Story of Soft Rock 70s Hit Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty | #1 in our hearts | Professor of Rock
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#GerryRafferty #BakerStreet #70s
Hey music junkies Professor of Rock always her to celebrate the greatest artists and songs of all time If the greatest music of the rock era is your bag, you’ll want to become a part of our community by subscribing to this channel so you don’t miss our daily episodes . Also if you want to support our mission of curating the best of the rock era become a patron, Today we zero in on a song that is number one in our hearts;
Gerry Rafferty spent a lot of time going back and forth from Glasgow, Scotland to London, England to meet with his lawyers when he was in the middle of a lawsuit with his former label and wasn’t able to record for 3 years. While he was in London, he stayed at a friend’s flat on Baker Street. It was in that apartment on Baker Street that Gerry wrote a deeply emotive and introspective narrative about a man that “drinks all night” to “forget about everything”, and dreams “about buying some land, giving up the booze & the one night stands- to settle down in a quiet little town.” The song Baker Street is one of the epics of the 70s, It’s as song that has been a fixture of Pop Culture from uses in Good Will Hunting to the Sopranos. Simply reading the lyric sheet of Rafferty's tormenting catharsis makes “Baker Street” a bitingly powerful composition, but the sonic highlights of the track are perhaps even more arresting.
"Winding your way down Baker Street- light in your head and dead on your feet." It was just another crazy day in 1977, when the late Gerry Rafferty wrote that opening line of his seminal soft rock classic “Baker Street.”
Gerry’s career was in a holding pattern following the breakup of Stealers Wheel, a band that he co-founded with his childhood chum Joe Egan. Gerry & Joe released a couple of singles as Stealers Wheel that stiffed before striking gold with “Stuck in the Middle With You” that was a #6 hit in America, and #8 hit in the UK in ’73. They had a mild follow-up hit with “Star” that stalled at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #25 in the UK.
By 1975, Stealers Wheel had split up, and Rafferty & Egan wanted to move forward with their respective solo careers. However, the contract that they had signed with A&M Records prohibited them from releasing any music for three years. The dispute went to litigation, and was finally resolved in 1978, which cleared the path for City to City, Gerry Rafferty’s debut solo album that ended up selling over 6 million copies around the world.
It was a painfully stressful 3 years for Gerry Rafferty, but amidst the adversity, he wrote one of the most epic songs of the Rock Era. “Baker Street” was all about the frustration that Rafferty was feeling from the legal battles to free himself from the Stealers Wheel contract. He spent a lot of time going back and forth from Glasgow, Scotland to London, England to meet with his lawyers, and while he was in London, he stayed at a friend’s flat on Baker Street. It was in that apartment on Baker Street that Gerry wrote a deeply emotive and introspective narrative about a man that “drinks all night” to “forget about everything”, and dreams “about buying some land, giving up the booze & the one night stands- to settle down in a quiet little town." A thought I’ve had too many times to mention and I”m sure we all have felt at one time or another. It’s a depressing ending, but the most worthy and fitting finale for the character and the show. The song is the key. Baker Street in just a few notes can convey so many emotions, Fear, loathing, regret, desolation, as well as hope and faith for a better tomorrow.
Considering the challenges that Gerry Rafferty overcame to release his solo material, and write this song and gift it to the masses, it would’ve been poetic for“Baker Street” to not only hit #1 but also win every award given that year.
Thank you Gerry for this uncompromising and legendary compositions. Leave us a comment about Gerry Rafferty and this wonderful song. Tell us about any experiences or memories that you’ve had that are tied to this song. To hear the song click on our our playlist below To get the record see our amazon links. If you like our content join our community be subscribing below to this channel Help us keep the music alive until next time, three chords and the truth my friends. - Hudba
Professor,
Love your show! Your passion and attention to detail is what sets you apart from all of the noise out their on the web. In a sea of voices jockeying for position, yours does not compete with others...
*_...they compete with YOU!_*
==========//===========
*INDEED!* _The greatest artists and the greatest songs of all time!_
Which is why you absolutely MUST cover *Alan Parsons* ...and in particular,
*_The Alan Parsons Project's_* INCREDIBLE album,
*I ROBOT*
OMG! Yes! Alan Parsons Project was another piece of perfection! Can't get his songs out of my head!
Yes yes Alan Parsons Project absolutely. Any song for me will do. He is a genius in so many ways.
