Gerry Rafferty, 1947-2011

Gerry Rafferty, 1947–2011

Oh, man, Gerry Rafferty died. If you grew up in the late Seventies, “Baker Street” was an omnipresent force in your world. It took me a long time to get to the point where I could listen to the song without the layers of half-remembered brown and green living rooms affecting my perception, but once I finally did it was pretty obvious why it became the huge hit that it was. “Stuck In The Middle With You,” which a whole new generation learned from the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack, is fun enough, and even though there’s something very dated about it, “Right Down The Line” is another great one. For me, though, it’s the Mark Knopfler-penned “The Way It Always Starts,” from the soundtrack to Local Hero that will always have a special place in my heart. Rafferty was 63.