Editing Stuck in the Middle with You

{{Short description|1973 single by Stealers Wheel}}
{{Redirect|Stuck in the Middle (song)|the song by Clea|Stuck in the Middle (Clea song)|other uses|Stuck in the Middle (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox song
| name           = Stuck in the Middle with You
| cover          = Stuck in the Middle with You.png
| alt            = 
| caption        = Image of Netherlands 7-inch vinyl cover
| type           = single
| artist         = [[Stealers Wheel]]
| album          = [[Stealers Wheel (album)|Stealers Wheel]]
| B-side         = Jose
| released       = 1972
| recorded       = 1972 [[Apple Studios (recording studio)|Apple]] (London, England)
| studio         = 
| venue          = 
| genre          =
* [[Folk rock]]<ref>{{cite web|first= Tom |last= Breihan |title= The Number Ones Bonus Tracks: Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street|website= [[Stereogum]] |date= 22 September 2020 |url= https://www.stereogum.com/2096691/the-number-ones-bonus-tracks-gerry-raffertys-baker-street/columns/the-number-ones/ |access-date= 11 November 2023|quote= Today, we remember Stealers Wheel for “Stuck In The Middle With You,” the jaunty, dazed folk-rock jam...}}</ref>
* [[soft rock]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion; Brought to You by the Makers of Mojo Magazine|year=2007|publisher=Canongate|isbn=978-1-84195-973-3|pages=399–}}</ref>
* [[pop rock]]<ref name= "Rolling Stone Staff 2024">{{cite web|last= Rolling Stone Staff|title= The 101 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time|website= [[Rolling Stone]]|date= September 24, 2024|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-movie-soundtracks-1235083518/|accessdate= October 5, 2024}}</ref>
| length         = 3:28
| label          = [[A&M Records|A&M]]
| writer         =
* [[Gerry Rafferty]]
* [[Joe Egan (musician)|Joe Egan]]
| producer       = [[Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller]]
| prev_title     = 
| prev_year      = 
| next_title     = [[Everyone's Agreed That Everything Will Turn Out Fine]]
| next_year      = 1973
| misc           = {{External music video|{{YouTube|OMAIsqvTh7g|"Stuck in the Middle with You"}} }}
}}

"'''Stuck in the Middle with You'''" (sometimes known as "'''Stuck in the Middle'''") is a song written by Scottish musicians [[Gerry Rafferty]] and [[Joe Egan (musician)|Joe Egan]] and performed by their band [[Stealers Wheel]].

The band performed the song on the BBC's ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' in May 1973, and the song charted at No. 8 in the [[UK Singles Chart]]. It also became an international hit, reaching No. 6 in the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]].

==Overview==
"Stuck in the Middle" was first included on [[Stealers Wheel]]'s 1972 [[Stealers Wheel (album)|eponymous debut album]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stealers Wheel – Stealers Wheel &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/stealers-wheel-mw0000338591 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> Gerry Rafferty provided the lead vocals, with Joe Egan singing harmony. It was produced by [[Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Emerson |first=Ken |url=https://archive.org/details/alwaysmagicinair00emers |title=Always Magic in the Air: The Bomp and Brilliance of the Brill Building Era |year=2005 |isbn=9780670034567 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Rafferty's lyrics are a dismissive tale of a music industry cocktail party (the clowns and jokers would be all the music executives and hangers on), written and performed as a parody of [[Bob Dylan]]'s style; the vocal impression, subject, and styling were so similar, listeners have wrongly attributed the song to Dylan since its release.<ref name=tel/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |url=https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whitbur/page/675 |title=Top Pop Singles 1955–2002 |publisher=Record Research Inc. |year=2003 |isbn=0-89820-155-1 |edition=1st |location=Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin |page=[https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whitbur/page/675 675] |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=David |title=British Hit Singles & Albums |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |year=2006 |isbn=1-904994-10-5 |edition=19th |location=London |page=527}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Stealers Wheel sleeve image |url=http://www.strawbsweb.co.uk/related/steal/stuckdu.jpg |access-date=24 June 2016 |website=Strawbsweb.co.uk |format=JPG}}</ref>

