Stealers Wheel’s Joe Egan Dead At 77
Joe Egan, the Scottish singer-songwriter who cowrote “Stuck In The Middle With You” as one half of Stealers Wheel with Gerry Rafferty, has died at age 77. The official Rafferty Facebook page, run by Rafferty’s daughter, confirmed Egan’s death with a message Sunday:
Very sad news that the other half of Stealers Wheel, Joe Egan, passed away peacefully yesterday afternoon with his nearest and dearest around him. I will always remember him as a sweet and gentle soul. May he rest in peace ♥️
Egan was born in Paisley, Scotland and grew up in Renfrewshire. In 1972, after doing time in bands such as the Sensors and the Maverix, he and Rafferty founded Stealers Wheel, a freewheeling folk-rock band that pulled influence from Bob Dylan, the Byrds, the Beatles, and more. “Stuck In The Middle With You,” a single from their self-titled debut album with Rafferty on Dylan-esque lead vocals and Egan on harmonies, became a top-10 hit in the US and UK the following year. It’s gone on to be immortal presence in pop culture, popping up all over the place but put to especially iconic use in Quentin Tarantino’s 1992 directorial debut Reservoir Dogs.
Stealers Wheel released two more albums, 1973’s Ferguslie Park (which included the minor hits “Everything Will Turn Out Fine” and the Egan-penned “Star”) and 1975’s Right Or Wrong and then broke up. Egan released two solo albums, 1979’s Out Of Nowhere and 1981’s Map, before retiring from music. He maintained a close friendship with Rafferty until the latter’s death in 2011.