Stealers Wheel – ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’
  • Writers: Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty
  • Producers: Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
  • Recorded: Late 1972 in London
  • Released: March 1973
  • Players:
    Gerry Rafferty — vocals, guitar
    Joe Egan — vocals, keyboards
    Paul Pilnick — guitar
    Tony Williams — bass
    Rod Coombes — drums
  • Album: Stealers Wheel (A&M, 1973)
  • Also On: Stuck In The Middle With You (A&M, 1976)
  • The Scottish duo Stealers Wheel‘s one shining moment, “Stuck In The Middle With You,” hit Number Six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
  • The group, formed in 1972 in London, featured Gerry Rafferty — who had played in the Humblebums with comedian folkies Billy Connolly and Tam Harvey — and Joe Egan.
  • The group’s first lineup did not record and subsequently broke up, though Rafferty and Egan put the band back together after their demo scored a recording contract.
  • “Stuck In The Middle With You” has the distinction of being produced — but not written — by the legendary team of Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, who made something of a comeback with this song.
  • Rafferty had actually left Stealers Wheel prior to the release of “Stuck In The Middle,” but returned to the group after it became a hit.
  • The song’s success put the duo’s self-titled album at Number 50 on the Billboard 200 chart.
  • The group’s continuing internal strife kept it from capitalizing on the success of “Stuck In The Middle.” Subsequent members included former Spooky Tooth guitarist Luther Grosvenor, who would change his name to Ariel Bender and join Mott The Hoople.

FAST FORWARD:

  • Stealers Wheel broke up in 1975 after the release of their third album, which was called Right Or Wrong.
  • Rafferty went on to a solo career, which included the 1978 smash “Baker Street.”

Director Quentin Tarantino used “Stuck In The Middle” in a torture scene from his film Reservoir Dogs. He did note, “Personally, I don’t know if Gerry Rafferty necessarily appreciated the connotations that I brought to ‘Stuck In The Middle With You.’ There’s a good chance he didn’t.”