The song was released as a single in 1973{{cn|date=November 2024}} and the band was surprised by its chart success.<ref name="tel">{{Cite news |last=Chilton |first=Martin |date=5 January 2011 |title=Gerry Rafferty and his songs of alienation |work=Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/8241127/Gerry-Rafferty-and-his-songs-of-alienation.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110108142550/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/8241127/Gerry-Rafferty-and-his-songs-of-alienation.html |archive-date=8 January 2011 }}</ref> The single sold over one million copies, eventually peaking at No. 6 on the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart, No. 8 in the [[UK Singles Chart|UK]], and No. 2 in [[Canada]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Library and Archives |date=17 July 2013 |title=Image : RPM Weekly |url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.4817&URLjpg=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f4/nlc008388.4817.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.4817 |access-date=25 June 2016 |website=Bac-lac.gc.ca}}</ref> ''Billboard'' ranked it as the [[Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1973|No. 36 song for 1973]].

The band appeared playing the song on BBC's ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' on 18 May 1973.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top Of The Pops 1973 |url=http://hardprog.pagesperso-orange.fr/top_of_the_pops_1973_episode_guide_2313.htm |access-date=18 December 2018 |website=Hardprog.pagesperso-orange.fr}}</ref>

==Music video==
The video portrays the band performing in a corner of a large, empty building. Their performance is intercut with shots of Egan, miming to a vocal track by Rafferty (who had by then left the band), at a small banquet table with a number of garishly dressed and made-up supper guests. These include an actual clown, a bespectacled bowler-hatted gent devouring spaghetti and a lavishly dressed woman eating cream cakes and grapes. The clown, who has difficulty eating a plastic chicken, continually squeezes Egan out whenever he tries to take food from the table. The guitar solo is played on a guitar played flat with an empty beer bottle used as a [[Steel bar|slide]]. Eventually, the other band members appear, driving off the strange characters so that Egan can sit down at last.<ref>{{YouTube| OMAIsqvTh7g|Stuck In The Middle With You // Stealers Wheel}}</ref>

==Personnel==
Personnel are taken from the Stealers Wheel website.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stealerswheel.com/stealers-wheel |title=Stealers Wheel |website=www.stealerswheel.com  |url-status=live |archive-date=14 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714095508/https://www.stealerswheel.com/stealers-wheel |language=en |access-date=14 July 2023}}</ref>
* [[Gerry Rafferty]] – guitar, lead vocals
* [[Joe Egan (musician)|Joe Egan]] – keyboards, guitar, lead vocals
* Paul Pilnick – lead guitar
* [[Tony Williams (English musician)|Tony Williams]] – bass
* [[Rod Coombes]] – drums

