Top 10 Stealers Wheel Songs

Photo: AVRO, CC BY-SA 3.0 NL <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/nl/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons

When most fans hear the name Stealers Wheel, the song “Stuck In The Middle With You,” pops into their head. It’s just one of those songs from the 1970s that you heard all the time on the radio. “Stuck In The Middle With You” had a great groove, fantastic guitar playing, unbelievable vocals, and a memorable melody. And if time caused you to possibly forget the song as we all grew older into the 80s and 90s, good old Quentin Tarantino brought it right back out front using the song in one of his most twisted scenes in his directorial debut Reservoir Dogs. Stealers Wheel didn’t have any other big hits. They weren’t together long enough as the group only released three albums.

Stealers Wheel was first formed in 1972 by Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty, who had known each other since they were teenagers. The two friends added musicians Ian Campbell, Roger Brown and Rab Noakes. After the band broke up in 1975, Gerry Rafferty would go on to have a successful solo career. He had tremendous success with the album City To City which was released in 1978. It was an album that spawned two huge hit singles entitled “Right Down the Line,” and “Baker Street.” Gerry Rafferty passed away in 2011.

As the years have passed, Stealers Wheel has become sort of a cult band. There are always fans who love to dig deep into bands that didn’t last too long but left a mark on Rock and Roll history. Our Top 10 Stealers Wheel songs list presents hardcore fan favorites from their three-year run between 1972 and 1975. Sadly, Joe Egan passed away on July 6, 2024.

# 10 – You Put Something Better Inside Me

We open our Top 10 Stealers Wheel songs list with the beautiful track “You Put Something Better Inside Me.” This one has long been a favorite of Stealers Wheel fans. The song was released on the group’s debut album, Stealers Wheel. It was the album’s closing track. “You Put Something Better Inside Me” was also issued as a single in several markets.

# 9 – Steamboat Row

Continuing with our list of top 10 Stealers Wheel songs, we turn to the great song “Steamboat Row.” The great sea-sounding Celtic song appeared on the album Ferguslie Park. This is such a great song. Rafferty’s voice cuts right through you.

# 8 – I Get By

“I Get By” shows just how well Joe Egan could write a song. It’s one of the band’s heavier songs. Featuring some excellent guitar work and rocking vocals by Joe Egan, the song presented another side of Stealers Wheel. The song was released on the band’s debut album Stealers Wheel. The album featured some great musicians, including Gerry Rafferty on guitar and lead vocals, Joe Egan on keyboards and lead vocals, Paul Pilnick on lead guitar, Iain Campbell on bass, Tony Williams also on bass, Rod Coombes on drums, and Luther Grosvenor on slide guitar.

# 7 – Gets So Lonely

The Stealers Wheel song “Gets So Lonely” was released on the band’s debut album Stealers Wheel in 1972. Joe Egan wrote the song. The song starts with a mellow Fender Rhodes piano introduction surrounded by sweeping harmonies by the two. This one is tender, fueled by a sparse arrangement that lends itself well to the song.

# 6 – Found My Way To You

The great Stealers Wheel song “Found My Way To You” was released on the band’s final album entitled Right Or Wrong. The album was released in 1975 and failed to enter the Billboard 200. “Found My Way To You” was released as the album’s second and final single. The song failed to chart. It would be the last single released during the band’s original run.

# 5 – Late Again

Continuing at number five, we go from the last Stealers Wheel single to one of the first. “Late Again” was released as a single in 1972. It also appeared on the band’s debut album Stealers Wheel. This is a slow ballad that, in some ways, reminds me of Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” with a heavy dose of Beatles-style harmonies.

# 4 – Wheelin’

“Wheelin'” was released on the band’s second album, Ferguslie Park. The album was released in 1973. The great song by Stealers Wheel had a bit of a Beatles feel. Easily one of our favorite Stealers Wheel songs. Written by Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan, “Wheelin'” was issued as a single in several markets in 1974; in the United States it appeared on the flip side of “You Put Something Better Inside of Me.” The production of the song was handled by the legendary duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, known for their work with numerous artists in the 1950s and 1960s.

# 3 – Everyone’s Agreed That Everything Will Turn Out Fine

As we get closer to the top spot on this top 10 Stealers Wheel songs list, we turn to a song that has quite possibly the longest title in the Stealers Wheel catalog. The song “Everyone’s Agreed That Everything Will Turn Out Fine” was released on the 1973 album Ferguslie Park. The song was one of only three Stealers Wheel singles to break the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 49.

# 2 – Star

The Stealers Wheel song “Star” was the band’s second most successful commercial release in the United States. The song hit number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the only Stealers Wheel song besides “Stuck In The Middle With You” to break the U.S. Billboard Top 40. The song also reached number six on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart, number twelve in Canada, and number twenty-five on the UK Singles Chart. The song was released on the band’s second album, Ferguslie Park.

# 1 – Stuck in the Middle with You

We close out our top 10 Stealers Wheel songs list with the song that the band is most known for. And it was a big one. The song “Stuck In The Middle With You” was released on Stealers Wheel’s debut album Stealers Wheel. Interestingly, the song “Stuck In The Middle With You” was not released as the album’s first single, which pretty much defined that the band or their record company had no idea how great of a song they had on their hands. “Stuck In The Middle With You” was issued as the album’s third single. Even though the album was released in 1972, “Stuck In The Middle With You” was not released as a single until 1973.

“Stuck In The Middle With You” became a top 10 hit in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It peaked at number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1973. It hit number eight in the United Kingdom and just missed the number one spot in Canada, peaking at number two.

“Stuck In The Middle With You” was written by Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller produced the song and album; they wrote many legendary songs recorded by Elvis Presley and other ’50s and ’60s artists. The song featured slide guitar playing by Luther Grosvenor, who had also played in Spooky Tooth and Mott the Hoople. Gerry Rafferty sang the lead vocal on the track.

Since its initial release, the song “Stuck In The Middle With You” has really infiltrated pop culture. Quentin Tarantino’s brilliant use of the song in his movie Reservoir Dogs not only resurrected the song, but it also spawned many spoofs of the Quentin Tarantino scene from Reservoir Dogs, which continued to give more exposure to the song. The song has also been used in many television shows, including It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Malcolm in the Middle, Happy!, and more. It is also used as the theme song for SiriusXM Radio’s The Michael Smerconish Program. For Joe Egan and the estate of Gerry Rafferty, “Stuck In The Middle With You” could also be called “Stuck Making Money for You.” It’s a song that will probably always be a part of mainstream culture.