The news that Gerry Rafferty had died came just days after a guy I knew killed himself.

So I was already pondering the demons that drive people to such desperation.  Reading that Rafferty had fought depression and alcoholism and suffered from severe liver damage added on more lost soul to the tally.

None of that changes that his “Baker Street” and “Right Down the Line” will always delineate a particular stretch of my growing-up years, or that “Stuck In the Middle With You” (with his early band Stealers Wheel) is a perennial favorite of mine on the oldies playlists.

Here’s hoping my pal and Mr. Rafferty are finally at peace.