Let's Talk About Night Owl - Rock and Roll Globe Some of these old ladies used to pass out. Bonnie Raitt recorded a reggae treatment of "Right Down the Line" for her Slipstream album released 10 April 2012. And a whole suite of Irish traditional songs and Scots traditional songs". He then worked in a butcher's shop, as a civil service clerk, and in a shoe shop. Burns was performing on the road with Jack Bruce in 1978 when he made arrangements to visit the London studio where Raffertys album City to City was being recorded. The duo disbanded in 1975. His career high came in the 1970s and included the anthemic Baker Street and Stuck in the Middle . 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I would never have left him if there'd been a glimmer of a chance of him recovering. "He said to me, I cant stand the way you live, because you drive a Rolls Royce and you have this house and this and that He hated the music business and everything in it.. The group was beset by legal wranglings, but had a huge hit with "Stuck in the Middle with You", which earned critical acclaim as well as commercial success: a 1975 article in Sounds described it as "a sort of cross between white label Beatles and punk Dylan yet with a unique Celtic flavour that has marked all their work". Though it would seem to have struck America like a bolt from the blue, City to City does not depart dramatically from the music Rafferty has recorded over the past decade. In the same interview, he said that the entire record had been made for approximately 200,000, with half spent on travel, the recording system costing 75,000, and the website and marketing adding 25,000. Here is the song sung by Gerry with Joe providing the second lead vocal: Theres a 1 hour BBC4 documentary about him here. Trending If you feel uncomfortable with it you shouldn't do it. Gerry Rafferty - Right Down the Line (Lyric Video) - Youtube Music [43][44] Through his company Icon Music, Rafferty promoted and sold the album independently on a website created specifically for the purpose. Click here for academic and other group subscriptions. Another World, almost an esoteric work, also with the assistance of Mark Knopfler and Egan, featured an album cover illustrated by John 'Patrick' Byrne, who also illustrated the covers for Can I Have My Money Back?, City to City, Night Owl, and Snakes and Ladders, and all three Stealers Wheel albums. A subscription makes a thoughtful gift for both family and friends. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. Rafferty's guitarist Hugh Burns, multi-instrumentalist Graham Preskett and saxophonist Mel Collins, were also featured. His next door neighbour was [Island Records owner] Chris Blackwell. [Rafferty's] approach seemed claustrophobic. Gerry Rafferty Biography, Songs, & Albums | AllMusic Burton surmised that if the credit werent a mistake, it constituted some kind of shoutout from Marcus. [27] But it earned him another 1.5million, selling around three million copies in Europe and America. 2 on the American Billboard charts behind Andy Gibbs Shadow Dancing.). Rafferty himself said as much, during an interview taken not long before his death in 2009: "There have been periods in my life where I have experienced depression. And for . Rafferty was born into a working-class family in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. We use cookies to help provide you with the best possible online experience. I thought, well, if a little bit of that rubs off on us, perhaps we'll get in the charts as well, but actually, in practice, it was kind of a claustrophobic experience. Gerry Rafferty: Folk Roots Interview (1988) - Redstone Tech In a blog posting dated 31 March 2004 he wrote: "Let's get back to music: after all that's the only reason that this website has been set up." I said, Youre just not the right person to do David Frost. Perhaps I was on the edge of a nervous break-down thats how it felt, anyway. He didn't know how good he was. He died many years later in a terrible state. I said, If you give him 5 million, youll never get another album Its the worst thing you can do. Billboard Hot 100 [2] and #8 on Cash Box. Liner notes for the compilation album Right Down the Line (prepared with Rafferty's close co-operation[33]) confirmed this several years later, noting the singer was now "finding himself at the crossroads and looking to replace the treadmill with a new dimension in his life". The Times, Wednesday 5 January 2011. Best Gerry Rafferty Songs: 10 Greats From Scotland's Beloved - Dig! Roy Wood Jr. Gerry Rafferty obituary | Gerry Rafferty | The Guardian They married in 1970 and lived in Scotland with their daughter, Martha Mary, before moving to the south of England in the late 1970s,[20] where they divided their time between their farm near the KentSussex border and a home in Hampstead, London. Apart from Ravenscroft, most of the musicians on City to City are old friends. In fact, most of what I played was an old blues riff. To be a star in inverted commas -that is probably the last