Gerry Rafferty

Gerry Rafferty
Rafferty performing at Dublin's National Stadium in 1980
Background information
Birth name	Gerald Rafferty
Born	(1947-04-16)16 April 1947 Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland
Died	4 January 2011(2011-01-04) (aged 63) Stroud, Gloucestershire, England
Genres	Rock pop rock folk rock soft rock blues rock [citation needed]
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer, songwriter, record producer
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar, piano, bass guitar
Years active	1965–2011
Labels	Transatlantic, United Artists, Liberty, London, Avalanche Records, Hypertension

Gerald Rafferty (16 April 1947 – 4 January 2011) was a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was "Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. His solo hits in the late 1970s included "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line" and "Night Owl".

Rafferty was born into a working-class family in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. His mother taught him both Irish and Scottish folk songs when he was a boy; later, he was influenced by the music of the Beatles and Bob Dylan. He joined the folk-pop group the Humblebums (of which Billy Connolly was a member) in 1969. After they disbanded in 1971, he recorded his first solo album, Can I Have My Money Back? Rafferty and Joe Egan formed the group Stealers Wheel in 1972. Among their other hits was "Star". In 1978, he recorded his second solo album, City to City. A heavy drinker for much of his life, Rafferty died from liver failure in 2011.