Folk Rock
The song was written by group members Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty. It was a parody of Bob Dylan’s music, social paranoia et alia, and made fun of a music industry cocktail party. They were quite surprised when the song became a hit. It was released on their 1972 album Stealers Wheel. They released it as a single in 1973, backed with “Jose.” And in 1973, “Stuck in the Middle with You” (aka “Stuck in the Middle) went to #6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, #2 in Canada, #8 in the U.K., and #16 in Australia and New Zealand.
There were covers by Leif Garrett, Grace Potter, and Louise, to name a few. The song was featured in Quentin Tarantino’s 1992 film Reservoir Dogs during a grisly torture scene.
Stealers Wheel formed in Paisley, Scotland, in 1972, by school friends Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty. They disbanded in 1975 and then re-formed for a short time in 2008. On the track were Gerry Rafferty (guitar, lead vocals), Joe Egan (keyboards, lead vocals), Paul Pilnick (lead guitar), Tony Williams (bass), and Rod Coombes (drums). It was produced by the famous team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.
