LONDON (AP) – Musician Raphael Ravenscroft, who played one of the most famous saxophone solos of all time on Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street,” has died. He was 60.
Ravenscroft’s family says he died Sunday after being taken to a hospital near his home in Exeter, southwest England. The BBC said a heart attack was the suspected cause of death.
The bluesy eight-bar sax riff helped make “Baker Street” a soft-rock hit. It reached No. 3 in Britain and No. 2 in the U.S in 1978, and still receives considerable airplay.
But in a 2011 radio interview, Ravenscroft said “Baker Street” irritated him – because his solo was flat.
Ravenscroft received a flat fee – often reported to be 27 pounds (around $43 today) – for his work on the song, which made Rafferty a fortune. But the hit kick-started Ravenscroft’s career, and he went on to work with big names including Pink Floyd, ABBA and Marvin Gaye.