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"'''Baker Street'''" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter [[Gerry Rafferty]]. Released as a single in 1978, it reached No.&nbsp;1 in ''[[Cash Box]]'' and No.&nbsp;2 on the [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'' Hot 100]],<ref name=hot100/> where it held its ''Billboard'' position for six weeks, behind [[Andy Gibb]]'s "[[Shadow Dancing (song)|Shadow Dancing]]". It spent four weeks at No.&nbsp;1 in Canada,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.4633a&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.4633a.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.4633a|title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada |website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca |date=1978-08-05 |accessdate=2019-07-21}}</ref> No.&nbsp;1 in Australia<ref name=kent/> and South Africa, hit No.&nbsp;3 in the United Kingdom,<ref name=occ>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/16726/gerry-rafferty/|title=Official Charts > Gerry Rafferty|publisher=The Official UK Charts Company|accessdate=13 December 2015}}</ref> and the top 10 in the Netherlands. Rafferty received the 1978 [[Ivor Novello Award]] for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.<ref>Lister, David, ''Pop ballads bite back in lyrical fashion'', ''[[The Independent]]'', 28 May 1994</ref> The arrangement is known for its [[saxophone]] riff.<ref name="Cider">{{cite book
"'''Baker Street'''" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter [[Gerry Rafferty]]. Released as a single in 1978, it reached No.&nbsp;1 in ''[[Cash Box]]'' and No.&nbsp;2 on the [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'' Hot 100]],<ref name=hot100/> where it held its ''Billboard'' position for six weeks, behind [[Andy Gibb]]'s major hit "[[Shadow Dancing (song)|Shadow Dancing]]". It spent four weeks at No.&nbsp;1 in Canada,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.4633a&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.4633a.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.4633a|title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada |website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca |date=1978-08-05 |accessdate=2019-07-21}}</ref> No.&nbsp;1 in Australia<ref name=kent/> and South Africa, hit No.&nbsp;3 in the United Kingdom,<ref name=occ>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/16726/gerry-rafferty/|title=Official Charts > Gerry Rafferty|publisher=The Official UK Charts Company|accessdate=13 December 2015}}</ref> and the top 10 in the Netherlands. Rafferty received the 1978 [[Ivor Novello Award]] for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.<ref>Lister, David, ''Pop ballads bite back in lyrical fashion'', ''[[The Independent]]'', 28 May 1994</ref> The arrangement is known for its [[saxophone]] riff.<ref name="Cider">{{cite book
| first= Stuart
| first= Stuart
| last= Maconie
| last= Maconie

Revision as of 13:28, 26 August 2020

"Baker Street"
File:Baker Street Gerry Rafferty.jpg
Italian single picture sleeve
Single by Gerry Rafferty
from the album City to City
B-side"Big Change in the Weather"
Released3 February 1978 (1978-02-03)
Recorded1977
StudioChipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire, UK
GenreJazz rock, pop rock, soft rock
Length6:06 (album version)
4:10 (single version)
LabelUnited Artists
Songwriter(s)Gerry Rafferty
Producer(s)Hugh Murphy, Gerry Rafferty
Gerry Rafferty singles chronology
"City to City"
(1977) 		"Baker Street"
(1978) 		"Right Down the Line"
(1978)
Audio sample

"Baker Street" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty. Released as a single in 1978, it reached No. 1 in Cash Box and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100,[1] where it held its Billboard position for six weeks, behind Andy Gibb's major hit "Shadow Dancing". It spent four weeks at No. 1 in Canada,[2] No. 1 in Australia[3] and South Africa, hit No. 3 in the United Kingdom,[4] and the top 10 in the Netherlands. Rafferty received the 1978 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.[5] The arrangement is known for its saxophone riff.[6]

In October 2010, the song was recognised by BMI for surpassing five million performances worldwide.[7] It was awarded Gold Certification on two occasions, on 1 April 1978 and 22 July 2013 by the BPI in the UK.[8]

Origins

Named after Baker Street in London, the song was included on Rafferty's second solo album, City to City (1978), which was his first release after the resolution of legal problems surrounding the break-up of his old band, Stealers Wheel, in 1975. In the intervening three years, Rafferty had been unable to release any material because of disputes about the band's remaining contractual recording obligations.[9]

Rafferty wrote the song during a period when he was trying to extricate himself from his Stealers Wheel contracts; he was regularly travelling between his family home in Paisley and London, where he often stayed at a friend's flat in Baker Street. As Rafferty put it, "everybody was suing each other, so I spent a lot of time on the overnight train from Glasgow to London for meetings with lawyers. I knew a guy who lived in a little flat off Baker Street. We'd sit and chat or play guitar there through the night."[10] Privately, Rafferty also spent a lot of time drinking, which he noted he mentions in the lyrics, "Light in your head and dead on your feet / Well, another crazy day / You'll drink the night away / And forget about everything."