thing I want. According to Rafferty's daughter Martha, it was around this time that her father discovered, by chance, Colin Wilson's classic book The Outsider, about alienation and creativity, which became a huge influence both on his songwriting and his outlook on the world: "The ideas and references contained in that one book were to sustain and inspire him for the rest of his life. Gerry Rafferty signed up with Brewer and his production company funded the making of new album, City To City. exclusive audio interviews. Gerry Rafferty signed up with Brewer and his production company funded the making of new album, City To City. "You were very lucky to get that interview because he didn't do many. But they were old-school producers. During this time, he met Enzina Fuschini, an Italian artist living in Dorset. Jon Brewer now a successful documentary maker (opens in new tab) managed Rafferty through his most successful period before their relationship ended in acrimony. "Thats how they regulated the charts. "[38] His next album, North and South, was released in 1988. Signing up for the RBP newsletter provides access to a limited number of free articles, as well as six new free articles every week. [citation needed], During November 2009, Rafferty released what would be his final album, Life Goes On. Rafferty was born on 16 April 1947 into a working-class family of Irish Catholic origin in Underwood Lane in Paisley,[1] a son and grandson of coal miners. I dont have a manager now, nor do I want one.. I totally understand., The same scene play out at Island records: Gerry is left alone with owner Chris Blackwell and afterwards Blackwell collars Brewer and says, I would rather sign Gary Glitter than that man! A Scotsman bred on traditional music, he was never a proper folkie - not really - and his alliance with Billy Connolly in The Humblebums at the end of the '60s always seemed a bizarre blend of opposites, though Gerry maintains it was . by Celtic fusion artist Martyn Bennett. By using this site, you agree that we may store and access cookies on your device. Once Rafferty decided to look in the Berlin telephone directory to see if any Hitlers were listed.[10]. Right down the line: Remembering Gerry Rafferty Rafferty and Joe Egan formed the group Stealers Wheel in 1972 and produced several hits, most notably "Stuck in the Middle with You" and "Star". The next album was all organised but Gerry wanted to get rid of me.". It was a pretty scary kind of feeling. Gerry Rafferty: A Brilliant Tortured Soul 29,019 views Mar 11, 2018 The late great Gerry Rafferty succumbed to alcoholism back in 2011. In 1965, 18-year-old Rafferty met 15-year-old Carla Ventilla, an apprentice hairdresser from an Italian family in Clydebank, at a dancehalla story he later recounted in the song "Shipyard Town" on North and South. [80], This article is about the singer. His daughter Martha relaunched Rafferty's old website, gerryrafferty.com, with a full discography, rare photos, and new artwork by John 'Patrick' Byrne. The liner notes to the compilation album Right Down the Line, written by Jerry Gilbert with Rafferty's close co-operation, note his consistent refusal to tour the United States and "generally 'play the industry game'. This was elaborated on by music journalist Paul Gambaccini for BBC World News:. "Gerry Rafferty went to meet his maker sober and unafraid, curious and brave", "Gerry Rafferty's 'Baker Street' Blues: Rolling Stone's 1978 Feature". There is a mid-Atlantic blandness lurking behind the rococo roots veneer. He regularly appears on Classic Rocks podcast, The 20 Million Club (opens in new tab), and was the writer/researcher on 2017s Mick Ronson documentary Beside Bowie (opens in new tab). Scott wrote chapters for two of legendary sleeve designer Storm Thorgerson's books (For The Love Of Vinyl (opens in new tab), 2009, and Gathering Storm (opens in new tab), 2015). The lyric and the melody fuse beautifully and the lyric is complemented by the melody. From knee high, Rafferty would sing these standards, three-part harmonising with his elder siblings, Jim and Joe. To access Rocks Backpages through your non-UK university or college, please use your library page via the below menu. Billy Connolly recalls his first meeting with Gerry Rafferty - BBC Then he tried it on guitar, and that didnt sound quite right. Right Down The Line by Gerry Rafferty - Songfacts He is currently working on the official documentary on the life of Chuck Berry. this can result in this site earning a commission. [41], Rafferty released two further albums in the 1990s in what musician Tom Robinson later described as "a major return to form". BA1 1UA. