Joe Egan

Born in Paisley, Scotland on October 18, 1946, Joe Egan was a singer, songwriter, and musician best known as one-half of folk / pop duo Stealers Wheel alongside fellow countryman Gerry Rafferty. Joe Egan and Rafferty met while attending Catholic school at St. Mirin’s Academy. They spent the 1960s playing in small bands and working as session musicians. In 1972, the duo formed Stealers Wheel and released their self-titled debut album in November. Produced by rock and roll icons Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, the album was not a commercial success until the release of the third single, “Stuck in the Middle with You,” which became an international hit. However, the group’s international success was short-lived and their second album, Ferguslie Park (1973), was a commercial failure even though the single “Star” was a Top 30 hit in the US and UK. Tensions between Joe Egan and Rafferty sent the band into a brief hiatus before they returned with the album Right or Wrong in 1975. After the album’s failure – it didn’t appear on the Billboard 200 – Stealers Wheel split up. Gerry Rafferty went on to achieve solo success with hits like “Baker Street” and “Right Down the Line” while Joe Egan took several years to find his musical footing. Joe Egan’s debut solo album, Out of Nowhere, was released in 1979 and included the minor hit “Back on the Road Again.” Two years later, he released his second solo album, Maps (1981), which was not a commercial success. Although he worked on minor musical projects in the 1980s, Joe Egan left the music business in the 1990s. His former musical partner, Gerry Rafferty, died of liver failure on January 5, 2011. Joe Egan died at the age of 77 on July 6, 2024.