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1973)
!Peak<br/>position
|-
|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name="aus">{{Cite book |last=Kent |first=David |title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 |publisher=Australian Chart Book |year=1993 |isbn=0-646-11917-6 |edition=illustrated |location=St Ives, N.S.W. |page=292 |author-link=David Kent (historian)}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|16
|-
|{{single chart|Flanders|6|artist=Stealers Wheel|song=Stuck In The Middle With You|rowheader=true|access-date=28 March 2018}}
|-
|Canada [[RPM (magazine)|''RPM'']] Top Singles<ref name="auto"/>
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|[[Netherlands]] ([[Dutch Top 40]])
| style="text-align:center;"|8
|-
|Netherlands ([[Single Top 100]])
| style="text-align:center;"|8
|-
|New Zealand (''Listener'')<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stuck In the Middle with You |url=http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qsongid=4035#n_view_location |access-date=25 June 2016 |website=Flavour of New Zealand}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|16
|-
|South Africa ([[Springbok Radio]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=SA Charts 1965 – March 1989 |url=http://www.rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(S).html |access-date=5 September 2018}}</ref>
|align="center"|5
|-
{{singlechart|UK|8|date=19730616|access-date=21 November 2024|refname="stealersuk"}}
|-
|align="left"|US [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |title=Billboard's Top Pop Singles 1955–2002 |year=2004 |isbn=978-0898201550}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|6
|-
|align="left"|US ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' Adult Contemporary<ref>{{Cite web |title=Adult Contemporary Music Chart – Billboard |url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/adult-contemporary/1973-05-19 |access-date=25 June 2016 |website=Billboard.com|date=2 January 2013 }}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|13
|-
|US [[Cash Box (magazine)|''Cash Box'']] Top 100<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cash Box Top 100 5/26/73 |url=https://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19730526.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609225624/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19730526.html |archive-date=9 June 2015 |access-date=12 May 2019 |website=Tropicalglen.com}}</ref>
|align="center"|3
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1973)
!Position
|-
|Canada<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 December 2017 |title=Image : RPM Weekly |url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.100214&URLjpg=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f4/nlc008388.100214.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.100214 |website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|32
|-
|Netherlands (Single Top 100)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jaaroverzichten – Single 1971 |url=http://www.dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1973&cat=s |access-date=2 March 2018 |website=Dutchcharts.nl |language=nl}}</ref>
|align="center"|94
|-
|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top 100 Hits of 1973/Top 100 Songs of 1973 |url=http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1973.htm |access-date=25 June 2016 |website=Musicoutfitters.com}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|36
|-
|US ''Cash Box''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cash Box YE Pop Singles – 1973 |url=https://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/1973YESP.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715135835/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/1973YESP.html |archive-date=15 July 2014 |access-date=12 May 2019 |website=Tropicalglen.com}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|28
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|type=single|artist=Stealers Wheel|title=Stuck in the Middle with You|award=Gold|relyear=2004|certyear=2023|id=11173|access-date=12 August 2023}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=Stealers Wheel|title=Stuck in the Middle with You|award=Platinum|number=5|relyear=1973|certyear=2024|source=radioscope|access-date=March 29, 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|type=single|artist=Stealers Wheel|title=Stuck in the Middle with You|award=Gold|relyear=1973|certyear=2025|access-date=March 29, 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Stealers Wheel|title=Stuck in the Middle with You|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=2004|certyear=2024|id=13924-4256-1|access-date=8 March 2024}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

==Cover versions==
English singer [[Louise Redknapp|Louise]] recorded a cover that was released on 27 August 2001.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=25 August 2001 |title=New Releases – For Week Starting August 27, 2001: Singles |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/2001/Music-Week-2001-08-25.pdf |magazine=[[Music Week]] |page=31 |access-date=16 August 2021}}</ref> Her version reached number four on the [[UK Singles Chart]] in September 2001.<ref name="betts">{{Cite book |last=Betts |first=Graham |title=Complete UK Hit Singles 1952–2004 |publisher=Collins |year=2004 |isbn=0-00-717931-6 |edition=1st |location=London |page=465}}</ref>

[[Lazlo Bane]] released a cover on the album ''[[Guilty Pleasures (Lazlo Bane album)|Guilty Pleasures]]'' in 2007. Their version was used in the film ''[[Let's Be Cops]]'' and included on the soundtrack.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.soundtrack.net/album/lets-be-cops-2014/|title=Let's Be Cops Soundtrack Information|accessdate=13 January 2023}}</ref>

