This CHEEKY Legend TOOK a 20 Year Old MISHEARD Lyric To The Top of The Charts! | Professor of Rock

[@ProfessorofRock]

Poll: What are your 3 favorite solo artists of the rock era?

[@Sweet--Richard.4981]

Steve Miller Boz Scaggs Edgar Winter

[@TerrickTerran]

Weird Al, Dolly Parton and Chuck Berry.

[@rogerdeahl9629]

Whitney Houston Barry White James Taylor

[@peterd.9978]

Phil Collins George Michael Sade

[@christineml1476]

Joe Walsh, Alice Cooper, Linda Ronstadt

[@erickrupa1748]

I just quoted this song yesterday in class. One student said he was a “Joker” and I have a student named Maurice in class. None of them knew what I was talking about but it made me laugh.

[@robertwiles8106]

did you speak it in the pompatus of love?

[@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980]

Who was the pompatus?

[@TimSheets]

Sounds like a homework assignment to me! haha

[@jeromethiel4323]

@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 A misheard lyric. It's supposed to be "prophetess of love" but it sounds like pompatus to pretty much everybody. Including me. So it will forever be pompatus of love.

[@jeromethiel4323]

Ignore the Professor, it's prophetess. I will die on this hill!

[@BrandyStaples-d8l]

If you still sing the wrong lyrics to your favorite songs, because that's what you had to do before the internet, you're gonna dig this channel!

[@ProfessorofRock]

Love it!

[@dianefontaine7204]

For a while in the ‘70s there was a publication called “Lyrics Magazine.” Bought it every month. Classmates wondered how I knew all the words to the new songs coming out.

[@bulkvanderhuge9006]

@BrandyStaples-d8 No kidding!!! I've been singing along with the song “Ziggy Stardust” for decades and always thought I had the words completely wrong, and I was amazed to find out that the lyrics I thought I was making up and messing up badly, WERE THE ACTUAL LYRICS. LOL

[@archivist17]

​@@bulkvanderhuge9006😂😂😂

[@LazyIRanch]

There are SO MANY old songs that I misheard lyrics to, I'm always surprised when I finally see what the lyrics were suppose to be! Only recently I realized I've heard the lyrics of the Beatles song, "I'm Down" wrong since I was a kid. I heard the 2nd stanza all wrong, I heard "Mom's bell rings, Mama throws it away". The real verse is, "Man buys ring, woman throws it away!" I had not listened to the song in decades, so when I heard it as a kid, I was playing a scratchy 45 rpm record on a children's turntable. Now I've heard the remastered song on YT, I can understand every word! One of my favorite vocal performances by Paul, he really belts it out!

[@stephenmiller2337]

My name is Steve Miller, and you have no idea how times I've been asked if I'm a "Joker, Smoker or Midnight Toker" (hint, yes to all 😂😂).Such a great songwriter. I even sing "Jet Airliner" at Karaoke nights, and one of my friends inevitably shouts out "that's Steve Miller singing Steve Miller".

[@sitindogmas]

thanks for the killer tunes, countless good times with friends and family while listening to your music

[@davidharrison8404]

Thanks for filling in some blanks on this one, Professor. Years ago when I was in grad school in Dublin, Ireland I was pulling an all nighter listening to the late night classic album show which was featuring Fly Like an Eagle. After playing both sides back-to-back (why don’t stations do that anymore?) the DJ mused aloud that she knew there was some connection between Steve Miller and Les Paul but couldn’t remember what it was. I called in and moments later the god father/son connection was on the air. Perhaps my finest moment in broadcasting history.

