Stuck in the Middle with You

For our spotlight of the real number one hits of 1973 Is at number seven with a track that was meant to be a parody of Bob Dylan's vocal style and his trademark paranoia, and the singer's outsized spoof, it turned into a classic.

I'm talking about Stuck In The Middle With You by Steelers Wheel at number seven.

Yes, I'm stuck in the middle with you.

Jerry Rafferty and Joe Egan, the two core guys behind Steelers Wheel, wrote Stuck In The Middle With You as a total throwaway gag.

Jerry nailed Bob Dylan's distinctive vocal style just for laughs, and it was so convincing, a lot of early listeners and even some radio DJs assumed it was Bob Dylan himself that had recorded it.

Now, the memorable line, "Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right", that quotes Bob Dylan for sure.

I mean, the guy sold 50 million records.

He had three of the biggest songs ever, and he never played a live concert in America.

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right.

Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

Yes, I'm stuck in the middle with you.

You know what the problem is?

It's funny, I feel like this, this song pops up a lot-

Try to escape but I feel no relief from the pain

... it's so obvious that they are, like, they sound like someone else.

Stuck in the middle with you.

To this day, both tracks are staples of classic rock radio.

Next, Gerry Rafferty with Stuck in the Middle With You as part of Steeler's Wheel from 1973 and Baker Street from 1978.

This deserves an asterisk because Stuck in the Middle With You is officially by the Scottish band Steeler's Wheel, but since Rafferty was the lead singer and main songwriter, we're counting it as a Rafferty entry.

The song itself is one of the great rock singles of the 1970s, a groovy piece of rambling folk rock.

Raver- Rafferty's using his best nasal whine to sound like John Lennon covering a Bob Dylan song.

As soon as you hear a song, you just are brought back to that scene in the movie.

Well, Stuck in the Middle With You, man.

I mean, you can- Once you've seen...

I've loved that song since I was a little kid.

What an absolute tune.

It is called Stuck in the Middle with You, of course, because I just heard the chorus.

Stuck in the Middle with You.

What did we talk about today? We talked about the school enrollment zones.

What do we do at one o'clock? Oh, my brain's just completely failed me.

Stuck in the middle with you.

I'm just going to take a stab in the dark here.

Is that because many people in Epsom are stuck in the middle of a bad zoning operation where the schools are jam-packed with too many kids?

The Joker.

that's right Steelers we're stuck in the middle with you yeah we got some we got lots of clowns and jokers in the news all the time whether you're painting a curb in downtown Cheyenne or trying to watch a high school football game in downtown Cheyenne or clowns and jokers man

it is so bizarre

I don't, it's like we're a world possessed.

Hey! Cowboy State Daily Show.

Judging from the comments on the YouTubes, we all love Steeler's Wheel.

When the one-hit wonder's stuck in the middle with you.

And we kind of like Huey Lewis and the News.