Joe Egan was a singer, songwriter and founding member of Stealers Wheel, best known for co-writing and singing the song, “Stuck in the Middle with You.”
Joe Egan’s Ebroa:
Born in Paisley, Scotland, Joe Egan met Gerry Rafferty (1947–2011) while the pair attended St Mirin’s Academy. Egan – who sang, plus played acoustic guitar and keyboards – was in several bands and worked as a session musician before teaming up with his schoolmate to form Stealers Wheel, a folk-inspired outfit. Their debut album was released in 1972 and proved to be a hit, thanks to the Egan- and Rafferty-penned song, “Stuck in the Middle with You.” Intended to be a parody of Bob Dylan’s vocal stylings, it became an enduring top 10 hit and is often mistaken for Dylan himself.
Stealers Wheel recorded two more albums in the early 1970s, but further hits did not follow, and they broke up in 1975, though its founders remained lifelong friends. Egan released his solo debut in 1979, “Out of Nowhere,” and followed it up with “Map” in 1981. After neither album gained traction, he left the music industry altogether.
Egan’s work on “Stuck in the Middle with You” endured over the years, however. The song’s remained in steady radio rotation since its release decades ago, plus has been used in dozens of films and television shows, perhaps most famously (and notoriously) in Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs.”
On his early days in music:
“It was a great time to be around because the music scene in Paisley was buzzing.”—Interview with Paisley Daily Express, 2011
