Ken Foote Remembers Gerry Rafferty
(CBS 11) - Gerry Rafferty (born April 16, 1947 and died January 4, 2011) was a popular Scottish singer/songwriter/musician known for his work in the 1970s as a soloist and as co-leader of Stealers Wheel with partner Joe Egan.
During his Stealers Wheel days, he and Egan's most popular song was "Stuck In The Middle with You" from 1973 which finished at #6 on the American Billboard chart. Another song, "Star" from 1974 was not quite as successful, ending up at only #29. By 1975, Rafferty was unable to release any further material for the next three years for legal reasons when he and Egan broke up at that time. By 1978, he was back with "Baker Street" which hit #2 in 1978.
As a soloist singer (although he did have backup musicians), he charted five times. Unfortunately, he also dealt with alcoholism from an early age which finally resulted in his death at age 63.
Today's song is "Days Gone Down (Still Got The Light In Your Eyes)." Written by Rafferty, recorded for United Artist Records, and running close to 6:45, and released in the spring of 1979, the lyrics go like this:
Shine a light, shine it bright on the days gone down
Shine a light, shine it bright on the days gone down
Shine a light, shine it bright on the days gone down
Shine a light, shine it bright on the days gone down
You still got that light in your eyes
And our day is comin' by and by
I'm jailed on this long road here with you
We still gotta long way
We still gotta long way to go
The first time I set eyes on you
I listened to you sing, yeah yeah
We didn't have to speak
'Cause the words said everything
Yes, you walked right into my life
And we were on our way, yeah
So long ago
But it feels like yesterday
And I just want to tell ya...
Shine a light, shine it bright on the days gone down
Shine a light, shine it bright on the days gone down
Shine a light, shine it bright on the days gone down
This song will tug at your emotions and your heart. It only reached as high as #17 for 7 weeks but it is a gem. A song rarely played today on over the air radio…..but you can hear it on Sirius XM 32 The Bridge.
