Gerry Rafferty, musician, born 16 April 1947; died 4 January 2011

Gerry Rafferty, creator of the classic songs "Baker Street" and "Stuck In The Middle With You", died on Jan. 4.  Read his obituary here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jan/04/gerry-rafferty-obituary.  Its a rather sad tale of a man who ran away from fame and himself and found solace in the bottle, which eventually killed him.  Sometimes talent isn't all you need.  My friend, Wayne, and I used to act out "Baker Street" when we were 9, knowing even then it was a great song.  The opening keyboard notes, sounding like a flute, that invite you in and then, of course, the sax solo that changed pop music for a little while, still get to me today.