3 Songs You Know But Can’t Name the Artist

Often, the music business produces unforgettable earworms by artists you can’t remember.

Not always, though. For some reason, the brain remembers Chumbawamba sang “Tubthumping.” Still, multiple hits will drum a band name into the collective heads of listeners in a way a one-hit wonder cannot.

This list looks at three songs you know you know but can’t name the artist.

“Stuck in the Middle With You” by Stealers Wheel from Stealers Wheel (1972)

Scottish musicians Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan wrote “Stuck in the Middle With You” as a parody of Bob Dylan’s distrust of the music industry. To their surprise, the joke became a hit and reached the Top 10 in the U.S. and the UK. Some listeners thought it was a Dylan song. So, if you can recall the name of this folk rock band from the early ’70s, you might be a music trivia master. Meanwhile, the spoofing hit by Stealers Wheel returned to pop culture in 1992 when Quentin Tarantino included it in the gruesome ear-cutting scene in Reservoir Dogs.

Clowns to the left of me
Jokers to the right
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you

“Flagpole Sitta” by Harvey Danger from Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone? (1997)

If you like guitar-based alternative rock bands, the 1990s are for you. If you like guitar-based alternative rock bands from Seattle, the 1990s are especially for you. The music business pumped out so many alt-rock hits it’s understandable if you can’t keep track of who sang what. “Flagpole Sitta” burst from the airwaves repeatedly alongside “Space Lord” (Mother, Mother) and other dirty bangers that made you push down the gas pedal and crank the dial en route to the mall, house party, or modern rock radio festival. But who sings “Flagpole Sitta”? Is it Lit, Everclear, or Cake? The answer is Harvey Danger.

Been around the world and found
That only stupid people are breeding
The cretins cloning and feeding
And I don’t even own a TV

“(I Just) Died in Your Arms” by Cutting Crew from Broadcast (1986)

It’s not Corey Hart. He sang “Sunglasses at Night.” But the husky voices are similar. Cutting Crew formed in London, and the group’s earnest power ballad reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987. “(I Just) Died in Your Arms” appeared on their debut album Broadcast. They received a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 1987, and the album was moderately received. However, subsequent releases failed to capture the success of their first single. Cutting Crew may not be a household name, but if this song played in a bar, you might stop and lip-sync the dramatic intro hook. And if you’re not clenching a fist while staring forlornly out the window, you’re doing it wrong.

I keep looking for something I can’t get
Broken hearts lie all around me
And I don’t see an easy way to get out of this

Photo by: Marka/Universal Images Group via Getty Images