Scottish singer-songwriter Joe Egan, the creative partner of Gerry Rafferty and one of the two band members of folk-rock band Stealers Wheel, died Saturday. He was 77.
No cause of death was revealed, but Gafferty confirmed the news and shared a tribute for Egan on his official Facebook account which is run by Gafferty’s daughter, Martha.
“Very sad news that the other half of Stealers Wheel, Joe Egan, passed away peacefully yesterday afternoon with his nearest and dearest around him,” the caption read alongside a compilation of . “I will always remember him as a sweet and gentle soul. May he rest in peace.”
Egan was born on October 18, 1946 in Paisley, Scotland. He and Rafferty — who is also from Paisley — formed Stealers Wheel in 1972. However, Rafferty left the band by the time the band’s self-titled album came out.
Egan co-wrote the band’s most well-known song, “Stuck in the Middle With You,” which was a Top 10 hit in the United States and the United Kingdom in 1973 and was No. 6 in the Billboard Hot 100. It was used in the 1992 movie “Reservoir Dogs.”
The success inspired Rafferty to return to the band momentarily. However, Stealers Wheel was unable to reach commercial access after the song’s success and the band split after releasing two more albums. While the band had a reunion in 2008, Egan and Rafferty — who died in 2011 — did not partake it in though other members did.
Egan released two solo albums — 1979′s “Out of Nowhere” and “Map” two years later — and retired from music altogether in the ‘90s where he reportedly went on to run a publishing business from his home in Paisley.
Egan previously spoke to the Paisley Daily Express in 2011 about how he originally wanted to be a soccer player, but ended up getting into music when he realized he was better about it. He also spoke in-depth about his relationship with Rafferty following his death.
“We lived in each other’s pockets for so long and, latterly, would speak regularly on the phone. Gerry was around six months older than me and was also a year above at school,” Egan told the Paisley Daily Express. “I was always interested in music, like Gerry, but I was also into football in a big way and at one stage I’d hoped to make it as a player.”
“But when it became clear that I thought I was better than I actually was, I threw myself headfirst into my music. That’s when Gerry and I first got together,” Egan continued. “We formed Stealers Wheel along with Rab Noakes and an American guy called Roger Brown, but the lineup changed over time and at the end it was just Gerry and I who recorded the last two albums.”
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Saleah Blancaflor may be reached at sblancaflor@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @saleyley and Instagram.