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 and produced several hits, most notably "Stuck in the Middle with You" and "Star". In 1978, he recorded his second solo album, City to City, which included "Baker Street", his most popular song. On 4 January 2011, then 63 years old, Rafferty died of liver failure. Early years Rafferty was born on 16 April 1947 into a working-class family of Irish Catholic origin in Underwood Lane in Paisley, a son and grandson of coal miners. A son of Joseph and Mary (Skeffington) Rafferty, he had two brothers, Jim and Joe (died 1988). Rafferty grew up in a council house in the town's Ferguslie Park, in Underwood Lane, and was educated at St Mirin's Academy. His Irish-born father, an alcoholic, was a miner and lorry driver who died when Rafferty was 16. Rafferty learned both Irish and Scottish folk songs as a boy. He recalled, "My father was Irish, so growing up in Paisley I was hearing all these songs when I was two or three. Songs like 'She Moves Through the Fair', which my mother sings beautifully. And a whole suite of Irish traditional songs and Scots traditional songs". Heavily influenced by folk music and the music of the Beatles and Bob Dylan, Rafferty started to write his own material. Musical career Rafferty left St Mirin's Academy in 1963. He then worked in a butcher's shop, as a civil service clerk, and in a shoe shop. However, he explained in an interview, "But there was never anything else for me but music. I never intended making a career out of any of the