[@jeffreykress3505]

I love The Joker. I was 11 when the record was released and I begged my mom to buy me the 45 record, which she did. I loved listening to it over and over. I have to admit that not only did I not know what "pompatus of love" meant, but I also didn't know what a "midnight toker" was either. It was a more innocent time. But none of that mattered. I loved the song and sang along every time I played the record. Thank you, Adam, for this episode. ❤

[@DM-kl4em]

That's part of what makes the song great. The lyrics are open to interpretation, and have widespread appeal as a result. They are suggestive enough to be delightfully scandalous for adult listeners. At the same time, they are sufficiently vague to "go over the heads" of innocent young children. Steve Miller was a very talented songwriter, and I'm sure he was well aware of this when he wrote the words. That also explains his choice of a "nonce word" like "pompatus". I looked that word up on Google, and there is not a single search result that doesn't mention Steve Miller.

[@Rick-if5zb]

I still to this day hear the words "'cause I speak with the "Prophetess" of love." And it fits perfectly. I've never heard the word "Pompatus" clearly and actually didn't even know of the words existence until this video, and I'm 65 years old.

[@MariaBareiss]

I'm 52, so this era molded my sensibilities. Steve Miller and Boz Scaggs were favorites to play at home on vinyl and then later, on cassettes, in too many cross-country trips. Love them both so much!!!

[@IheartDogs55]

"The Joker" was about having fun, and Steve Miller sounds like he's having an absolute blast while he sings it. "The Joker" brought a smile to my face every time I heard it. All of my friends loved it, too. It truly is a classic.

[@MichaelGahagan]

Steve Miller is still touring and rocking at age 81. He opened for several Journey and Def Leppard shows during their recent summer tour.

[@brendamckinley3036]

HES 81! OMG! I’m old

[@joeysplats3209]

Buncha old people creaking around on stage, joking about their diapers. Life is good.

[@cygnustsp]

Paul Simon is 83 and can't play certain songs anymore because he can't hear. I still feel like it's 1987 and these guys can't possibly be this old.

[@margitwes6495]

Music keep you young!

[@elizabethsullivan7176]

I've been listening to Steve Miller for as long as I can remember. I was 11 when Abracadabra was on the Top 40. In the early days of and my husband and my relationship we did a lot of partying. His friend Mike's "theme" song was The Joker because of the "midnight toker" lyric. My husband's song was "Rainy Day Women", "everybody must get stoned". There was a lot of cocaine back then. BTW, we haven't used any drugs for 30 years.

[@BoondockRoberts]

I always like how he kept his guitar squeaks in, Jet Airliner is my favorite song he does

[@mattskustomkreations]

Me too. Interestingly, he didn’t write that one, and the original version is a lot different. The guy who wrote it hit the jackpot in royalties.

[@dfw6558]

This too is my favourite Steve Miller song

[@Landstander-to9vh]

Written by the late Paul Peña .

[@mattskustomkreations]

@@Landstander-to9vh Okay thanks, I couldn’t remember his name.

[@chickier8699]

My husband and I are 60 and 58. We saw Steve Miller Band twice at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia! This was back in the 90s. Funny story here, whenever we are in a store or a large area my husband will whistle the whistle from Jungle Love and I will immediately be able to track him down if we get separated❤ I will never forget laying in the grass at the Mann and listening to The Joker and singing along❤❤

[@ProfessorofRock]

Very cool!

[@LazyIRanch]

Your husband is a keeper! But you already knew that. May you both have many more years together enjoying music, fun, and love!😍

[@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980]

Sounds so fun!😊

[@The_Sound_Doctor1957]

I had a side business in highschool repairing 8 track tapes. I must have repaired 50 Steve Miller tapes. They would play them until they literally wore them out.

[@andrewfischer8564]

i had him on 8 track

[@The_Sound_Doctor1957]

@andrewfischer8564 so did I my friend

[@christineml1476]

When The Clovers sing about peaches and trees, nothing. It's a nice song. When Steve Miller sings about the same, old ladies blush, parents cover their children's ears, and young women swoon. It's a naughty little ditty.

[@ProfessorofRock]

So true! Ha ha!

[@fnjesusfreak]

I think Ringo Starr added a verse about metaphorically shaking a peach tree to Carl Perkins' "Matchbox" when he covered it with the Beatles.

