Joe Egan, who co-founded and co-fronted the Scottish band Stealers Wheel along with Gerry Rafferty, has died at age 77. The group was best known for its hit “Stuck in the Middle with You.”
Egan’s passing was reported on the late Rafferty’s Facebook page , which is run by his daughter Martha: “Very sad news that the other half of Stealers Wheel, Joe Egan, passed away peacefully yesterday afternoon [July 6th] with his nearest and dearest around him. I will always remember him as a sweet and gentle soul. May he rest in peace.”
Stealers Wheel were formed by Egan and Rafferty in 1972, with the two sharing lead vocal duties. They scored an immediate hit with “Stuck in the Middle with You” off their self-titled debut, released later that same year.
The song, which features Rafferty on lead vocals and Egan on harmonies, was co-written by the two musicians, hitting No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
In 1992, “Stuck in the Middle with You” gained new fame as it soundtracked an iconic and highly disturbing scene in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs , in which Michael Madsen’s character Mr. Blonde sings along to the tune and dances as he tortures a police officer.
Rafferty had left Stealers Wheel by the time the band released its debut album, but soon returned as “Stuck in the Middle with You” took off on the charts. The group released two more albums — 1973’s Ferguslie Park and 1975’s Right or Wrong — before breaking up in 1975. Neither of those LPs achieved great commercial success, although the band did score a modest hit with Ferguslie Park ‘s “Star,” written and sung by Egan.
Stealers Wheel briefly reunited in 2008, albeit without Rafferty or Egan. Rafferty, who went on to a successful solo career in the late ’70s and ’80s, died at the age of 63 in 2011 of liver failure.
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