While Ravenscroft falsely claimed to have written the riff for "Baker Street", an almost identical riff had actually been written ten years earlier for the 1968 Steve Marcus jazz track "Half a Heart". Gary Burton, a musician friend of Marcus, said Ravenscroft must have heard the "Half a Heart" riff before replicating it on "Baker Street". Earlier demo recordings for "Baker Street" have the same refrain, played by Rafferty on guitar, which were recorded before Ravenscroft became involved in the sessions for the song, also indicating that Ravenscroft could not have written the melody.