[@LazyIRanch]

Right? He be talking about doing the lovey-dovey, lovey dovey ALL the time!😊 Song lyrics involving the shaking of peach-laden trees goes waaaaay back, further than The Clovers, but Steve was obviously borrowing from this particular song. “IF YOU DON’T WANT MY PEACHES” was written by Irving Berlin was published May 1914. Blossom Dearie and Ella both sang songs that asked the eternal question, _"If you don't like my peaches, why do you shake my tree? Get outta my orchard, and let my peach tree be!"_ 🌳

[@fnjesusfreak]

@@LazyIRanch That might've been Ringo's ultimate source.

[@LazyIRanch]

@@fnjesusfreak Probably! He likely grew up listening to his parents' music, such as Big Band and early jazz by black musicians. My mother would be 104 if she was still alive, I imagine Ringo's parents would be from that generation too. My mom loved all kinds of music, so I was lucky to grow listening to a wide variety; from 19th century murder ballads to Tom Jones and Michael Jackson. I love that I can find all the songs she used to sing, here on YT. I also found a musician that my dad was friends with back @ 1950, a New Orleans jazz musician who went by "Professor Longhair". Dad loved this man, who visited the radio station where my dad was engineer. They didn't have tape yet, so most radio shows were live. Dad's job was setting up equipment and also creating sound effects for the live radio dramas and comedies. Prof. Longhair played a rollicking Dixieland piano and brought the party with him when he came to the station in Austin TX. Dad had a great sense of humor, and said the "Professor" was the funniest man he ever met.

[@PrideofIpplepen]

I grew up in England and was introduced to Steve Miller by an older cousin (who passed away just a few years ago) - when The Joker hit #1 in England I was then a resident in these United States - love seeing Steve Miller touring with Peter Frampton in recent years - they put on a great show.

[@ProfessorofRock]

Thanks for sharing.

[@PrideofIpplepen]

@@ProfessorofRock Thanks for what you do on your channel Professor

[@Rod-w1j]

Not only one of the greatest of all time, but one of the most out spoken and honest. Rock on,Steve!

[@tnrodgers]

I was 13 when The Joker was fresh, Doobies Brothers, ZZ Top, the list goes in. Simply no better era of rock. Always liked the Joker, just relaxing and fun. Thanks Adam

[@DC8091]

I still find it odd that Les Paul’s godson plays mostly Fenders 🤣

[@ericbgordon1575]

I keep thinking about how, when Les Paul celebrated his 90th birthday and the PBS cameras were rolling, Steve Miller was one of the guest performers here in New York City at iridium for the celebration. He jokingly said into his microphone how you "can't take it with you", so he wanted Les Paul's guitar, pedals and amplifier. The Joker struck again.

[@LorettaBurrow]

"I'm a picker; I'm a grinner" is a call out to Country music fans and Hee-Haw. Roy Clark and Buck Owens showing off every week. If you grew up in the 70's and don't know Roy Clark, you need to have you musical horizons expanded, Professor.

[@elizabethloyd3713]

Roy Clark started out as a rock singer. He was on Shindig, I believe, before switching to country. He is a highly, highly regarded guitar player. You might want to look him up just to add to your knowledge.

[@joshruisz3791]

I love how they subtly paid homage to this tune in the show Friends. It was the one with the trivia game that won Chandler and Joey Monica's apartment.

[@robjacobs1606]

Driving around in my clunker in the late 80s, I must have burned through 10 tapes of Steve millers greatest hits. Brings back so many memories. Never knew he was related to Les Paul! Great music is in his DNA! Thanks for sharing all of your knowledge prof!

[@ProfessorofRock]

Rock on!

[@onusgumboot5565]

He wasn't actually related. Anyone can be selected as a "godfather". Relationship is not a requirement. His parents were just friends with the Pauls.

