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A nonce, guitar wolf whistles and a 17-year chart gap highlight this week's
"Great Song of the '70s!"
The title cut from the Steve Miller Band's 1973 album, "The Joker," features the word "pompatus, and if you've ever wondered what it means, The answer is simple: Nothing. Steve made it up.
Apparently, pompatus is a "nonce," defined as "a word invented for a single occasion to solve a language or communication problem." (But apparently it's not a "nonsense word.") The definition is quite a bit longer and more technical, but my head hurts just from typing this paragraph, so let's move on to the wolf whistles. :-)
The 'Lovey-Dovey" lyrics refer to a 1954 song by The Clovers: "You're the cutest thing that I ever did see / Really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree / Lovey dovey, lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time." and Steve thought it would be fun to add a guitar wolf whistle at that point (as well as after the lyric, "some people call me Maurice.")
These are the types of quirks you might expect from a man who studied English literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Copenhagen--and whose father was good friends with guitar legends Les Paul and T-Bone Walker...as well as jazz bassist/composer Charles Mingus--all frequent visitors at the Miller household.
So what about that 17 year chart gap?
Well, upon its initial 1974 single release, "The Joker" went to #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #2 in Canada .
Then, in September of 1990, after being used in an Irish ad for Levi Jeans, the song was re-issued in Europe (and elsewhere)..and went to #1 in Ireland, the UK, The Netherlands, and New Zealand--as well as the Top 10 in 4 other countries--but didn't re-chart in the US or Canada.
Now if THAT doesn't speak to the...pompatus...of "The Joker," nothing does!
So...From 1974 in North America...and 1990 in the rest of the world, here's Steve Miller & The Joker on Greatest Hits, 98.1. (:01)
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