Gerald "Gerry" Rafferty 16 April 1947 – 4 January 2011 Was A Scottish Singer-Songwriter. In His Early Years Rafferty Earned Money By The Formerly Illegal Practice Of Busking On The London Underground. Poetically His Biggest Hit 1978's "Baker Street" Discusses Busking At A Tube Station And Being A Part Of The Street Life. After Working With Billy Connolly now Better Known As A Comedian In An Obscure Outfit Known As The Humblebums He Released His First Solo Album Called 'Can I Have My Money Back' In 1971. Read More On Last.Fm
"Baker Street" 1978 By Gerry Rafferty Is His First Released Song After The Lawsuits About The Formal Separation Of The Band Stealers Wheel In 1975. Rafferty Supposedly Was Barred From The Recording Studio For 3 years After The Band's Breakup While Disputes About The Band's Remaining Contractual Recording Obligations Were Being Resolved. Named For A Famous London Thoroughfare "Baker Street" Was Featured On City To City Rafferty's Second Solo Album And Was Published As The First Of Three Singles Marketed Primarily To Adult Contemporary Radio Listeners. As A Single "Baker Street" Reached #3 In The United Kingdom It Was An Even Greater Success In The United States Reaching #2 On The Billboard Hot 100 And #4 On The Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart. The Melody's Saxophone Hook In The Original Version Was Played By Raphael Ravenscroft And The Guitar Solo Was By Hugh Burns.According To The Baker Street Songfacts Rafferty Wrote The Song With An Instrumental Break But Didn't Have A Specific Instrument In Mind. Hugh Murphy Who Produced The Track Suggested A Saxophone So They Brought In Ravenscroft To Play It. The Original Album Version In City To City Was 6 01 Minutes Long. The Single Version Released In The USA Lasted 4 08 Minutes With Its Tempo Accelerated For Commercial-Radio Time Allotments. An Alternative Uncut Mix Of "Baker Street" In Right Down The Line The Very Best Of Gerry Rafferty Contains 30 seconds Of End-Material Not In The Original 1978 Version—with Reverb Emphasized And Rafferty's Singing Electronically Double-Tracked.