[@robjacobs1606]

@@onusgumboot5565 my bad. I misheard it while getting ready for work. Still pretty awesome to be that close to the great Les Paul!

[@onusgumboot5565]

@@robjacobs1606 That and getting guitar lessons from T Bone Walker. I don't know which was cooler. The lessons were probably more useful.

[@carlwalker1623]

Great music is not in his DNA if you were to buy his catalog, you’d be very disappointed as I was. He was very lucky that he was allowed to develop over a long period of time. Out of all the bands in my huge collection, he’s the most disappointing. Check out his discography and KZbin the albums.

[@aaronneira9355]

I'm listening to this while I make lunch for my 2 year old grandaughter and the memories of jamming out to Steve Miller at the eighth grade graduation party my buddy threw in '77 are fooding back.

[@duromusabc]

Cool that Steve and Boz went to college together!

[@paulwilson8672]

I love this song. I also like a lot of his other music. Like Space Intro back to back with Fly like an Eagle. Great music. I liked his reaction when he was gifted a guitar in his Rock n Roll Hall of Fame induction. I wish more of his music was played.

[@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980]

I love all the space intros in his songs.

[@OTOss8]

Great video man. I learned the answers to many questions I had about The Joker. Also, good on you for calling out Rolling Stone. I can't remember the last time I looked to them for music related content. You're my #1 source for music information now and long may that be!

[@ProfessorofRock]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@brianmorrison7542]

Rolling Stone doesn't know shit!

[@otaku1524]

Steve Miller wasn't faceless. Never took himself seriously. And he was, and still is, Everyman. One of us - why his music continues to resonate in 2024!

[@nostradamus7648]

One of Us, One of Us, One of Us Don't search it on KZbin. It's unsettling. Old film.

[@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980]

He’s just a regular guy that we can all relate to..

[@Whisper_292]

I was so glad when I finally learned I wasn't the only one who had no idea what a pompetus was.

[@ProfessorofRock]

Ha ha. He created a whole new word! How cool is that!

[@cannonball666]

Miller was trying to sound intellectual throwing in a pseudo Latin made up word

[@robertwiles8106]

it's a nonce. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonce_word#:~:text=In%20linguistics%2C%20a%20nonce%20word,word%20in%20a%20given%20language.

[@beenaplumber8379]

I read the lyrics in a book or online somewhere, and they said it was "prophetess", so I thought that was the correct lyric for years. Even today I thought we were finally going to hear Steve misheard the word and sang it as "pompetus".

[@robertwiles8106]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompatus

[@dancingnature]

My oldest liked Hall and Oates old hit Maneater . He was 3 and thought they were saying “mass eater“ . I thought it was cute that he was singing about a black hole without knowing what one was.

[@Sweet--Richard.4981]

The Houston Astro's minor league affiliate are called The Space Cowboys.

[@ProfessorofRock]

I had no idea. Very cool!

[@LazyIRanch]

That is too cool! I didn't know that, and I grew up in Texas. I used to have a sewing business from my converted garage and did custom costumes, alterations, and such. One of my favorite customers was an attorney, actually three attorneys and they were all "fabulous" (gay). I did alterations on their expensive suits, and a special project that was a lot of fun. They were going to make a presentation at a big conference for lawyers in Austin, TX, (circa 1998) and the theme was something like "Bringing Texas Law into the 21st Century" so they wanted something "spacey" but "western" with a lot of flash. They decided to have me make "Space Cowboy" shirts for them. They were black satin with metallic lamé fancy Western yokes in silver, gold, and copper (so they were alike except for the color of the yokes). I wish I could have seen a video of them strutting out on stage to Steve Miller singing, "I'm a Space Cowboy, Bet you weren't ready for THAT!" I'm sure all those old stodgy Texas lawyers really weren't ready, _for that!_ 😂 I was especially proud of how those shirts turned out, but mostly happy because my clients were happy.

