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How does a song stay at #2 in the United States for 6 full weeks without going to #1? When Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing" stays at #1 for the SAME 6 weeks. We might deal with Andy at a later date, but today, our "Great Song of the '70s" belongs to Gerry Rafferty!
After his group, Stealers Wheel, broke up, Rafferty was beset with contractual problems and lawsuits which prevented him from releasing any new material for three years. He spent most of that time chilling out, drinking and playing guitar at a friend's flat on Baker Street in London (The same Baker Street made famous by the fictional Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson).
In 1978, when the legal stuff finally cleared up, he recorded and released "Baker Street," which, outside the U.S., went to #1 in Canada, South Africa, and Australia (Andy Gibb's country of birth)!
The most striking part of the song is the saxophone solo, played by British musician, composer and author Raphael Ravenscroft--who, to this day, thinks he sounds flat!
So here's to a "Great #2 Song of the '70s:" "Quick, Watson! The Song is afoot!"
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