Raphael Ravenscroft

He died.

Maybe you weren't alive in 1978 when "Baker Street" filled the airwaves.

Gerry Rafferty was one half of Stealers Wheel which had minor chart impact with "Stuck In The Middle With You" and then came this.

"Winding your way down on Baker Street"

Some songs take you away. They pour out of the stereo and the rest of the world stops, time is made for the magic elixir that comes out of the speakers. You had to buy "City to City" just to hear this.

And "Baker Street" was magical in so many ways. The almost Broadway-esque opening notes, the intimacy of Rafferty's vocal, the poignancy of the lyrics, and Raphael Ravenscroft's sax playing.

Ravenscroft said it was out of tune, that he was paid in the neighborhood of fifty bucks to do it. But it made him a star, because people just needed to get closer to that sound.

"You used to think that it was so easy
You used to say that it was so easy
But you're trying, you're trying now"

That's what Gerry Rafferty was doing. His moment of success was years behind him. That's right, he had a mild hit, its longevity was unknown, this was long before "Stuck In The Middle With You"'s revival in "Reservoir Dogs," he could only soldier on.

And that's what's so frustrating about life, the trying. You keep reaching for the brass ring and it eludes your grasp. Life is ultimately about loneliness, the pursuit of the individual struggle and the failure thereof. Even if you win, it doesn't last.

But most people never get the big victory.

"Another year and then you'd be happy
Just one more year and then you'd be happy
But you're crying, you're crying now"

I've been there, you've been there. Wondering whether you should give up. Lying alone on the living room floor, listening to your favorite tunes drunk on Carolans deep into the night, it's the only thing that gets you high, that keeps you going, the music.

Not everybody is a hero. Not everybody is a legend. Not everybody is forever. Raphael Ravenscroft scored some major credits, he worked with Pink Floyd and Marvin Gaye, America and Robert Plant and Bonnie Tyler too, not that you'd know that if you didn't go to Wikipedia. He was a journeyman. Whose time ran out.

Word is he had a stroke. He never recovered. Another musician gone before his time.

But his song lives on. It's a part of rock and roll history. You may not know his name, but you know his tune.

"Way down the street there's a light in his place
He opens the door, he's got that look on his face
And he asks you where you've been
You tell him who you've seen
And you talk about anything"

Friendship. That's all that matters in this life. If you have just one person who will listen to you, who'll wrestle the concepts with you, you've won.

No one else is listening, no one else cares. But for this space of time, you feel connected, you feel vibrant, you feel alive.

"He's got this dream about buying some land
He's gonna give up the booze and the one night stands
And then he'll settle down
In some quiet little town
And forget about everything"

Gerry Rafferty could not give up the booze. It killed him.

I don't know what caused Raphael Ravenscroft's downfall.

But I do know that at some point you surrender. You realize you want to steer, you want to be in control, but you're not. What do they say, life is for the living?

That's your goal.

Stop bitching that you're being screwed by the system.

And know that great art triumphs. There's never been a song like "Baker Street" before or since. It's different, it's iconic, it's everything we're looking for. And when it was cut Raphael Ravenscroft had no idea it would be a hit, his ticket to immortality.

Because that's the way it always is. Life is not for the planners. It's made for the risk-takers, the ones who are up for a lark.

You can't do it their way, they don't know how they did it anyway.

You've got to do it your way.

Our rock and roll history is made up of a plethora of people. Some who were here forever, some who lit up the stage only momentarily. But when one goes down, we all feel it.

I'm feeling it tonight.


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