Baker Street (song)
"Baker Street" | ||||
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![]() Solid centre variant of the 1978 UK single | ||||
Single by Gerry Rafferty | ||||
from the album City to City | ||||
B-side | "Big Change in the Weather" | |||
Released | 3 February 1978 | |||
Recorded | 1977 | |||
Studio | Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire, UK | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 6:06 (album version) 4:10 (single version) 5:56 (US 12-inch promo single version) 6:29 (1989 “Right Down The Line” compilation remix version) | |||
Label | United Artists | |||
Songwriter(s) | Gerry Rafferty | |||
Producer(s) | Hugh Murphy, Gerry Rafferty | |||
Gerry Rafferty singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Baker Street" on YouTube | ||||
Audio sample | ||||
"Baker Street" is a single by the Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty, released in February 1978. It won the 1979 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically[2] and reached the top three in the UK, US and elsewhere. The song is known for its saxophone riff, written by Rafferty and performed by Raphael Ravenscroft.
Writing
[edit]"Baker Street" was included on Rafferty's second solo album, City to City (1978). It was his first album after the resolution of legal problems surrounding the breakup 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.[3]
Rafferty wrote "Baker Street" while trying to extricate himself from his Stealers Wheel contracts. He was regularly travelling between his family home in Paisley, Scotland, and London, where he often stayed at a friend's flat on Baker Street in Marylebone.[4] The resolution of Rafferty's legal and financial frustrations may have accounted for the exhilaration of the song's final verse:[5]
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.
Rafferty's daughter Martha suggested in 2012 that he could also have taken inspiration from a book he was reading while travelling, Colin Wilson's The Outsider (1956), which explores ideas of alienation and creativity and a longing to be connected.[6]
"Baker Street" was recorded in 1977 at Chipping Norton Studios, Oxfordshire, during the sessions for City to City.[7] It was co-produced by Rafferty and Hugh Murphy.[8] It features a guitar solo played by Hugh Burns.[9]
Saxophone riff
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Raphael_Ravenscroft_2.jpg/220px-Raphael_Ravenscroft_2.jpg)
"Baker Street" features a prominent eight-bar saxophone riff by the session musician Raphael Ravenscroft, played as a break between verses. Billboard described it as "the most recognizable sax riff in pop music history".[10] It is said to have been responsible for a resurgence in the sales of saxophones and their use in mainstream pop music and television advertising.[11]
Rafferty said Ravenscroft had been his second choice to play the part, after Pete Zorn, who was unavailable.[12] Ravenscroft came to the studio to record a soprano saxophone part, and suggested that he use instead his alto saxophone.[5] Ravenscroft was reportedly paid £27 for the session.[13] In 2011, Ravenscroft said listening to the song irritated him because he was out of tune.[13]
According to Ravenscroft, Rafferty instructed him to fill several gaps in "Baker Street". He said: "Most of what I played was an old blues riff. If you're asking me: 'Did Gerry hand me a piece of music to play?' then no, he didn't."[14] This was disputed by Rafferty, who said he was irritated that people assumed Ravenscroft had written it. He said: "It was my line. I sang it to him."[12]
Rafferty's account was corroborated by Burns, who said the part also appeared on Rafferty's demo on guitar. He said Rafferty had also asked him to try playing it, but they agreed it would be better suited to saxophone.[9] Rafferty's demo, with the riff played on guitar, was released on the 2011 reissue of City to City.[15][9] In the liner notes, Rafferty's collaborator Rab Noakes wrote: "Let's hope [the demo] will, at last, silence all who keep on asserting that the saxophone player came up with the melody line."[15]
A similar saxophone melody appears on the 1968 Steve Marcus track "Half a Heart", credited to the vibraphonist Gary Burton.[9] When interviewed by The Atlantic, Burton denied he had composed "Half a Heart" and expressed surprise that he had received a writing credit. After listening to "Baker Street", he suggested Rafferty may have subconsciously plagiarised "Half a Heart", likening it to the lawsuit over the 1970s George Harrison song "My Sweet Lord".[9] However, Burns said the similarity was a coincidence and that Rafferty "was an artist through and though".[9]
The saxophone riff is the subject of a urban legend created in the 1980s by the British writer and broadcaster Stuart Maconie.[16] In the spoof "Would You Believe It?" section in the music magazine NME, Maconie falsely claimed that the broadcaster Bob Holness had played the saxophone part.[16] The claim was widely repeated.[17][18]
Chart performance
[edit]Released as a single in 1978, "Baker Street" reached No. 3 in the UK[19] and No. 2 for six consecutive weeks in the US. It reached number one in Cash Box and number two on the Billboard Hot 100[20] where it held its Billboard position for six weeks, kept out of the number one spot by Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing". The song spent four weeks at number one in Canada,[21] reached number one in Australia,[22] and made it into the top 10 in seven European countries in addition to the UK. In October 2010, "Baker Street" was recognised by BMI for surpassing five million performances worldwide.[23]
Another urban myth has claimed that "Baker Street" did overtake "Shadow Dancing" on the Billboard Hot 100 during one of its seven weeks on top in the summer of 1978, with Casey Kasem recording his American Top 40 countdown placing it at #1. However, at a dinner with Gibb's managers, then-Billboard chart director Bill Wardlow was allegedly told that if "Shadow Dancing" did not remain at #1, Gibb would be pulled from the lineup of an upcoming Billboard-organized concert. Wardlow then supposedly asked the magazine to leave the song at the top, and Kasem was told to re-record his countdown.[24]
Weekly charts[edit]
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Year-end charts[edit]
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Certifications
[edit]Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom (BPI)[51] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[52] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Legacy
[edit]The song was cited by guitarist Slash in 1987 as an influence on his guitar solo in "Sweet Child o' Mine".[53] The Canadian rock musician A.C. Newman cited the song as an inspiration for his album Shut Down the Streets (2012).[54]
The song is featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto V, as part of Los Santos Rock Radio.[55] It is also heard in the Happy Endings episode "Cocktails and Dreams", (S02E16) in which Penny's dream involves a fingerpicked-guitar version of the saxophone riff.[citation needed], as well as in the closing scene of "Lisa's Sax" (S09E04), an episode of The Simpsons in which Lisa Simpson performs a brief rendition of the hook on a saxophone before the music segues into Rafferty's recording.[56]
Personnel
[edit]- Gerry Rafferty – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Raphael Ravenscroft – alto and soprano saxophones[16]
- Hugh Burns – lead guitar[57]
- Nigel Jenkins – rhythm guitar
- Tommy Eyre – synthesiser, electric and acoustic piano
- Gary Taylor – bass
- Henry Spinetti – drums[58]
- Glen Le Fleur – congas
- Graham Preskett – string arrangements
Undercover version
[edit]"Baker Street" | ||||
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![]() | ||||
Single by Undercover | ||||
from the album Check Out the Groove | ||||
Released | 3 August 1992 | |||
Genre | Rave | |||
Length | 4:04 | |||
Label | PWL | |||
Songwriter(s) | Gerry Rafferty | |||
Producer(s) | Steve Mac | |||
Undercover singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Baker Street" on YouTube |
British dance group Undercover covered the song on their 1992 album Check Out the Groove. This version was released in August 1992 by PWL and produced by Steve Mac. It reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart and became a top-three hit in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. A music video was produced to promote the single, shot in black-and-white.[59]
Critical reception
[edit]A writer for Lennox Herald named the song a "stand out" from the Undercover album.[60] Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "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."[61] Mark Frith from Smash Hits commented, "This one's quite good actually. Transformed from a hoary old late '70s epic into a PWL rave anthem for the '90s, "Baker Street" has tootling sax, great vocals and is probably the most unusual record turned into a rave tune ever."[62]
Track listing
[edit]- "Baker Street" (edit) – 4:04
- "Baker Street" (extended mix) – 5:10
- "Sha-Bang" (extended mix) – 5:49
Charts
[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
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Year-end charts[edit]
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Certifications
[edit]Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Germany (BVMI)[85] | Gold | 250,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Foo Fighters version
[edit]"Baker Street" | |
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Song by Foo Fighters | |
Released | 19 January 1998 |
Recorded | 1997 |
Length | 5:39 |
Label | |
Songwriter(s) | Gerry Rafferty |
Producer(s) | Simon Askew |
The American 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.[86] The saxophone part is played on electric guitar.[87]
References
[edit]- ^ Molanphy, Chris (31 July 2021). "What a Fool Believes Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ Lister, David, Pop ballads bite back in lyrical fashion, The Independent, 28 May 1994
- ^ Eder, Bruce (16 April 1946). "Bruce Eder, Stealers Wheel at". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ Chilton, Martin (5 January 2011). "Gerry Rafferty and his songs of alienation". The Daily Telegraph. London.
- ^ a b Emerson, Ken (24 August 1978). "Gerry Rafferty's 'Baker Street' blues". Rolling Stone.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Soul Music, Series 13, Baker Street". Bbc.co.uk. 18 March 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
- ^ "Chipping Norton Recording Studios". Discogs. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ Gray, Michael (4 January 2011). "Gerry Rafferty obituary". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f 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.
- ^ Lynch, Joe (21 October 2014). "Raphael Ravenscroft, Man Behind Most Iconic Sax Riff in Pop Music, Dies at 60". Billboard. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
- ^ Ingham, Richard (1998), "Rock and the Saxophone", The Cambridge Companion to the Saxophone, Cambridge Companions to Music, p. 156, ISBN 9780521596664
- ^ a b "Gerry Rafferty: Folk Roots Interview (1988)". www.redstone-tech.com. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Baker Street saxophone player Raphael Ravenscroft dies". BBC News. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ Chilton, Martin (21 October 2014). "'I was paid £27 for Baker Street sax solo'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
- ^ a b Noakes, Rab (2011). City to City: Remastered: Collector's Edition: Liner Notes. EMI Records.
- ^ a b c Maconie, Stuart (2004). Cider with Roadies (1st ed.). London: Random House. p. 256. ISBN 0-09-189115-9.
- ^ "HIGNFY Guest interview: Stuart Maconie". BBC. 22 May 2009.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b c d "Official Charts > Gerry Rafferty". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Billboard > Artists / Gerry Rafferty > Chart History > The Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 5 August 1978. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "2010 BMI London Award Winners". BMI. 5 October 2010. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (22 September 2020). "The Number Ones Bonus Tracks: Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street". Stereogum. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- ^ "Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ^ "Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 19 August 1978. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
- ^ "Song title 647 - Baker Street". tsort.info. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ^ a b "Screen shot of search results for 'Baker Street'". Fireball Media. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 18, 1978" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
- ^ a b "Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ^ "Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street". Top 40 Singles.
- ^ "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1969 - 1989 Songs (A-B)".
- ^ a b "Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 195.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 7/22/78". cashboxmagazine.com. 22 July 1978. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
- ^ "Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
- ^ "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
- ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 1978". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1978". Ultratop. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
- ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1978". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ "Top Selling Singles of 1978 | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 31 December 1978. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
- ^ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1978". Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- ^ Swiss Year-End Charts, 1978
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
- ^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1978". cashboxmagazine.com. 30 December 1978. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
- ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
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- ^ "American single certifications – Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 17 March 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
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- ^ "Grand Theft Auto V: The official, final tracklist has been revealed". Consequence of Sound. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ Staff (5 January 2011). "Baker Street blues no more... singer Gerry Rafferty passes away". News.AU.com. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Interview with Henry Spinetti at". Mikedolbear.com. 1 May 2011. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ "Undercover - Baker Street (Official Video)". YouTube. 11 April 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ^ Lennox Herald. 4 December 1992. p. 12.
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- ^ Frith, Mark (22 July 1992). "New Singles". Smash Hits. p. 53. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 289.
- ^ "Undercover – Baker Street" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
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- ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 45. 7 November 1992. p. 50. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
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- ^ "European Dance Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 46. 14 November 1992. p. 24. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- ^ "Undercover – Baker Street" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
- ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 3. 16 January 1993. p. 16. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 44, 1992" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
- ^ "Undercover – Baker Street" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
- ^ "Undercover – Baker Street". Singles Top 100.
- ^ "Undercover – Baker Street". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
- ^ "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 15 August 1992. p. 22. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
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- ^ "1992 Year-End Sales Charts" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 51/52. 19 December 1992. p. 17. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ "1992 Year-End Airplay Charts: European Dance Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 51/52. 19 December 1992. p. 20. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
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- ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1992". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
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- ^ "Year End Charts: Top Singles". Music Week. 16 January 1993. p. 8.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Undercover; 'Baker Street')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
- ^ Cohen, Jonathan (21 May 2007). "Foo Fighters Expand Second Album For Reissue". Billboard. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- ^ Shetty, Sharan (8 February 2015). "Listen to the Foo Fighters' Powerful, Long-Forgotten Cover of "Baker Street"". Slate. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
External links
[edit]- "Baker Street" at Discogs (list of releases)
- "Baker Street (Remix)" at Discogs
- 1978 songs
- 1978 singles
- 1992 debut singles
- Gerry Rafferty songs
- Undercover (dance group) songs
- Number-one singles in Australia
- Number-one singles in South Africa
- Cashbox number-one singles
- RPM Top Singles number-one singles
- Songs about London
- Songs about streets
- Songs written by Gerry Rafferty
- United Artists Records singles
- Pete Waterman Entertainment singles
- Capitol Records singles
- Black-and-white music videos
- Baker Street