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Gerry Rafferty. Listeners weigh in on our interview with 10-year-old Kathryn Aurora Gray, the youngest person ever to discover a Supernova; and our remembrance of singer and songwriter Gerry Rafferty, who died . A subscription gives you access to all the articles and audio interviews in the library. It goes through a little kind of journey, it takes you through a journey and so, in some sense, its a very complete composition, which is unusual for popular music at that time. [8] In the mid 1960s Rafferty earned money, for a time, busking on the London Underground. [citation needed], Other artists continue to be inspired by Rafferty's work. Scott is the Content Director of Music at Future plc, responsible for the editorial strategy of online and print brands like Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Prog, Guitarist, Guitar World, Guitar Player, Total Guitar etc. And where does the magnificent saxophone line that everyone is humming come from? The collection of blues, rock, and folk demos had been planned for a new album before his death. [48], Rafferty maintained his enthusiasm for this new approach to recording for the next three years. He also referenced the demo, explaining that it was Rafferty himself playing the line on guitar. And that all he wanted to do was write songs for his daughter., "I said, Right. Rafferty originally had conceived of Stealers Wheel which he formed after spending three years as the better half of a folk-rock duo, the Humblebums as a quartet of singer/songwriters, sort of a Scottish Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Also, according to legend, he was only paid 27 for his contribution, while Rafferty was said to have made 80,000 in annual royalties until his death in 2011. Though they had drifted apart by 1968, Burton visited in the studio while he was recording Tomorrow Never Knows. After being taken off life support, Rafferty rallied for a short time, and doctors thought that he might recover. [29] One of the lesser-known songs from that time is "Big Change in the Weather" (the B-side of "Baker Street"). The third single from the album, "Home and Dry", reached No. Rafferty and Ventilla divorced in 1990. Gerry Rafferty, Songwriter, Dies at 63 - The New York Times I said, If you go on David Frost, Im finished. [15] Twenty years later, the song was used prominently in the 1992 movie Reservoir Dogs; Rafferty refused to grant permission for its re-release. 'Can I Have My Money Back?' [13], In September 2011, EMI issued a remastered collector's edition of City to City featuring previously unheard demo versions of "Baker Street", "Mattie's Rag", "City to City", and other tracks from the album. That wasnt a very good career move. I never heard before until I just now listened, but I am sure if I had actually written the song back in the day I would have retained my copyright as I always did and would have been aware of it. In 1966, Rafferty and Egan were members of the band the Fifth Column. For decades in England, for instance, there was a widely believed urban myth that Bob Holness, the buttoned-up British gameshow host, had actually performed the saxophone solo in Baker Street.. He had been signed to A&M. Even more so than most people who work in this business, he saw it as not a good thing. He wanted his talent to be respected. [citation needed], Rafferty drew a clear distinction between the artistic integrity of a musician, on the one hand, and the music industry's need to create celebrities and sell products, on the other. Jon Brewer is a director and producer. We want to hear it. tenor sax player who toured with the jazz great Buddy Rich. Gerry Rafferty's 'Baker Street' Blues: Rolling Stone's 1978 Feature They had Electric Light Orchestra, Kenny Rodgers, and the third artist was to become Gerry Rafferty. It also included a few original compositions, including a song called Half a Heart. The first nine seconds may give you chills. A gospel -influenced love song inspired by the weary resignation of a relationship that has run its course, this moving masterpiece has all the style . And Gerry would barge into their umbrella, shout Oh my god!, and as he hit the ground hed take his glass eye out and let it roll on the pavement. Stay up to date with in depth music reviews, exclusive interviews and widespread coverage of whats happening from your favourite music genre. [34] According to Michael Gray, Rafferty's personal manager at the height of his success, he turned down many opportunities to work with other artists:[38] " he retained a healthy scepticism not just about the music industry but about society, money and politics in general. 