History

included future comic star Billy Connolly. The Humblebums cut a pair of albums for Transatlantic Records, which received critical appreciation but sold poorly.

When the Humblebums disbanded in 1971, Rafferty continued with Transatlantic as a solo performer and recorded his first album, “Can I Have

My Money Back?” His creation received enthusiastic praise but was ignored by the record-buying public.

In 1972, he and Egan reunited, this time to form a soft-rock outfit called Stealers Wheel. They promptly struck gold with “Stuck in the Middle with You,” which became a Top 10 single in America, the U.K. and Canada. That hit 45 gave Rafferty a chance to vent his spleen against the negative forces that controlled the music business. In a voice that mimicked his idol Bob Dylan, Rafferty set the scene for his tune at a record-company party that made him uncomfortable being in the midst of the power people he always preferred to avoid:

Well, I don’t know why I came here tonight

I got the feeling that something ain’t right Rafferty just wanted to make music, revel in the satisfaction of its creation, and ignore that part of the picture that included insensitive bean-counters and “friends” who were supposedly furthering his career: