Joe Egan (musician)

Joe Egan
Egan (left) in 1973, with Gerry Rafferty
Egan (left) in 1973, with Gerry Rafferty
Background information
Birth nameJoseph Egan
Born(1946-10-18)18 October 1946
Paisley, Scotland
Died6 July 2024(2024-07-06) (aged 77)
Melbourne, Australia
GenresRock
Occupations
  • Musician
  • singer-songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • keyboards
  • acoustic guitar
Years active1970s–1990s
Formerly ofStealers Wheel

Joseph Egan (18 October 1946 – 6 July 2024) was a Scottish singer-songwriter. Along with Gerry Rafferty, Egan was one of the two main members of the folk rock band Stealers Wheel, and co-writer of their hit song "Stuck in the Middle with You".

Biography

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Egan was born into an Irish Catholic family in Paisley in Renfrewshire, Scotland. Along with former St Mirin's Academy schoolmate Gerry Rafferty,[1] he played in various smaller British bands, such as The Sensors and The Maverix,[2] and worked as a session musician.[2]

In 1972, Egan and Rafferty founded the folk/rock band Stealers Wheel.[3] After two unsuccessful singles, their debut studio album Stealers Wheel, produced by the American songwriting duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, became a commercial success.[4] The album's main single, "Stuck in the Middle With You", co-written by Egan with Rafferty became a hit in 1973, and reached the Top Ten of both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100.[5][6] Subsequently, the band had a few smaller successes, among others, with the Egan-penned song "Star", but stagnating sales figures and artistic differences finally led to the band's break-up in 1975,[7] with both Egan and Rafferty embarking on solo careers, with Rafferty scoring a hit with "Baker Street" in 1978.[8]

Egan's first solo album, Out of Nowhere, was released in 1979.[9] A song from the album, "Back On The Road Again", became a turntable hit on British radio.[9] 1981 saw the release of Egan's second album, Map.[9] He contributed backing vocals to Rafferty's 1992 album On a Wing and a Prayer.[9] Egan left the music business in the 1990s.[8]

Egan died from a heart attack at a hotel in Melbourne on 6 July 2024, at the age of 77.[6]

Albums

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  • 1979: Out of Nowhere[9]
  • 1981: Map[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Joseph (Joe) Egan from The Gazetteer for Scotland". Scottish-places.info. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b Holmes, Jeff (6 January 2011). "Gerry Rafferty: Best of Buddies till the end". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 26 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  3. ^ Eder, Bruce. "Biography: Stealers Wheel". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  4. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 1132/3. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  5. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 527. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  6. ^ a b Joe Egan, Co-Founder of Stealers Wheel, Dead at 77. American Songwriter. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Stealers Wheel Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Co-writer and singer of 1970s pop hit dies at age 77". Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Joe Egan". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
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