1 in America, and suddenly he found that as a result of his protest, he was a bigger star than ever. After they disbanded in 1971, he recorded his first solo album, Can I Have My Money Back? There was a generation gap and a culture gap, too. They never toured America because the band, according to Rafferty, when it existed at all, was a fucking shambles, and they wrangled angrily with their managers. Stream the album here: https://lnk.to/GerryR. His solo hits in the late 1970s included "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line", and "Night Owl". Singer, who would pass away in 2011, is sitting on top of the world as he gives this interview in New York City's Plaza Hotel, Gerry Raffertys Baker Street Blues: Rolling Stones 1978 Feature, You Are Grimes Now: Inside Music's Weird AI Future, Pharrells Something in the Water Fest Cancels Final Day Due to Severe Weather, Stagecoach: Kane Brown Breaks Mental Health Stigma With 'Memory,' Talks Depression, Kiss Paul Stanley Has 'Thoughts' About Parents Who Support Kids Gender Identities, Kanye West Fallout Sparks Class Action Lawsuit Against Adidas, Roy Wood Jr. News Release, PR Newswire, 27 November 2000. Brewer's offices were just across the road. Gerry became someone else, and it was alcohol that took him over. Stealers Wheels management company Ricochet had disappeared with the bands money and times were tough. unrestricted remote and on-site access to each text and audio file in the database. Gerry liked to triple track everything, wed get three pianos, it became a bit of a Phil Spector issue. Then Capitol records made a similar offer. He was one of the most talented musicians and singers I ever knew but he completely underestimated his own talent. The sax solo did sound vaguely familiar, so perhaps I have heard this in the past on the radio somewhere along the way. Gerry Rafferty Buy album Year of Release: 1978 Appears in: 141 charts Rank Score: 881 Rank in 1978: 35 Rank in 1970s: 375 Overall Rank: 1,918 Average Rating: 76 (159 votes) Comments: 8 2. The guitarist Hugh Burns has scored movies like Die Another Day and The Hobbit, and played with the likes of Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Jack Bruce, and George Michael throughout his storied career. It remained at the top of the adult contemporary chart for four non-consecutive weeks. According to guitarist Hugh Burns, Murphy's death was "a great blow to Gerry"[42] and marked the end of a creative partnership that had lasted almost 30 years. Harvey left shortly afterwards, and Rafferty and Connolly continued as a duo, recording two more albums for Transatlantic Records. From a Richard Thompson interview this spring, discussing the shelved Rafferty-produced 1980 sessions prior to the. In 2000, he told the Paisley Daily Express that the second Stealers Wheel album, released in 1974, had been named Ferguslie Park, after a deprived[56] area of Paisley, "to get as far away as possible from all the bullshit of the music industry in London. The newspaper Scotland on Sunday reported that Rafferty had been asked to leave the hotel and had then checked himself into St Thomas' Hospital suffering from a chronic liver condition, brought on by heavy drinking. And the interesting thing is that that sax solo, the line itself, was also given by the singer [George Michael]. [11] Billboard praised the album as "high-grade folk-rock", describing it as Rafferty's "finest work" to date: "His tunes are rich and memorable with an undeniable charm that will definitely see him into the album and very possibly singles charts soon". [18] The album sold over 5.5million copies, toppling the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in the US on 8 July 1978. In his interview with Colin Irwin, Rafferty disputed this and said that Ravenscroft had been his second choice to play the saxophone solo, after Pete Zorn, who was unavailable: "The only confusion at the time that I didnt enjoy too much was the fact that a lot of people believed that the line was written by Raphael Ravenscroft, the sax player, but it was my line. [5][11][38] In 1987, Rafferty and Murphy co-produced The Proclaimers first UK hit single "Letter from America". Please visit our Personal Subscriptions page for pricing and to place your order. Gerry Rafferty, a Scottish singer and songwriter who combined a gift for melody, a distinctive voice and a fatalistic worldview to produce 1970s hits like "Stuck in the Middle With You" and. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). I just now went to the Internet and, sure enough, found out the history of Rafferty and Baker Street, and viewed a YouTube performance of it. The Gerry Rafferty Interview - Rock's Backpages Rafferty married his fellow Scot, hairdresser Carla Ventilla, in 1970, and here he pays tribute to how she stuck by him through thick and thin. Accept | Cookies policy | Privacy policy, Click here to sign in via the UK federation WAYF. [69] Rafferty died of liver failure at the home of his daughter Martha in Stroud, Gloucestershire, on 4 January 2011, at the age of 63. Shortly after news of the singer's death, Lily Allen tweeted the message "Rest in Peace Gerry x" with a video link to the song "Right Down the Line", reputedly one of her favourite music tracks. In 1995, Rafferty was deeply affected by the death of his older brother Joseph, an event from which family and friends have said he never fully recovered. [3][4] Rafferty loathed the 1992 dance music cover version of "Baker Street" by Undercover, describing it as "dreadful, totally banalit's a sad sign of the times". So theyd ship them, get big warehouses, put them in there. But depending on whom you ask, the intrigue doesnt quite end there. Thats not to diminish Ravenscroft because, denuded