Gerry Rafferty’s sophisticated, grooving soft rock cemented his legacy as one of the masters of pop melody. His early, rootsy work with Stealers Wheel—like the unfaltering shuffle “Stuck In the Middle With You”—hinted at his folk influences. But once he lit out on his solo career, Rafferty’s sound developed into something singular: a lush and layered approach to pop that made songs like the sweeping “Baker Street”, with its unforgettable sax refrain, instant classics. The sashay of “Right Down the Line” makes the song’s declaration of love extra dreamy, and on “Night Owl” he plumbs the depths of loneliness, punctuated by Lyricon solos.