[@Sweet--Richard.4981]

​@@LazyIRanchThe team, until a few years ago, was called The Skeeters (mosquitoes) They play in Sugarland, Tx and that's where The Astros send their injured players to rehab before returning to the majors

[@LazyIRanch]

@@Sweet--Richard.4981 I think I still have some kinfolk living in Sugarland, TX. I even tried living near Houston for 2 months back in 1996, but the "skeeters" ate me alive! That place is too humid for me, so now I live in the desert in SoCal with the rattlesnakes, tarantulas, and the occasional burn-out meth-head... but we have very few skeeters! The bats eat them all.😉

[@jimfritz2087]

There is a Clint Eastwood movie called " Space Cowboys". With Tommy Lee Jones , James Garner + Donald Sutherland.

[@DanielleWood-wf2xd]

The Steve Miller Band is one of my absolute favorites along with Stevie Nicks, Ronnie James Dio and Jimmy Buffett. That's the beauty of rock music. There's something for every mood and taste. 😁

[@mikecapps1603]

I am also all over the map when it comes to music, from Classical to even some Rap. I can listen to just about anything and find something great about it. Keep up the great work Professor!

[@thetitleisours1]

One of those artists that I missed seeing in concert but wanted to. When I was a kid, I used my tennis racket as my air guitar :)

[@ProfessorofRock]

He's still going!

[@marktait2371]

lucky i saw him once 90s did the tennis raquet air guitar also wilson jack kramer still have it he was in our area last sumner but couldnt make it

[@PenneyThoughts]

I won the 1989 Spring Break MTV Air Guitar contest jamming to "Welcome to the Jungle" at South Padre Island, finished with a front flip off the stage. So yeah, I am an Air Guitar champion, lol. And my 19 y/o face was on MTV for a couple days.

[@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980]

In Texas?

[@JasonJrake]

Joe Rogan has pointed out that Steve Miller is the only man to do fame right: He made a lot of money, had a lot of fun, and he can impress anyone if he wants to tell them who he is. But….. he can also walk down the street and no one recognizes or bothers him.

[@ewohl0895]

Wonder if Werewolves of London was inspired by Joker. Kinda similar sound & vibe.

[@beenaplumber8379]

Living in the USA! OMG I remember that song! That one smoked! I had no idea that was Steve Miller! I can't believe that only hit #94 if I remember it that well. My parents didn't play his stuff at home. (I was maybe 5 or 6.) Maybe local radio revived it later in the 70s when Steve owned the charts.

[@mrbniederer]

Gimme a cheeseburger!

[@BouillaBased]

My introduction to Steve Miller Band was Abracadabra. As a result, I wasn't very enthusiastic about exploring the rest of their catalog. Man, did I regret missing all that lost time once I heard their better songs.

[@BillGraper]

Excellent song & band. I've had the greatest hits 74-78 CD for decades! The song "Angel" by Shaggy not only took the melody from "Angel Of The Morning," it also took the bassline from "The Joker." I remember hearing it a lot on the radio in the early 2000's, and I was always thinking "That sounds like the background to "The Joker"!!! 😎

[@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980]

I knew that but forgot about it!

[@badgerpa9]

I saw Steve in concert twice, ten years a part, both concerts the air was blue with smoke from all the midnight tokkers. In the 1980s even the country stations played Steve Miller.

[@ProfessorofRock]

Very cool!

[@Bill-Rocker]

The Joker was the song in 74 school year. They played it many times a day, but it never got old, so that says something. Steve's old stuff, Live is really great. The 70's era was a good time for Steve, FLaE and BoD were really solid ,although popish, good songs. After that....ehh the usual. I lived in North Dallas in the 80's. I was painting a guys house with my radio playing. When the Joker played the guy said hey, that guy, he was the neighbor kid long ago. He was an older guy so who knows, but he seemed to know the family.

[@ProfessorofRock]

Thanks Bill!