@@l.t.w8985 ...i am the eye in the sky...that shit is real genius. man, what a thrill to know so many fellow music fans. love them dudes from 70's.
@@pg1171 @L.T. W
In addition to *The Alan Parsons Project,* Alan Parsons worked as an engineer at *Abbey Road Studios* and helped with the production of some *_amazing band's albums_* such as
*Al Stewart - Year Of The Cat*
*Ambrosia's first album which produced the amazing hit song - Holding On To Yesterday*
*Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon*
*The Beatles - Abbey Road*
But when it comes to Alan Parsons Project albums, hands down, my favorite is *I ROBOT* and my second is almost certainly His debut album *Tales Of Mystery And Imagination* which was based on the works of *_Edgar Allan Poe._*
Did you see our video with Alan Parsons from a few weeks ago?
Its not just the singles.....the whole album is solid gold....my time machine is going back to the summer of 78....who else wants to go 😉
Sign me up, pal!
@@michaelnash2138 all aboard !!
Me!!!
I am there already, what’s keeping you all?
I worked as a 17 year old rookie beach lifeguard in cape May New Jersey in the summer of 78. Freshly graduated from high school. Every time I heard the song it resonated deeper. By the end of the summer it became clear that I like the author was deeply unhappy. It was helpful in a strange way. It Helped me begin to come out of denial about my own unhappiness
Gerry Rafferty's Baker Street and his song Right Down The Line are 2 songs, that I can never get enough of.
Lisa Heisey You got that right, Sister. Both songs are cemented into my psyche
Get It Right Next Time was another modest hit for Mr. Rafferty, great song too if you are unfamiliar with it.
Glasgows finest. Also check out Stone The Crows who were a bit like a female zeppelin managed by Peter Grant and John Martyn who is an unbelievable singer songwriter.
You have great taste in music, Lisa.
Home and Dry is fantastic too!
2023 and this song still gives me chills like it did at age 17. RIP Gerry Rafferty, a true musical genius. ❤
"Baker Street" is very intimidating music. A song full of fear and pain. Especially fear.
Gerry Rafferty is one of my personal favorites. Besides Baker Street, I love the songs The Long Way Round and Right Down the Line. All of his music has this smooth facade with inner turmoil underneath. The verses are breezy, the choruses are epic and the bridges are just filled with pain. They encapsulate the human experience in musical form. He was one of a kind.
Great comment, your observations are spot on.
Right Down the Line is one of my favourites after Baker Street ❤
Gerry Rafferty is a criminally underrated musical genius.
YEP!
City to City, Track 9: ISLAND Just ONE example.
You are correct!
Ummm..that would be "was" underrated.
Why do you say that? In what way is he "underrated?" Every musician and serious music fan I know says the exact same thing about Rafferty: extremely talented, great songs. They all recognize his talent and his contribution. He had perhaps 3 hits in the US, yet Baker Street and Right Down the Line are still played constantly on radio. How is that "criminally underrated?"
Another big guitar solo from Gerry, "Right Down the Line".
That is a pop masterpiece
Its actually BJ Cole one of the greatest pedal steel players of all time
Brent Richards Amen to that...
That song is why I love Gerry.
The entire album is terrific. Love Right down the line!
Baker Street is one of the gold standard records of the 70s. No one can ever match it or improve upon it. The song also sets the tone for the late 70s, looking back at life with longing and thinking about how to improve yourself after the tragedies that take us down the wrong path. Thank you, Gerry Rafferty, for your music and for both the memories and hopes that it conveys.
Spring 1978. I got off work at 4 a.m. The book I read before going to bed at daylight was Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin. When Baker Street came on I would stop reading just to absorb the music. It was a great year.
Baker Street is one of the all time best songs for me. A masterpiece.
I agree and is underrated, I only remember the sax from the Simpson and only a few years ago discovered this song and has become part of my greatest hits
Always loved the hell out of this song----especially that saxophone break, which is the main reason it's remembered, and that beautiful, laid-back breezy jazz opening. It's like two songs in one----a laid-back R&B song, and a hard-rock song blasting out for a minute.
I have always thought that “Baker Street” was one of the most overlooked and under appreciated songs of the 70’s. Thanks for your review and recognition.
It was huge.
It's staying power says a lot for this song.
The opening is like a spiritual awaking
Never gets played by our Classic Rock station. I think it got way overplayed in the late 70s early 80s and needs a comeback to find its rightful place.
