The Joker - Steve Miller Band

Love that song

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Thank you, my friend SGT (Join to see) for sharing the music video of Steve Miller Band performing The Joker with at the time band members Dick Thompson [keyboards], John King [drums] and Lonnie Turner [bass, guitar, backing vocals] in 1973.

"The line in this song, The word "Pompatus" does exist in the Oxford English Dictionary, and it means "to act with pomp and splendor." Miller most likely heard the word on a song called "The Letter," which was recorded by the Los Angeles doo-wop group The Medallions in 1954. It was written by their lead singer Vernon Green, who was 16 at the time and crippled with polio. The song contains these lyrics:
Let me whisper sweet words of dismortality
and discuss the pompatus of love
Put it together and what do you have?
Matrimony

Miller drew associations to some of his other songs in the lyrics to this one. The line, "Some people call me The Space Cowboy" is a reference to Miller's 1969 song "Space Cowboy." The line, "Some call me a gangster of love" is a reference to his song "Gangster of Love." The line, "Some people call me Maurice" is a reference to Miller's 1972 song "Enter Maurice." In that song Miller also sings about "The pompatus of love." >>
Miller got the line at the end, "I really love your peaches want to shake your tree, lovey dovey, lovey dovey..." from "Lovey Dovey," a 1953 song by the R&B group The Clovers. That song's co-writer was Ahmet Ertegun, who later became head of Atlantic Records. Ertegun sued Miller for plagiarism. Miller recalled to Mojo magazine in 2012: "To me, it was an old blues double entendre, but I had to give him credit. I don't mind having Ahmet's name beside mine though."

As most of us know the Steve Miller Band lineup changed many times
Former members
Lonnie Turner – bass, guitar, backing vocals (1966-1970, 1973-1978)
Boz Scaggs – guitar, backing vocals (1967-1968)
Jim Peterman – keyboards, backing vocals (1966-1968)
Tim Davis – drums, backing vocals (1966-1970, died 1988)
James "Curley" Cooke - guitar (1967, died 2011)
Ben Sidran - keyboards (1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1987-1991)
Nicky Hopkins - keyboards (1969, 1970; died 1994)
Bobby Winkelman - bass, guitar, backing vocals (1969-1970)
Ross Valory - bass, backing vocals (1970-1971)
Roger Allen Clark - drums (1972)
Jack King - drums (1970-1973)
Dick Thompson - keyboards (1972-1974)
Gary Mallaber - drums, keyboards, backing vocals (1976-1987)
Gerald Johnson - bass, backing vocals (1972-1973, 1981-1983)
John King - drums (1973-1974, died 2010)
Les Dudek - guitar (1975)
Doug Clifford - drums (1975)
Greg Douglas - slide guitar, backing vocals (1976-1978)
David Denny - guitar, backing vocals (1976-1978)
Byron Allred - keyboards (1976-1987, 1990)
John Massaro - guitar, backing vocals (1982-1983)
Norton Buffalo - harmonica, guitar, backing vocals (1976-1978, 1982-1987, 1989-2009, died 2009)
Billy Peterson - bass, backing vocals (1987-2011)
Bob Mallach - saxophone (1987-1996)
Paul Peterson - guitar (1988, 1991-1992)
Ricky Peterson - keyboards (1988, 1991)
Keith Allen - guitar, backing vocals (1989-1990)
Sonny Charles - backing vocals (2008-2011)

"The Joker" written by Eddie Curtis, Ahmet Etregun, Steven Haworth Miller
Lyrics
"Some people call me the space cowboy, yeah
Some call me the gangster of love
Some people call me Maurice
Cause I speak of the pompitous of love

People talk about me, baby
Say I'm doin' you wrong, doin' you wrong
Well, don't you worry baby
Don't worry
Cause I'm right here, right here, right here, right here at home

Cause I'm a picker
I'm a grinner
I'm a lover
And I'm a sinner
I play my music in the sun

I'm a joker
I'm a smoker
I'm a midnight toker
I sure don't want to hurt no one

I'm a picker
I'm a grinner
I'm a lover
And I'm a sinner
I play my music in the sun

I'm a joker
I'm a smoker
I'm a midnight toker
I get my lovin' on the run
Wooo Wooooo

You're the cutest thing
That I ever did see
I really love your peaches
Want to shake your tree
Lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey all the time
Ooo-eee baby, I'll sure show you a good time

Cause I'm a picker
I'm a grinner
I'm a lover
And I'm a sinner
I play my music in the sun

I'm a joker
I'm a smoker
I'm a midnight toker
I get my lovin' on the run

I'm a picker
I'm a grinner
I'm a lover
And I'm a sinner
I play my music in the sun

I'm a joker
I'm a smoker
I'm a midnight toker
I sure don't want to hurt no one

Wooo Woooo

People keep talking about me baby
They say I'm doin' you wrong
Well don't you worry, don't worry, no don't worry mama
Cause I'm right here at home

You're the cutest thing I ever did see
Really love your peaches want to shake your tree
Lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey all the time
Come on baby and I'll show you a good time"
Thanks for mentioning me, my friend Maj Marty Hogan
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SGT (Join to see) Nice guitar.