I suppose the subject matter and the rather dark humor are akin to Dylan too.”Įgan ended up miming Rafferty’s lead vocals in the promo video since his bandmate departed before “Stuck in the Middle With You” reached No. “The vocal inflections are certainly reminiscent of Bob Dylan – and, if I’ve taken anything from him, it’s his phrasing. “That happened by chance,” Rafferty argued. We didn’t share a sense of humor or much of anything.”īack then, Rafferty’s lyrics and performance style led some to believe “Stuck in the Middle With You” was actually by Bob Dylan. There was a generation gap and a culture gap, too. That means you’re there dead on two o’clock, you have a coffee break at exactly five o’clock, and then you finish at eight o’clock on the dot and you don’t go over regardless of what you’re doing. “The problems we had, had little to do, actually, with the results we got on the board,” Rafferty told Rolling Stone, “because they were great in terms of sound and all that – but they were old-school producers. This presented challenges throughout his life – and that included sessions for Stealers Wheel’s self-titled 1972 debut, which included their surprise hit single: Rafferty struggled mightily with the way veteran producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller approached the project. because he felt the band sounded like “a fucking shambles” live. Rafferty had strong feelings and high standards, refusing to tour the U.S. Listen to Stealers Wheel’s ‘Stuck in the Middle With You’ wanted to avoid the harsher aspects of it.” “I took up a certain stance and attitude about my career. “It’s a beast that can chew people up,” he reflected. It wasn’t the first time that Rafferty wrote about a business that based itself around his creativity, and it wouldn’t be the last.
Two days later, Joe Egan and I sat down and we wrote that song in half an hour.” It was a boisterous evening, but I was sandwiched between two rather boring label executives and their wives. “There was a huge table with about 50 people there, record-company executives and their wives, and musicians and their wives, and the wine was flowing. “They threw a launch party in a chic restaurant in Chelsea,” Rafferty later told Record Collector. Released on April 27, 1973, “Stuck in the Middle With You” was inspired by the experience of being signed to A&M Records. Stealers Wheel then essentially became another duo with assistance from several sidemen, permanently flavored with the leading pair’s roots in Scottish folk music. The pair went their separate ways and Rafferty regrouped with Egan, an old school friend.Īn initial attempt to build a band with four lead singers didn’t work out. But Connolly discovered he was becoming more drawn to the monologues between songs, while Rafferty was more interested in building a six-piece rock band.
He’d started in a folk duo called the Humblebums with future international comedy star Billy Connolly. Then Rafferty quit before “Stuck in the Middle With You” found success. Stealers Wheel was as surprised as anyone else when “Stuck in the Middle With You” became an international hit after its release in April 1973.Īfter all, Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan had thrown the song together in about half an hour as a sarcastic attack on the music industry.
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