folk music, 1950s pop and even the Irish rebel tunes his deaf father bellowed.
Mr. Rafferty dropped out of school at 15 and went to work in a butcher shop. On weekends he and a friend, Mr. Egan, played in a local group, the Mavericks. After bouncing about a bit, Mr. Rafferty and Mr. Egan reunited in Stealers Wheel, whose debut album included “Stuck in the Middle.” Mr. Rafferty declined to tour the United States and turned down chances to play with Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney. In his later years his output declined, then stopped altogether as he “spiraled into alcoholism,”

Killer New York Times fact

In the 2009 interview, Mr. Rafferty called the music industry “something I loathe and detest.” Nevertheless, he earned nearly $125,000 a year in royalties for “Baker Street” alone.