Joe Egan, founder of Stealers Wheel together with Gerry Rafferty, dies at the age of 77

Joe Egan, the The Scottish singer-songwriter, who founded the band 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, on Rafferty’s official Facebook page, which is run by Rafferty’s daughter Martha (Rafferty died in 2011). No cause of death was given.

“Very sad news that the other half of Stealers Wheel, Joe Egan, passed away peacefully yesterday afternoon surrounded by his nearest and dearest,” Martha wrote. “I will always remember him as a sweet and gentle soul. May he rest in peace.”

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

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

Egan and Rafferty remained the core of Stealers Wheel while the rest of the band changed. They recorded two more albums, 1973 Ferguslie Park and 1975 Right or wrongneither of which reached the commercial heights of their debut.

The closest they came to a second hit was the Egan-written Ferguslie Park Single “Star”, which reached number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the song, Egan seems to question the band’s sudden fame, realizing that nothing is guaranteed: “After everything you’ve been through, tell me what you gonna do,” Egan sings, “When you’re back on the sidelines?/Ahh, tell me.”

Stealers Wheel split after Right or wrongand Egan released two solo albums: 1979 Out of nowhere and 1981 MapHe left the music industry in the nineties and, according to The Heraldran a publishing company from his home in Renfrewshire.

While Rafferty enjoyed great success as a solo artist, the two old friends and bandmates stayed in touch over the years. After Rafferty’s death in 2011, Egan The Daily Record“Like everyone else, we probably had our arguments because we spent so much time following each other. But we kept in touch until recently. In fact, I was sitting at home in Paisley with a drink in my hand and Gerry was down south doing the same. We would talk on the phone for hours, reminiscing about the old days. It was like sitting in a pub in Paisley… He was a great friend and bandmate.”