Not just a classic of the 70s, a classic from the 60s to today, and glad that the prof mentioned the guitar solo. Also outstanding.
“BAKER STREET” takes me to a time in my life that I constantly crave for....nostalgic doesn’t begin to describe the feeling that tune gives to me....simply love it.
Hearing this song will always take me back to Navy boot camp, 1978, in Orlando. My company had aced a barracks inspection and earned the privilege of having a radio. On the weekends, I remember hearing that saxophone solo echo through the barracks. Such a wonderful piece of music.
For some unexplainable reason, whenever I hear Baker Street, I think of the equally incredible song by Al Stewart, *Year Of The Cat* ( _and vice versa_ ).
Those two songs evoke memories of my adolescent years...of me with my family, camping in the Berkshires...a place called *Sherwood Forest* in Becket Massachusetts.
_All good memories...all good!_
Gerry from Paisley and Al from Greenock - about 15 to 20 miles apart in the west of Scotland. Both masterpieces.
Me too! I was 6 and 8 tho. Teenage sisters, so I was “around” then.
@@manxuberglider8
I also had 2 older sisters, and an older brother...so I was exposed to all sorts of music in the 60s and 70s!
I always put the two of them together too for some reason - same time period. FM radio in the cool babysitter's Celica (?) I have (had) albums, now cd's of both - Stewart is interesting for historical lyrics, but Rafferty had by far the better voice - great guitar lick and a sax solo is guaranteed to hook me. Then too, Rafferty lived the life - not that it worked out all that well in the end. I have some empathy - took me till 38 to kick those demons, but I did.
Yeah - me too.
I'm 48 now so I first heard this in the 70s. A friend who lived down my road, cannot for the life of me remember her name, sat me down and put the 7 inch of Baker Street on her turntable. I sat mesmerised through the whole song. It became a favourite song and still is. Best listened to for me now in the dark driving on my own and very loud. Amazing song ❤
This might have been put out 3 yrs ago but I'm here in July 2024 cause I LOVE this song & I LOVE the Prof ❤ could watch & listen to his voice for hours ❤️
I heard his songs in 1978 in India and in a small town called Pondicherry. Who would have thought this album was bought by a weird Indian guy on his 20's? Well it , was not me it's my neighbour. thanks to my neighbor playing in loop and very loud.
This was 1978, no internet, no Amazon this Gerry Raffert Album was bought in South India and being played in loop by my neighbour.
Ever since, it's one of my top Karaoke songs and to add cherry to the cake my neighbour's wife was even more sweeter than the song😂🎉.
Lots of stories behind this song, Gerry RIP and thanks for writing that wonderful album. Of course can't talk about Baker Street without linking to his another beauty on the same album Right down the line.
I was 8 years-old in 1978...I loved Shadow Dancing then and I love it now, but Baker Street is a straight-up masterpiece.
Baker Street was "our song." We got married June 24, 1978 and went on a one-week honeymoon to Florida, where we saw everything they had, kind of raced from place to place all around Florida. Baker Street was on every station. We both loved it. The divorce was final in 2004. Hearing the song again is just bittersweet. And learning whatever happened to Gerry Rafferty is sad. Thanks for the video.
I was ten years old and living in suburban Halifax in Nova Scotia. We had a cottage up on Northumberland Strait. Coming back to it from visiting friends in Amherst meant driving along this two-lane highway, no lights, huge pines hugging the road between placid farms, and nothing but moonlight, starlight, and my parents in the fronts seats as we coasted along. And amidst it all, this song on the radio defining the moment and crystalizing it. Every time I hear it, it puts me right back there.
Baker Street is so amazingly underrated. The sax, the guitar, oh hell all of it. It transports me back in time. Should have been number 1 hands down.
It's not underrated at all. It has the most recognisable sax riff ever. Baker Street is an all-time classic enjoyed by many generations.
Everywhere I went as a 16-year-old in '78 (first solo drive, first car date, first makeout session at the lake with my girl, first well-paid job) this song was there. From being annoyed about how much airplay it was getting at first, by the end of the year I eagerly anticipated every time it came on the radio and that thrill you get when the sax kicks in again at the end of the first verse. I only have to hear that opening sax riff and it's like I'm back in the day. Unlike me, this song will never grow old.
Gerry’s music never ceases to get stale- it’s quite amazing
You mean it never gets stale, don't you?
Rafferty’s voice is like sonic valium.
