Home · Albums · Gerry Rafferty · City to City
1978
10 song|s
The Ark
Easy
Baker Street
Intermediate
Right Down the Line
Intermediate
City to City
Easy
Stealin' Time
Intermediate
Mattie's Rag
Intermediate
Whatever's Written in Your Heart
Intermediate
Home and Dry
Intermediate
Island
Easy
Waiting for the Day
About the album
The impact of City to City was notable. In the United States, it unseated the *Saturday Night Fever* soundtrack from the number one spot on the Billboard 200 in July 1978, quickly achieving platinum status. In Canada, the certification was double platinum in 1979. Three songs stood out particularly on the American charts: Baker Street, Right Down the Line, and Home and Dry. Although the record label United Artists considered City to City the main single, Rafferty bet on Baker Street, which became the first promotional track in most markets. This song reached number 3 in the United Kingdom and dominated Canada for four weeks at number one, while in the U.S. it reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Right Down the Line also received an excellent reception, topping the Easy Listening chart in the U.S. for two weeks, an achievement no other song by Rafferty accomplished on that list. Bonnie Raitt's 2012 cover for her album Slipstream is an example of this song's enduring appeal. Meanwhile, Home and Dry, released as the third single in the United States, solidified Rafferty with a third consecutive hit within the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. On the B-side of this single was Mattie's Rag, a track that also had its moment on the Easy Listening and Canadian Adult Contemporary charts. An interesting detail of the recording is the participation of the Australian band The Bushwackers in the introduction of The Ark, contributing instruments such as the violin, concertina, and bodhrán, although their payment for the session was never finalized.
