Stealers Wheel 'Stuck in the Middle With You' Co-Writer Joe Egan Dies at 77

Joe Egan, The Scottish singer-songwriter who co-founded Stealers Wheel with Gerry Rafferty and co-wrote their 1973 hit “Stuck in the Middle With You,” died on Saturday, July 6. He was 77 years old.

Egan's death was confirmed on Sunday July 7 at official Rafferty Facebook page, run by Rafferty's daughter Martha (Rafferty died in 2011). No cause of death was given.

“Very sad news that the other half of the Stealers Wheel, Joe Egan, passed away peacefully yesterday afternoon with his nearest and dearest around him,” Martha wrote. “I will always remember him as a sweet and kind soul. Rest in Peace.”

Both Egan and Rafferty grew up in Paisley, Scotland, an industrial town outside Glasgow, and even attended the same schools before starting to play in bands together as teenagers. Along with their early groups the Sensors and Maverix, Egan also contributed to Rafferty's 1971 solo debut. Can I get my money back?

The following year, Egan and Rafferty formed Stealers Wheel and signed a record deal with A&M. They recorded their self-titled debut with the legendary songwriting/production duo of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and the LP arrived in late 1972. After the first two singles failed to gain any traction, Rafferty left the band, but was teased. back after the third single, “Stuck in the Middle of You” – a Bob Dylan-style pastiche/parody of a music industry party – became a surprise hit.

Egan and Rafferty remained the core of Stealers Wheel as the rest of the band's lineup changed. They recorded two more albums, in 1973 Ferguslie Park and of 1975 Right or wrongneither of which achieved the same commercial heights as their debut.

The closest they got to a second hit was the Egan-penned Ferguslie Park single, “Star”, which peaked at number 29 Advertising sign Hot 100. The song seems to find Egan interrogating the band's sudden fame with the acknowledgment that nothing is guaranteed: “After everything you've been through, tell me what you're gonna do,” sings Egan, “When you're back on the shelf ?/Ah, tell me.”

Stealers Wheel split after Right or wrongand Egan went on to release two solo albums: 1979's Out of the blue and of 1981 Map. He left the music industry in the 90s and, according to The Heraldhe ran a publishing company from his home in Renfrewshire.

While Rafferty went on to enjoy great success as a solo artist, the two old friends and partners stayed in touch over the years. After Rafferty's death in 2011, Egan said The Daily Record, “Like everyone else I guess we had our faults because we spent so much time living in each other's pockets. But we were still in touch until very recently. In fact, I'd be sitting at home in Paisley with a glass in my hand and Gerry would be just as south. We talked on the phone for hours and reminisced. It was like sitting in a pub in Paisley… He was a very good friend as well as a partner.”