Right down the line is my personal favorite!
it's been you, wumaan
Awesome song! Despite the word "through" sounding like "shrew" each time it occurs. (I wonder what's the story behind that?)
Baker street is a smarter and powerful song. Right down the line it's different but beautiful song too.
Rick and morty
Also an awesome song
As a 22 yr old, I don’t really have many peers who appreciate this music so hearing you talk about this music with such passion really makes me feel validated. I feel like you have such a natural ability to make the lyrics of a song really connect almost as if you’re hearing them again for the first time.
Your love for this music makes it valid
and worthy of appreciation and turns even the simple pop songs into works of art to me. It moves me to tears in every video. You really have a gift. God bless you man! You’re brilliant!!
also if you ever did a video on the smiths I’d get such a shock I’d probably lie in the middle of the street and die 😅
Well, I'd definitely say that's your gain and their loss. You're in good company here. This is when music was actually music, not the crap that usually gets put out these days, although there are exceptions.
My 15 year old son had to be the only child at the Chicago and also the Styx concerts I took him to last year. We saw Elton for his 13th birthday. You have peers in this generation.
Soul! It’s about soul. I remember the first time I heard this song as a child...we were driving to my grandparents house. Everyone in the car was asleep but me and my dad...he had the window cracked, and I remember the blue light from the dashboard and looking at the sky as we sped through the night with the cool breeze kissing my face. He didn’t know I was awake but we shared a moment in time that I have relived a thousand times since. It meant so much to me that I made sure I shared it with my kids, too. It’s our official road trip song...especially when it’s dark. I’m always trying to capture that moment again. And I do every time...it’s just perfect.
Sugar Sheila - I have similar memories of that song and that time. Thanks for evoking them!
My 3 year old loves this song.
The Brits dominated the Rock 'n Roll era. Great music.
I graduated from high school in 1980. This song was life. Every single day was Baker Street. It was always way too big of a song to just be "on the radio." To be coming out of an AM transistor from Radio Shack. It immediately mesmerized the mind and you had to stop what you were doing and drink it in. I grew up in Southern California and it screamed SoCal to me. This was fantastic by the way. Excellent analysis.
This song transcends the Billboard charts. Whenever it came on the radio back in the day, it lifted me to another plane. And not one, but TWO timeless solos (Sax/Guitar) in one song? C'mon...it's one of the greatest songs of all time.
It lifted you "to another plane?" What does that mean?
I stole it from a psuedo relligious philosophy (which I. don't believe) where one tries to "achieve" a "higher plane of existence", or awareness about life and the universe. Although I don't ascribe to this, I used it as a metaphor. That song has the effect of lifting my spirts, so I copped the "higher plane" idea to try and describe it in a creative and complimetary way.
@@ronricherson6685 Are you a prfessional writer? If not you should be. What an answer!
What a great compliment! Thanks! As a matter of fact, I'm putting the finishing touches on my first book. Your comment greatly encourages me.
The way the guitar solo flows into the saxophone solo outro is simply pure musical genius.
EDIT: I don't know why I typed bass instead of saxophone when I first posted this reply. I played bass in the high school jazz band and we would play Baker Street as an instrumental. I guess I had bass on the brain thinking about the song.
This song absolutely defined the summer of 78. I was working as a beach lifeguard in cape may New Jersey and during that first summer after graduating from high school I assumed I had life figured out. When the song came on the radio I was literally sitting on my stand and acting like the stoic lifeguard but inside I was completely destroyed. Hooked. Blown away mesmerized. I couldn’t figure out why. Coincidentally within a few weeks I had been fired from my job and found myself in relationship hell as well when it struck me that like the character in that song something was really wrong in my life. . So to hear Baker Street I felt like I had a secret friend who would tell me each time it played that he too was in a bad place emotionally. That song riveted me so much that I thought about the lyrics even when the song wasn’t playing. I can’t say enough about this song. Life changing (14 years and many drugs later I finally got the help I needed to begin to recover from severe childhood abuse ). Thank you Gerry for throwing me a lifeline in 1978. “ just one more year and I will be happy .....”. Wow.