The resolution of Rafferty's legal and financial frustrations accounted for the exhilaration of the song's last verse: "When you wake up it's a new morning/The sun is shining, it's a new morning/You're going, you're going home."[11] Rafferty's daughter Martha has said that the book that inspired the song more than any other was Colin Wilson's The Outsider (1956). Rafferty was reading the book, which explores ideas of alienation and of creativity, borne out of a longing to be connected, at this time of traveling between the two cities.[12]

Saxophone riff

The album City to City (1978), including "Baker Street", was co-produced by Rafferty and Hugh Murphy.[13] In addition to a searing guitar solo, played by Hugh Burns, the song featured a prominent eight-bar saxophone riff played as a break between verses, by Raphael Ravenscroft.[6][14]

Rafferty claimed that he wrote the hook with the original intention that it be sung. Ravenscroft remembered things differently, saying that he was presented with a song that contained "several gaps". "In fact, most of what I played was an old blues riff," stated Ravenscroft. "If you're asking me: 'Did Gerry hand me a piece of music to play?' then no, he didn't."[15] However, the 2011 reissue of City to City included the demo of Baker Street which included the saxophone part played on electric guitar by Rafferty. A very similar sax line, however, was originally played by saxophonist Steve Marcus for a song called "Half a Heart", credited to vibraphonist Gary Burton,[16] that appeared on Marcus' 1968 album Tomorrow Never Knows.[17]

Ravenscroft, a session musician, was in the studio to record a brief soprano saxophone part and suggested that he record the break using the alto saxophone he had in his car.[11] The part led to what became known as "the 'Baker Street' phenomenon", a resurgence in the sales of saxophones and their use in mainstream pop music and television advertising.[14]

In January 2011, radio presenter Simon Lederman revealed that Ravenscroft thought the solo was out of tune. When asked during a live radio interview on BBC Radio London, "What do you think when you hear [the sax solo] now?" Ravenscroft replied, "I'm irritated because it's out of tune; yeah it's flat; by enough of a degree that it irritates me at best", and admitted he was "gutted" when he heard it played back. He added that he had not been able to re-record the take, as he was not involved when the song was mixed.[citation needed]

Urban myths

According to one story, Ravenscroft received no payment for a song that earned Rafferty an income of £80,000 per annum; a cheque for £27 given to Ravenscroft bounced and was framed and hung on his solicitor's wall.[15] However, the bouncing cheque story was denied by Ravenscroft during an interview on BBC Radio 2's Simon Mayo Drivetime show on 9 February 2012.[18]

The saxophone riff was also the subject of another urban legend in the UK, created in the 1980s by British writer and broadcaster Stuart Maconie.[6] As one of the spoof facts invented for the regular "Would You Believe It?" section in the NME, Maconie falsely claimed that British radio and television presenter Bob Holness had played the saxophone part on the recording.[6] Later, the claim was widely repeated.[19][20]

