Gerry Rafferty’s Legacy: From Stealers Wheel to Baker Street
Scottish folk rockers Stealers Wheel formed in 1972 and recorded their debut album that same year at Apple Studio—The Beatles’ own recording space. In 1973, they released Stuck In The Middle With You as the third single.
Originally written as a parody of record label parties, the lyrics mimicked Bob Dylan’s style and depicted a paranoid, stoned artist navigating fame. It was never meant to be a hit—just an inside joke. Ironically, the joke was on them, as Stuck In The Middle With You would become their only commercial success before splitting up in 1975, after two more albums failed to chart.
While the single sold a million copies and saw chart success, its real achievement lies in its longevity. Thanks in part to Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Jeff Healey’s cover in Roadhouse, the song found new audiences. But more importantly, it became a bar band staple, played every weekend for decades.
Personally, I think those constant bar band performances have played a huge role in keeping it alive—maybe I’m biased. I played it in my first professional band, and again just last weekend. The reaction from the crowd was exactly the same as it was 25 years ago—and I suspect it’ll be the same 25 years from now.
Although Stealers Wheel may have intended it as an in-joke, the world clearly got it. And if you think its writer just got lucky, think again.
Gerry Rafferty, the band’s founding member and main songwriter, went on to have an even bigger solo hit with Baker Street—named after the street where Apple Records was based, Stealers Wheel’s label.
Baker Street became steeped in controversy and has long been a favourite example among musicians when debating songwriting credits. The saxophone hook, played by Raphael Ravenscroft, is melodically distinct from the rest of the tune. Ravenscroft claimed it was his creation and argued he should’ve received co-writing credit.
The typical debate goes: “Sing Baker Street.” Everyone sings the sax line. Then comes the argument—if that’s what everyone remembers, shouldn’t the sax player get a slice of the pie?
As it turns out, a demo surfaced in 2011 revealing the melody was originally played by Gerry himself on guitar. So perhaps Raphael just wanted a bigger house—or maybe we all just love a bit of musical drama.
Stealers Wheel Tunes | Related Pages
Stuck In The Middle With You | Chords + TAB
You can learn to play Stuck In The Middle With You by Stealers Wheel using chords, lyrics, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| D | D |
Well, I don’t know why I came here tonight…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: Stuck In The Middle With You (Stealers Wheel) Guitar Lesson with TAB,
Stealers Wheel on the web