MATTIES RAG is flat out underrated genius and one you sadly never hear anymore…😢😢😢
Baker Street was what I had termed one of my "lost classics" when I was a kid. I would hear it in the background everywhere in the '80s, but didn't know its name or who released it. I would hear it in grocery stores, from passing cars, randomly on the radio. The saxophone, of course, haunted me. When I joined the Army I was telling a fellow Soldier about this song with the haunting saxophone solo and thought I was doing a terrible job describing it. He said, "oh, that's Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty." Then he went back to his room and brought me the cassette. That entire album is fantastic and listening to it brings back fond memories of a young lady I was fortunate enough to know before I left the Army to go to college.
This song always reminds me of coming home from elementary school in the 80s and watching reruns of WKRP in Cincinnati for some reason.
WKRP's Thanksgiving turkey episode is fucking gold.
One of the cool things in life...how some things trigger other things.
I really love their theme song. Wish they had a full song version. I love Howard Hesseman on that.
In the WKRP Episode where they finally reach #7 or so, everyone is stoked, except Andy. In that episode, he enters his office and you hear Supertramp's "Take the Long Way Home" the WKRP jingle, and then a Gerry Rafferty masterpiece "Get It Right Next Time" - Baker Street part II.
@@TheEntilza There IS a full-song version of “Theme From WKRP”. I haven’t heard it in years, and I wish I could tell you where to find it. But it IS out there…somewhere. Hugh Wilson, creator of WKRP, would know. But I don’t know how to reach him, either.
The amount I learned about this song in a few minutes is just unbelievable. For me, this song was a soundtrack of my college years. One of the last LP's I bought new as CD's took over.
Tons of Hard Rockers love Gerry Rafferty.
“Baker Street” was the theme song of my senior year of high school. I remember driving home from show rehearsals, my headlights reflecting off the wet pavement on the twisting country roads near my school. That’s the video I see when I hear the song. Definitely a song for a life milestone.
Funny - I was just thinking about the video in my head: Everything is in fast motion, except one man, who is in slow-motion - struggling to get through a day....
Some songs go to number one on the pop charts. Others just stick around as great art, for generations. Baker St. will be here for quite some time to come. A master work recording and arranging, composition. Whole package.
this song was covered, beautifully, by the foofighters.
Standing up in the backseat of my Mammas 1968 Gold Mustang. Gliding up & down rolling rural hills to a Lakeside beach in 1978. I was 7 years old. Wearing a blue gingham bikini. Blonde hair in pig tails. This song evokes freedom. Summer. Hope. Growing older & hearing lyrics makes me understand its not really that happy. Knowing Rafferty's life trajectory back story...but I still play it over and over.
my favorite by gerry rafferty is by far the royal mile!
“Get it right next time” his best that not many know.
That’s not the main thing...
Good approach to Life.
First time I heard Baker Street I was driving to work and the hair on my arms stood at attention. I still get that feeling when I hear the song. Loved Gerry Rafferty.
Oh yes, awesome song
I love this song too. It has a subtly addictive feel that builds to a crescendo and makes you want to listen again.
Foo Fighters was my favorite version of this song. Original was greatness though.
Baker Street is a great song and always conjures up an image of a busy city, it could be London of course or anywhere for that matter. Not many songs capture the intensity and excitement of a city as it does. Largely forgotten dance act Undercover released their version of it in 1992 and it was a big hit in Britain. They also covered Andrew Gold's Never let her slip away, which is great too. Fans of the original would perhaps find the cover of Baker street to be a demolition job but I think both are really good in their own unique way.
This is simply one of the greatest pop songs ever, in my opinion. It kind of had it all. So fascinating that Gerry HATED the industry (actually, that's what Stuck In the MIddle With You is all about) - and yet created all these great songs. I think he would have done very well in this day of direct distribution and solid legal ownership. But throughout his WHOLE career he battled alcohol - so he was doomed from the start. That album is incredible.
Thanks for the comment!
Music industry is shady & thats being understated. Billy Squier, Alannah Myles, Milli Vanilli..just to name a few. Musicians need good
agents, managers, & lawyers.
gin ngo - And some, like Milli Vanilli, need good singers.
@@crusheverything4449 they had 2 really great singers just in the background the original recording
was done long before the lip synching & music video posers
Millie Vanilli
Great alternative Mad Men ending. I agree about the song. 👍
Love your passion! Rafferty’s City to City and Boz Scaggs’ Silk Degrees are my two favorite albums from the 70’s. Still listen to them frequently.
Down Two Then Left and Slow Dancer are both HIGHLY underrated Boz albums as well.....
thank you mine to
You have great taste in music..love Boz too..loved Down two then Left also..another very underrated singer/songwriter..gosh just thinking about all those wonderful songs take me back to a very very happy time of my life..I'd go back and do it all again in a heartbeat..