A cover version by [[Grace Potter]] was used as the theme song for the [[Netflix]] series ''[[Grace and Frankie]]'', and appears in full on the ''Grace and Frankie (Original Television Soundtrack).''<ref name="Jason">{{Cite news |last=Fraley |first=Jason |date=7 May 2021 |title=Grace Potter is ready to rock the Frederick Fairgrounds on Mother's Day |work=WTOP |url=https://wtop.com/entertainment/2021/05/grace-potter-is-ready-to-rock-the-frederick-fairgrounds-with-mothers-day-concert}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube| o_PFlKYoALw}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
The song is used in [[Quentin Tarantino]]'s 1992 debut film ''[[Reservoir Dogs]]'', during the scene in which the character Mr. Blonde (played by [[Michael Madsen]]) taunts and tortures bound policeman Marvin Nash ([[Kirk Baltz]]) while singing and dancing to the song.<ref name="digitalspy_reservoir-dogs">{{Cite web |last=Reynolds, Simon |date=7 January 2013 |title=Quentin Tarantino's music moments: 'Stuck in the Middle', David Bowie |url=http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/at-the-movies/a451459/quentin-tarantinos-music-moments-stuck-in-the-middle-david-bowie.html#~oALx6fK9wyy4XC |access-date=7 April 2014 |website=Digital Spy |publisher=National Magazine Company Ltd |quote=Alongside the bloody violence and salty dialog, Quentin Tarantino movies are often marked by ingenious juxtaposition of image and sound. Ever since Michael Madsen's razor-wielding Mr. Blonde danced to 'Stuck in the Middle With You' in Reservoir Dogs, the filmmaker has become synonymous with memorable musical montages. }}</ref> In an interview with ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', Tarantino recalled:<ref name="rollingstone_reservoir-dogs">{{Cite magazine |last=Halperin, Shirley |date=21 August 2009 |title=Quentin Tarantino on Five Key Soundtrack Picks, from 'Reservoir Dogs' to 'Inglourious Basterds' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/quentin-tarantino-on-five-key-soundtrack-picks-from-reservoir-dogs-to-inglourious-basterds-20090821 |access-date=7 April 2014 |magazine=Rolling Stone |quote=From Pulp Fiction to Kill Bill to his latest, Inglourious Basterds (opening this weekend), Quentin Tarantino matches scene with song like a sommelier pairs just the right bottle of wine with a nice steak: perfectly. So how does a cut make it from his turntable to the big screen? The revered director filled us in on his method through five key movie music cues. }}</ref>

<blockquote>That was one of those things where I thought [the song] would work really well, and [during] auditions, I told the actors that I wanted them to do the torture scene, and I'm gonna use "Stuck in the Middle with You", but they could pick anything they wanted, they didn't have to use that song. And a couple of people picked another one, but almost everyone came in with "Stuck in the Middle with You", and they were saying that they tried to come up with something else, but that's the one. The first time somebody actually did the torture scene to that song, the guy didn't even have a great audition, but it was like watching the movie. I was thinking, "Oh my God, this is gonna be awesome!"</blockquote>

The song appears in a [[2020 in American television|2020]] [[TV commercial]] for [[IBM]].<ref name="IBM">{{Cite web |title=IBM Cloud Super Bowl 2020 TV Commercial, 'The Most Flexible Cloud' Song by Stealers Wheel |url=https://www.ispot.tv/ad/ZErg/ibm-super-bowl-2020-the-most-flexible-cloud |website=iSpot.tv |format=Ad ID: 2661332}}</ref>

The song is used as the theme song for SiriusXM Radio's ''The Michael Smerconish Program''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kachejian |first=Brian |date=29 October 2020 |title=Top 10 Stealers Wheel songs |url=https://www.classicrockhistory.com/top-10-stealers-wheel-songs/ |access-date=9 February 2023 |website=ClassicRockHistory.com |language=en-US}}</ref> and snippets from various cover versions of the song are used as the show's inter-segment "bumper" music.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{AllMusic|class=song|id=t6929996}}
* {{YouTube|ln7Vn_WKkWU|Stealers Wheel – Stuck in the Middle with You}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1972 songs]]
[[Category:1973 singles]]
[[Category:A&M Records singles]]
[[Category:Juice Newton songs]]
[[Category:Lazlo Bane songs]]
[[Category:Leif Garrett songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Gerry Rafferty]]
[[Category:Stealers Wheel songs]]