Personnel

Appearances in other media

  • In 1987 the song was cited by guitarist Slash as an influence on his guitar solo in "Sweet Child o' Mine".[23]
  • The song is also heard in the closing scene of "Lisa's Sax," the episode of The Simpsons which recounts how Lisa Simpson received her first saxophone. Lisa performs a brief, cruder rendition of the hook before the music segues into Rafferty's recording.[24] The song also appears in multiple other episodes.
  • Canadian rock musician AC Newman cited the song as an inspiration for his 2012 album, Shut Down the Streets.[25]
  • The song's theme was featured in the Season 2 Episode 1 "A Reunion" in Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 as James and June are walking down the street while thinking about the reunion.
  • The song is featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto V, as part of the Los Santos Rock Radio track list.[26]
  • The song's saxophone line is featured numerous times in the Rick and Morty episode "M. Night Shaym-Aliens!" (Season 1, Episode 4).[citation needed]
  • The saxophone line serves as the opening theme to the syndicated US radio program of financial author and motivational speaker Dave Ramsey.
  • The opening bars of the song appear at the start and the end of the TV show New Tricks Season 5 episode 6 (Magic Majestic).
  • In the Family Guy season 10 episode "Grumpy Old Man" (2011), Peter plays the song with her saxophone, in so-called "phone sax" with Lois.[27]
  • The song has been used in a number of films, including: Zodiac, Good Will Hunting, and A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints.
  • The song was used by Mike, voiced by Seth MacFarlane, during his street performance in the film Sing.
  • In the TV show A.P. Bio, the song is played by Tucker Albrizzi's character in the second episode as a warning signal.
  • The song is part of an audio drop whenever the character of Wesley Crusher is mentioned in The Greatest Generation podcast.
  • The song is played in Narcos Mexico, episode 2, “The Plaza System” during the party in Tijuana.
  • The song introduces the credits at the end of Billions, season 4, episode 3, "Chickentown".
  • On Mindhunter season 1, episode 6, the song is played in the background while Debbie and Ford are getting ready to go dinner at Tench's home.
  • The song features prominently on the soundtrack of the 1978 German sex comedy Summer Night Fever.

Chart performance

"Baker Street" reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 2 for six consecutive weeks in the US, kept out of the number-one spot by Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing" which was the best selling single of that year.

Weekly singles charts

Covers

Undercover version

"Baker Street"
Single by Undercover
from the album Check Out the Groove
Released14 August 1992
Recorded1992
GenreDance
Length4:04
LabelPWL
Songwriter(s)Gerry Rafferty
Producer(s)Steve Mac
Undercover singles chronology
"Baker Street"
(1992) 		"Never Let Her Slip Away"
(1992)

British dance group Undercover covered the song on their 1992 album, Check Out the Groove. This version reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart and became a top-three hit in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Music & Media wrote that "Gerry Rafferty's rainy days anthem is now transferred from the comfortable living room to the heat of clubland. The typical saxophone hook is on acid as well."[49]

Track listing

  1. "Baker Street" (edit) – 4:04
  2. "Baker Street" (extended mix) – 5:10
  3. "Sha-Bang" (extended mix) – 5:49

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1992) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[50] 100
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[51] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[52] 2
Denmark (IFPI)[53] 4
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[54] 4
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[55] 9
Invalid chart entered Germany2 3
Ireland (IRMA)[32] 2
Italy (Musica e dischi)[56] 7
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[57] 2
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[58] 3
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[59] 7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[60] 2
UK Singles (OCC)[61] 2
Year-end charts
Chart (1992) Position
Belgium (Ultratop)[62] 24
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[63] 21
Germany (Official German Charts)[64] 32
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[65] 23
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[66] 33
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[67] 11

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[68] Gold 250,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.


Foo Fighters version

"Baker Street"
Song by Foo Fighters
Released19 January 1998
Recorded1997
Genre
Length5:39
Label
Songwriter(s)Gerry Rafferty
Producer(s)Simon Askew

The US rock band Foo Fighters covered the song on their 1998 My Hero UK CD single release, on the Australian tour pack (Grey cover) release, on the Limited edition European bonus EP and as one of several bonus tracks added to the remastered tenth anniversary release of their second studio album, The Colour and the Shape, reissued in 2007.[69] The cover does not include the saxophone riff the original is known for.[70]

Other versions

Morse/Portnoy/George released this as the lead off single from their 2020 covers album Cov3r to Cov3r on May 23, 2020.[71]