Gerald Rafferty 16 April 1947 - 4 January 2011 age 63
Although Gerry's final years were very sad, we still love him and all the memorable music he produced for all of us to enjoy for many generations to come.. Thank you Gerald..
Baker St was the "Smoke on the Water" for any inspiring sax player through the 80s
I was just thinking recently of how many great songs from the 80s had sax solos, and missing it. Duran Duran's Rio, Spandau Ballet's True, INXS's Never Tear Us Apart, Huey Lewis's Heart of Rock & Roll, Tears For Fears' The Working Hour, Springsteen's Dancing In The Dark, Hall and Oates' Maneater. Most of these bands had a sax player in their normal repertoire.
We need to bring back the sax.
Heat is on by Glenn Frey too
Kudos for mentioning The Working Hour.
Stay now , Hazel Oconnor that sax solo at the end is one of the sexiest solos i've ever heard
Candy by Cameo is another song with awesome sax work.
@@delian1671 you belong to the city is another by Glenn Frey
You are what I miss about when MTV was relevant. It's s shame, even though I love watching everything you do here that someone doesn't want you doing a televised show. You're so amazing
Gregory Reed Amen Brother!
Wonderful…Gerry Rafferty, an icon, lifted me up when I was down. The first time I heard Baker Street I went wow! I always thought it was about UK history. The song is actually about Gerry Rafferty’s life. Without a doubt, the man was in his own league and glad that his daughter put out Rest in Blue!
Gerry Rafferty's Baker Street is one of my music Files that can not be deleted on my play list ever since.
"City to City" is a such a fantastic album.
I simply love it since I heard it the first time.
It was my mother who bought the record and I stumbled over it when I stepped through her record collection when I was 12 years old.
Till now this recording stayed with me wherever I was.
"Right down the line" off that City to City is FIRE
Absolutely! Can’t mention Gerry without Right Down the Line.
that TITLE of that song was my tribute to my Mom....it was you woman...right down the line.
So tired of hearing this song. It's been 40+ years and I still hear it frequently on the Oldies station.
as a 8 year old in 78 that song takes me back to a hot summer in Middle of Missouri riding in my family's ford t-bird with long hair and thinking of a cute girl at the swimming pool.....
As good as “Baker Street” is , “Home and Dry” might be my favorite from that album. A majestic tune.
I played "Home and Dry" and Steve Miller's "Jet Airliner" over and over while homesick my freshman year of college, and again in my head during Army basic training.
Quite hard to go wrong with ANY tune on City 2 City. SMB Jet Airliner album has its special moments, those two albums aren't comparable on genre, but I have them both on cassette and cruised my late teens to those and several other classic albums of that era. 🙂
.....a DEFINITE double-entendre being voiced with that; 'home', could refer to a FEW different places - LOVE the sublimated bluegrass arrangement especially but, an ALL-time favorite of mine as WELL, Bill.....
Whatever’s written in your heart is a brilliant Rafferty Recording as well.
Yes, one of the most beautiful and heart-wrenching breakup songs ever. It described one of mine perfectly.
Big love for this one.
City to city is a masterpiece
City to City is a great album, there isn't a bad track on it.
Born in 72. I was 5 growing up in Southern CA and Bakker Street is one of the songs that is a memory pull.
I grew up in Southern California and first heard Gerry's "Baker Street" on the big L.A. AM radio station KHJ. Soon after I bought the album at Tower Records while in high school and I have been a lifelong fan ever since. Gerry soon faded from the popular spotlight, but I continued buying his music on albums and CDs for years. My BEST memory of "Baker Street" was the summer of 1978 - It was my first summer working on the beaches of Laguna Beach, California as a lifeguard. Before Walkmans, iPods and cell phones with earbuds, people brought their own AM radios to the beach to listen to music. I remember so often that summer sitting in my lifeguard tower on beautiful sunny days, watching the swimmers and surfers, the scent of sunscreen in the air, and then suddenly from a nearby radio I would hear Gerry's silky voice, those incredible lyrics, that amazing guitar solo and of course, that sax ...
Bakers Street is a songwriting(& arranging) masterpiece. As a passionate songwriter myself, I wish I wrote it.
