Joe Egan, the Scottish singer-songwriter who co-fronted the folk-rock band Stealers Wheel with Gerry Rafferty, has died at the age of 77. The news was confirmed on the Facebook page of the late Rafferty, who died in 2011. The page is run by Rafferty’s daughter, who wrote in a message on Sunday:
Very sad news that the other half of Stealers Wheel, Joe Egan, passed away peacefully yesterday afternoon with his nearest and dearest around him. I will always remember him as a sweet and gentle soul. May he rest in peace ♥️
Egan was born into an Irish Catholic family in Paisley, Scotland. In 1972, after playing in bands such as the Sensors and the Maverix, he and Rafferty founded Stealers Wheel, who were best known for their 1973 debut single, ‘Stuck in the Middle With You’. The song reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and experienced a resurgence when it was used in Quentin Tarantino’s 1992 directorial debut Reservoir Dogs.
Stealers Wheel put out two more albums, 1973’s Ferguslie Park and 1975’s Right or Wrong, before disbanding. Egan went on to release two solo albums, 1979’s Out of Nowhere and 1981’s Map, and then retired from music. He briefly reunited with Rafferty to contribute vocals on some tracks on the latter’s 1992 album On a Wing and a Prayer, and the pair remained close friends until the end.