of the sax, Baker Street sounds like another middling acid trip of a song in a decade full of them. Theres no question about that either. "[40], In the early 1990s, Rafferty recorded a cover version of the Bob Dylan song "The Times They Are a-Changin'" with Barbara Dickson, who had contributed backing vocals to both City to City and Night Owl. And he played City To City and Baker Street a demo without the sax part. Boys, girls, large packets of drugs that was payola.. Gerry Rafferty - Right Down the Line (Lyric Video) 'Right Down the Line' is taken from the album 'City to City'. In fact, most of what I played was an old blues riff, he once explained. I probably did more music with him than any other musician. He was also friends with Ravenscroft and toured with him. (The song spent six weeks stuck at No. [3] Rafferty learned both Irish and Scottish folk songs as a boy. [65] This was contradicted by a report in The Daily Telegraph on the following day, which quoted a statement his solicitors made to Channel 4 News: "Contrary to reports, Gerry is extremely well and has been living in Tuscany for the last six months he continues to compose and record new songs and music and he hopes to release a new album of his most recent work in the summer of this year [2009]. In conversations with both Burns and Burton, a controversy and lawsuit involving George Harrison came up. [38] In July that year, he flew to London, where he stayed in the five-star Westbury Hotel in Mayfair and began a four-day drinking binge during which he extensively damaged his room. He wanted his songs to be respected. [11] Instead of a cover painting and hand-lettering by John 'Patrick' Byrne, who had illustrated every previous Rafferty and Stealers Wheel album, Sleepwalking featured a simple, stark photograph of an empty road stretching to the sky. If I dont, Ill give you 75. Im like, You cant sign an artist of mine and not listen to the record! He says, Thats the deal. The "80,000" figure has been widely repeated in newspaper articles ever since. "[77], In November 2012, Rafferty's hometown of Paisley paid tribute to the singer by naming a street in the Shortroods area "Gerry Rafferty Drive". First, he [Rafferty] wrote from his experience. He praises Carla for helping him through all the bad times and tells her every day he loves her more and more. Before, I was never in control. Breaks Down His Killer White House Correspondents Dinner Set, Bernie Sanders: Many GOP Leaders 'Don't Even Believe in Democracy'. Saved Stories. Thats why I especially liked the Everly Brothers.. A lot of great music was made that way. In The Times, critic David Sinclair was particularly scathing: "On North and South, it sounds as if he has thumbed a lift up the road to a mock-Texan bar somewhere in his native Scotland. ever-expanding collection of primary-source full-text articles from the music and mainstream press from the 1950s to the present day, along with a collection of Baker Street Singer Gerry Rafferty Dead At 63 - Rolling Stone His solo hits in the late 1970s included "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line", and "Night Owl". [17], Legal issues after the break-up of Stealers Wheel meant that, for three years, Rafferty was unable to release any material. Tue 4 Jan 2011 14.01 EST. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was "Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. Gerry Rafferty - Interesting stories about famous people, biographies And the final resolution of his legal and financial hassles accounts for the understated exhilaration of the songs last verse: When you wake up its a new morning/The sun is shining, its a new morning/Youre going, youre going home., Related Three acoustic guitars, layers and layers of backing vocals, very lush, very evened out sound., (You must log in or sign up to reply here. Its almost identical, only a little bit different and that wouldnt happen by chance seeing as it was so close.. He just blew what he was told by the person who did write it, Gerry Rafferty."[22]. Breaks Down His Killer White House Correspondents Dinner Set the Amazon Associates Program via amazon.com. "[74], Other entertainers also paid tribute to Rafferty, with comedian and ex-bandmate Billy Connolly calling him "a hugely talented songwriter and singer who will be greatly missed" and musician Tom Robinson saying, "His early work with Stealers Wheel was an inspiration to a whole generation of songwriters in the 70s, including me. Billy Connolly recalls his first impressions of Gerry Rafferty. Eventually, says Brewer, Ravenscroft lost his temper. "[76], The reaction of younger artists suggests Rafferty's music has also inspired a new generation of fans. Its Springfields failure to make a glam-rock version song compelling in particular that helps in deciphering the extremely unconventional allure of Baker Street, a song ultimately about depression, transition, and weary aspiration. The jazz-rock fusion album was almost exclusively of cover songs such as The Beatles title track.