Interesting in that it has verse, pre-chorus, then the saxaphone plays the chorus "riff" ...I am always reluctant to call a song that doesn't have a chorus to sing along to a masterpiece....the boxer is another one where the chorus is just a chant, lie da dai, lai da dai rather than a straight chorus....they work though, still great songs
The greatest number 2 song of the rock era,.. PERIOD!!.. My favorite song of all time...!
Gerry Rafferty's song Baker Street helped me literally to come out of the emotional pain I was suffering at the time, and move forward!! I still love to hear this song! I never knew other people felt the same. Thank You, Adam for the accolades to this beautifully accomplished song!! I love Baker Street, and Gerry Rafferty. Please bring this song forward to the future generations to come!!
Peace Out!✌
Never really cared for Baker's Street, and I wouldn't mind never hearing it again. Right down the Line, on the other hand, make me ponder the odds of there ever being life on this planet that would one day evolve into a creature that would create something this awesome.
Baker Street is one of the best songs of all time.
I had this as a ring tone for several years, and it would stop strangers on the street...
He was a gifted songwriter and lyricist. I Loved Right Down the Line even more. It was Loving and filled with gentle awe and gratitude.
Baker Street is one of my favorite songs of all time.
My brother and I were on a road trip from Minnesota to Arkansas. We just looked at a map and picked the best looking option. Unfortunately this led us through a really rough portion of Kansas City Missouri at around midnight. We locked our doors and prayed to God our vehicle did not break down. At that moment Baker Street started playing on the radio, it was the first time either of us had ever heard it. We were Small Town country boys totally out of our element. This song is burned into my mind forever because of the situation we were in, and made us thankful for where we came from.
Probably the most intriguing fact about this track is that the instrumental refrain takes the place of the traditional chorus. I can't think of another song that fits this untraditional formula.
That sax solo at the end has always given me an unbridled sense of joy!!
This is the quintessential song for any Sax lovers. I love the feeling that the sax has in this song and almost needs no lyrics.
here's my favorite memory of this song. POR and I are just about the same age, so I grew up loving the song. Not long ago, I was in a deep, dark place in m life, struggling with my ptsd, depression, everything falling apart around me. One day, I got on my motorcycle, no real plan on where I was going, just going. With my playlist going in my earbuds, Baker Street came on, right as I was alone on a stretch of 2 lane highway. With his haunting but beautiful song playing, my V-twin in top gear, humming it's own beautiful tone, I felt completely at peace. For that one, single fleeting moment in time, I was transformed into a feeling I had forgotten. A feeling of pure zen, pure relaxation, pure peace and calm. Whenever I get down, I put myself back into that moment, and smile, knowing that for that piece of time, it was just me, the wind and the music.
How about Al Stewart’s “Year of the Cat.”
That is a masterpiece!
Year Of The Cat and Time Passages. Both Great Songs from Al Stewart.
Marlon Hinton They are great albums too.
Hell yea I love that song I still listen to it just about every day..
Al Stewart is a very underrated artist who has so much good music in his catalog, especially if you enjoy history. He is definitely due for a rediscovery!!!
@@marlonhinton2371 The whole is great. It's one of those albums I like to put on and then turn the lights off and listen to in the dark.
The tone of the Guitar Solo is arguably one of The greatest Guitar Tones ever ranking up there with VH Brown Sound
Without a doubt. The rock Tone Masters, Jimmy Page, Ted Nugent, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Baxter, David Gilmour, and of course Eddie Hazel.
When I hear that song it makes me think of summer at the beach. I used to hit the beach a lot with friends while still in college, mostly Huntington Beach, CA. Someone always brought a transistor radio and Baker Street was in heavy rotation in the summer of 1978 so in the course of the four or five hours I would be "beached" I would hear Baker Street multiple times. So yes, whenever I hear it it takes me right back to crashing waves, hot sun and bikini clad girls in late 70s Southern California.
I listened to this song many nights as it played on the radio in the early 80's I was a 77 born kid. This song would help me wind down to go to sleep. Since my brain was trained that it was sleep time I only listen to the song during the day if I'm driving.
This is one of the songs that changed my life and made me fall in love with music. I'd be a different person today had it not been for songs like Baker Street. Always #1 in my heart.
"Whatever Written in your Heart" is also AMAZING.
Brilliant Incredible Genius Songwriter Composer lyricsist Vocalist. 🎼☮️✨️
Baker Street is also a song that I remember from my early childhood hearing it on the radio while driving with my father on a long car trip.
