Listen to David Lee Roth Update Gerry Rafferty’s ‘Baker Street’
You might have noticed David Lee Roth's version of the '70s hit "Baker Street" playing in the background when his offbeat No Holds Bar-B-Que video was finally released recently. Now you can hear the whole thing, offered as part of the latest installment of his online Roth Show series. Check it out above.
Gerry Rafferty, who died in 2011, composed "Baker Street" around his experiences as a struggling busker in the London Underground. The song, powered along by Raphael Ravenscroft's signature sax riff, shot to No. 2 in the U.S. in 1978, around the same time Van Halen were mounting their first world tour.
The Van Halen News Desk describes Roth's take on "Baker Street" as "superb," calling it a "great choice." It's unclear who created the backing track.
Roth isn't the only rocker to tip his hat at the song. Slash later said that his guitar solo in "Sweet Child O' Mine" was influenced in part by Ravenscroft's classic sax turn on "Baker Street." The Foo Fighters also included their own cover in the expanded version of 1997's The Colour and the Shape; it originally appeared as a B-side to their hit single "My Hero."
In No Holds Bar-B-Que, Roth is seen sporting a ninja costume while "Baker Street" plays in the background. The original 2002 video had never been officially released before it showed up on Roth's YouTube feed earlier this summer.
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