References

  1. ^ a b "Billboard > Artists / Gerry Rafferty > Chart History > The Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 5 August 1978. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  3. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 245. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. ^ a b c d "Official Charts > Gerry Rafferty". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  5. ^ Lister, David, Pop ballads bite back in lyrical fashion, The Independent, 28 May 1994
  6. ^ a b c d e Maconie, Stuart (2004). Cider with Roadies (1st ed.). London: Random House. p. 256. ISBN 0-09-189115-9.
  7. ^ "2010 BMI London Award Winners". BMI. 5 October 2010. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  8. ^ "British certifications – Gerry Rafferty". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 June 2016. Type Gerry Rafferty in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  9. ^ Eder, Bruce (16 April 1946). "Bruce Eder, Stealers Wheel at". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  10. ^ Chilton, Martin (5 January 2011). "Gerry Rafferty and his songs of alienation". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  11. ^ a b Emerson, Ken (24 August 1978). "Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street" Blues". Rolling Stone.
  12. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Soul Music, Series 13, Baker Street". Bbc.co.uk. 18 March 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  13. ^ Gray, Michael (4 January 2011). "Gerry Rafferty obituary". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  14. ^ a b Ingham, Richard (1998), "Rock and the Saxophone", The Cambridge Companion to the Saxophone, Cambridge Companions to Music, p. 156
  15. ^ a b "Stuck in a battle with booze". The Scotsman. 2 August 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  16. ^ Richie Unterberger. "Tomorrow Never Knows - Steve Marcus | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  17. ^ Chandler, Adam (17 December 2015). "'Baker Street': The Mystery of Rock's Greatest Sax Riff". The Atlantic. Washington, D.C.: Atlantic Media. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  18. ^ "Simon Mayo Drivetime (9 February 2012)". BBC Radio 2. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  19. ^ "HIGNFY Guest interview: Stuart Maconie". BBC. 22 May 2009.
  20. ^ "Why do we think Bob Holness was the Baker Street saxophonist?". BBC. 5 January 2011. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  21. ^ "Hugh Burns interview, January 2002, "An affair of the craft", for Guitarist magazine at". Andrewbrel.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  22. ^ "Interview with Henry Spinetti at". Mikedolbear.com. 1 May 2011. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  23. ^ "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 17 March 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  24. ^ Staff (5 January 2011). "Baker Street blues no more... singer Gerry Rafferty passes away". News.AU.com. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  25. ^ Newman, AC (2 October 2012). "Shut Down The Streets". Huffington Post.
  26. ^ "Grand Theft Auto V: The official, final tracklist has been revealed". Consequence of Sound. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  27. ^ "What is the name of the song peter griffin and lois have phone sax too?". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  28. ^ "Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  29. ^ "Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  30. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 5 August 1978. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  31. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 19 August 1978. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  32. ^ a b "Screen shot of search results for 'Baker Street'". Fireball Media. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  33. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Gerry Rafferty" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  34. ^ "Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street". Top 40 Singles.
  35. ^ http://www.rock.co.za/files/sa_charts_1969_1989_songs_(A-B).html
  36. ^ a b "Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street". Swiss Singles Chart.
  37. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 195.
  38. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 7/22/78". cashboxmagazine.com. 22 July 1978. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  39. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  40. ^ "Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  41. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  42. ^ "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
  43. ^ "Top Selling Singles of 1978 | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 31 December 1978. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  44. ^ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1978". Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  45. ^ Swiss Year-End Charts, 1978
  46. ^ Scaping, Peter, ed. (1979). "Top 200 Singles in 1978". BPI Year Book 1979 (4th ed.). London, England: The British Phonographic Industry Ltd. pp. 186–89. ISBN 0-906154-02-2.
  47. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  48. ^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1978". cashboxmagazine.com. 30 December 1978. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
  49. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 5 September 1992. p. 11. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  50. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  51. ^ "Undercover – Baker Street" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  52. ^ "Undercover – Baker Street" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  53. ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 45. 7 November 1992. p. 50. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  54. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 44. 31 October 1992. p. 23. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  55. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  56. ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 3. 16 January 1993. p. 16. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  57. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 44, 1992" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
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  59. ^ "Undercover – Baker Street". Singles Top 100.
  60. ^ "Undercover – Baker Street". Swiss Singles Chart.
  61. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  62. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1992" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  63. ^ "1992 Year-End Sales Charts" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 51/52. 19 December 1992. p. 17. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  64. ^ "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1992" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  65. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1992". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  66. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1992" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  67. ^ "Year End Charts: Top Singles". Music Week. 16 January 1993. p. 8.
  68. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Undercover; 'Baker Street')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  69. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (21 May 2007). "Foo Fighters Expand Second Album For Reissue". Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  70. ^ Shetty, Sharan (8 February 2015). "Listen to the Foo Fighters' Powerful, Long-Forgotten Cover of "Baker Street"". Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  71. ^ "MORSE/PORTNOY/GEORGE - Baker Street (cover version) (OFFICIAL VIDEO)". YouTube. Inside Out Music. 23 May 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
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