Baker Street has always been one of my favorite songs, with Raphael's sexy saxophone notes forever calling me back to less stressful times. Gerry Rafferty was truly a musical genius.
One of my top favorite 70s songs ever!
Waking up for breakfast hearing it on the am radio 📻 in the 70 s
Baker Street. A time in my life so memorable and special to me is tied to this song. 45 years later it still affects me. TLS.
This sing has always captivated me. There's a little 'Baker Street' in all of us...regret and optimism...so human!
First time I heard this song on the radio I was about 9 yrs old.. It was on A.M radio. in my mom's 66 Impala.
Gerry was one of rock’s greatest songwriters who has gone under the radar. Listen to “Whatever’s written in your heart” and you’ll understand what I mean.
A stunningly beautiful song.
Love, love that song! I can't believe that it wasn't a big hit for Gerry Rafferty.
His early stuff is also JAWDROPPINGLY good.....czcams.com/video/KmQbUdxJEVA/video.html
Wow It's hard to believe Baker street was never no.1... The song was played on every radio station from pop to adult contemporary..to alternative... to jazz...the song was coming from the windows of houses and from cars driving down the street...It was the soundtrack of the time ! 🎶 I'll never forget it it was just everywhere... you who were there at the time will know what I'm mean .. Timless Classic 🎷
Gerry Rafferty songs were under rated.
Lying in my bed in April 1978...I had an 8 o'clock class...6:30 AM alarm...and Baker Street made its way into my life. I was 22. I followed the Billboard charts at that time of my life and watched every week to see when it would hit Number One. And it stuck at Number two. Yes, it was a number one song. And it was THE song of 1978. Nothing else came close. Thanks for this. I lived your story.
City to City was Gerry’s second solo album .
His first solo album was Can I Have My Money Back
Caught this as well, but I've given up correcting the "professor". Last time I corrected an error his response was something like, "I do my research". Research is only as good as the accuracy of resource material. And one thing about the internet is there are a ton of mistakes everywhere. The professor suffers from youth. He was too young in the 80s and not alive in the 60's and 70s's to truly know what's right & what's wrong. I offered to assist him but didn't receive a response. If I had time, I would create a channel. Not enough of us old-timers left to provide the real stories.
shyman99 well sure that happened. Think about the size of the ego that names itself “The Professor”.
@@stevespatucci6502 You never know who you'll come across in the comments section. Call me GBJ.
"Can I Have My Money Back?" is a good, folksy, low-fi album.
Baker Street is a rock masterpiece Sounds better today than ever.. . number one now in 2021 in our hearts
Genius....
And like most complicated..
RIP Gerry..
Gerry Rafferty was a perfectly eccentric and detached singer/ songwriter...
On par with legends like Zevon and Nilsson.
Just awesome.💪👍🎸
Great comps. Couldn’t agree more.
Definitely!
@@ProfessorofRock Would love a Zevon profile!
I remember listening to this song late at night, on a transistor radio. I can't tell you how many times I've heard it, but it never gets old.
Baker Street. One of only a couple songs I NEVER get tired of.
Every time I hear this song it instantly transports me back to the late 90s when I lived in England. My first husband and I had taken a road trip (in my purple Mini, which I only had for a very brief time until it was rear-ended) with our housemate to visit Skipton Castle. In the town near the castle, someone was selling red ripe strawberries for £1; we bought some and bought some cream from somewhere, I don’t recall where. We sat in the car with the sunshine pouring in the windows and ate strawberries and cream, and this song came on the radio. Our housemate started playing a cartoonishly exaggerated air saxophone along with the solo in the song, and I don’t know if I’ve ever laughed that hard before or since. I guess you had to be there. I didn’t love living in England, but that memory is a good and indelible one, more than half a lifetime ago now.
'Baker Street' and 'Right Next Time' are absolute classics... whenever I hear them on the radio they take me to a different place. Genius.
Growing up in Scotland, of course, Gerry Rafferty is legendary, he is also associated with Scotland's most famous comedian Billy Connolly (who had a number one UK hit in the 70s). They were known as The Humblebums, a folk rock band that released three albums in the late 60s. Baker Street is a timeless song, you can fit it into any decade, a classic that I will never tire from hearing.
Gerry and Billy used to play as the Humblebums in the Scotia Bar, Glasgow, Scotland.
Whether it was number one or not, it was just one of those songs that captured the vibe of that era