City to City

For the song by Ratt, see Reach for the Sky (Ratt album).

City to City
Studio album by Gerry Rafferty
Released	20 January 1978 (1978-01-20)
Recorded	1977, Chipping Norton Recording Studios
Genre	Rock, folk rock, soft rock
Length	51:12
Label	United Artists
Producer	Hugh Murphy
Gerry Rafferty chronology
Can I Have My Money Back (1971)Can I Have My Money Back1971 City to City (1978) Night Owl (1979)Night Owl1979
Singles from City to City
"City to City (Belgium and the Netherlands only)" Released: 1977 "Baker Street" Released: 1978 "Right Down the Line" Released: 1978 "Home and Dry (US only)" Released: 1978 "The Ark (the Netherlands and Germany only)" Released: 1978 "Whatever's Written in Your Heart (UK promo only)" Released: 1978

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Robert Christgau	B−
Rolling Stone	(not rated)

City to City is a 1978 album and the second studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty. It was Rafferty's first solo release in six years — and first release of any kind since 1975 — due to his tenure in the band Stealers Wheel and subsequent legal proceedings which prevented Rafferty from releasing any new solo recordings for the next three years. The album was strongly received, peaking at #1 in the US and going Platinum, as well as reaching #6 in the UK and achieving Gold status. "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line" and "Home and Dry" were successfully released as singles. By October 2010, "Baker Street" had reached 5 million plays on British radio.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Gerry Rafferty. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Ark"	5:36
2.	"Baker Street"	6:01
3.	"Right Down The Line"	4:28
4.	"City To City"	4:51
5.	"Stealin’ Time"	5:39
6.	"Mattie’s Rag"	3:28
7.	"Whatever’s Written In Your Heart"	6:30
8.	"Home And Dry"	4:52
9.	"Island"	5:04
10.	"Waiting For The Day"	5:26

Singles

Baker Street

Main article: Baker Street (song)

United Artists wanted to use "City to City" as the lead single from the album, but Rafferty felt that "Baker Street" would be a better choice and eventually the latter song became the first single in most countries (see "City to City" single release below). Released on 3 February 1978, "Baker Street" peaked at #3 in the UK Singles Chart and spending four weeks at #1 in Canada. It reached #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, spending six weeks in this position, and two weeks at #1 on the U.S. Cash Box Top 100. The b-side of "Baker Street" was "Big Change in the Weather".

Right Down the Line

"Right Down the Line" reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaked for two weeks at number eight on the Cash Box Top 100, and spent four non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Easy Listening chart in the U.S. in 1978, the only Rafferty song to reach number one on this chart.

Home and Dry

"Home and Dry" was the third single from the album in the United States, but did not have a UK release. It peaked at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking a third consecutive Top 40 hit for Rafferty on that chart. The b-side featured the sixth track from City to City, "Mattie's Rag".

City to City

The title track had releases in Belgium (1977) and the Netherlands (1978). The b-side featured an extended version of "Mattie's Rag".

The Ark

"The Ark" was released as a single in the Netherlands and Germany in 1978. The Dutch single featured "Waiting for the Day" as the b-side, while the German single used "Whatever's Written In Your Heart". Both b-sides were from the album, used as the tenth and seventh tracks respectively.

Whatever's Written in Your Heart

"Whatever's Written In Your Heart" was only released on a-side as a promotional single in the United Kingdom in 1978. "Waiting for the Day" was used as the b-side.

Personnel

• Gerry Rafferty – piano, acoustic guitar, vocals, backing vocals
• Tommy Eyre – piano, electric piano, grand piano, Moog synthesizer, organ, keyboards, brass arrangements
• Jerry Donahue – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, electric guitar on track 1
• Hugh Burns – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar on tracks 2-5, 8-10
• Nigel Jenkins – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, electric guitar on tracks 2, 8
• Andy Fairweather-Low – rhythm guitar, electric guitar on track 10
• Micky Moody – acoustic guitar on track 5
• Brian Cole – steel guitar, dobro on tracks 3-6, 9
• Mo Foster – bass, backing vocals on tracks 1-6, 8-10
• Graham Preskett – fiddle, mandolin, synthesizer, string machine, string, bass, arrangements on tracks 1-2, 4-6, 8, 10
• Henry Spinetti – drums on tracks 1-6, 8, 10
• Glen LeFleur - drums, percussion, tambourine on tracks 1-3, 5, 9-10

Additional personnel

• Barbara Dickson – backing vocals 1 7
• Raphael Ravenscroft – saxophone 2 9
• Roger Brown – backing vocals 4
• Vivian McAuliff – backing vocals 4
• John McBurnie – backing vocals 4
• Rab Noakes – backing vocals 4
• Paul Jones – harmonica 4
• Hugh Murphy – tambourine 4
• Willy Ray – accordion 6 9
• Joanna Carlin – backing vocals 7

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Peak Position
1978	Billboard 200	1
1978	Kent Music Report	3
1978	UK Albums Chart	6

Single

Year	Song	Chart	Peak position
1978	"Baker Street"	Billboard Easy Listening	4
1978	"Baker Street"	Billboard Hot 100	2
1978	"Baker Street"	UK Singles Chart	3
1978	"Right Down the Line"	Billboard Easy Listening	1
1978	"Right Down the Line"	Billboard Hot 100	12
1978	"Home and Dry"	Billboard Hot 100	28

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA – U.S.	Gold	26 May 1978 (1978-05-26)
BPI – UK	Gold	31 May 1978 (1978-05-31)
RIAA – U.S.	Platinum	20 June 1978 (1978-06-20)

References

• Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)

External links

• City to City at Discogs (list of releases)

Preceded by Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack) by Various artists

Billboard 200 number-one album 8–14 July 1978

Succeeded by Some Girls by The Rolling Stones