[@JustinSevenTwo]

Just saw Steve over the summer opening for Journey and Def Leppard. Still sounding awesome, and he played all his huge hits of course

[@kimnach]

When our boys were young they got a kick out of The Joker and George Thorogood's You Talk Too Much. Now, at 25 our older son loves classic rock and the younger one, well.......

[@TexasWpodApe]

I was born in 1960 in Dallas, Texas and The Space Cowboy by The Steve Miller Band was my first favorite song ever. I was so happy to hear it come on my fathers old radio. It was the kind if radio with the big tubes inside, which he had to replace every now and then when they blew out. I heard the song on KLIF Radio an AM station. The station was in downtown Dallas where two of the main streets crossed and the building the station was in came to a v shape. The DJs could be seen on the second floor from the street through these huge windows. In the 3rd grade my young school teacher asked the class to name their favorite song of any kind of music. When it came my turn, I was happy to say, "The Space Cowboy, by Steve Miller." I remember her smiling and then saying, "That's a very good choice." I guess she liked rock herself. It was so cool to hear it referenced in The Joker in 1973. I think I drove my brother-in-law crazy, cause when we would drive somewhere in his old 1958 Chevy pickup, I would pop in the Fly Like An Eagle eight track tape I had. Actually I think he liked it as well. FM stations popped up everywhere like KNUS and KZEW in Dallas without all the static. Then Book of Dreams, by Steve Miller came out and blew my mind. Love you Space Cowboy

[@TheAislynnRose]

I was born in Dallas 1963, Mom worked downtown. I remember the radio station your talking about!! Mom wasn't a rock person, more classic and big band. But my sister was 9 years older than me and got to listen to all the rock from her in the next room. Lol!! She gave me her old stero record player on 1 of my birthdays and my first album The Beatles, St. Pepper which I played to death! Your right then came the FM stations so much better. Would change the channel in the car when I could and since my sister drove, she was tasked taking me to all my out of school activities. Lol. I lived in the Lake Highlands area and remember that AM station on the hill as well, think that was KLIF?? Used to drive past that all the time heading towards NW Highway. Lol great memories!! Ty for bringing it. ❤

[@tahoemike5828]

"Novato, just north of California...," They're gonna love that across The Bay.

[@MariaBareiss]

Lol, a former Vallejo resident.

[@MyName-pl7zn]

Love that bass line and that line of midnight toker fit the 70s perfectly. Great to know the whole story behind Steve's classic. As big as his music is I bet if he walked past me on the street I wouldn't recognize him even though he is one of my favorites. Great episode Gangster of rock!

[@ProfessorofRock]

Thanks for listening My Name!

[@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980]

Same here. He looks like a lot of other people.

[@ArkansasPilgrim]

The albums Fly Like an Eagle and Book of Dreams, released almost exactly a year apart, are 2 of those 70s albums where EVERY song is great.

[@ProfessorofRock]

AGREED!

[@davidleingang5591]

I went to Oregon State in late 70s. The joke among my buddies was how Steve Miller released Fly Like an Eagle and Book of Dreams. Then released his Greatest Hits album which was mostly really a compilation of these Two albums! Rumor was his royalties bought a farm in southern Oregon where he be ame a recluse for a while. Whether the farm was true or not it was a great story back then.

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

I told you about when Steve Miller would come to Las Vegas and eat soul food with BB King and Chuck Berry

[@ProfessorofRock]

So cool!

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

@ProfessorofRock Dude I had a dream with you in it. And your family 👪 were here at my spot. I had all of you with Afros and tans not like that Tan Mom. More like Soul Man with C. Thomas Howell. Not like Silver Streak with Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. They had your families picture in the Deseret Letter after the first day back in the Mormon Temple! Zoinks

[@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980]

What was that like?

[@cindysnow2123]

They used this song on an episode of That 70s Show!! They had the. Kids singing it while smoking weed! I will forever associate the song with that show!! It's one of those songs you start singing along with it without realizing you are!! Have an awesome weekend Professor Of Rock!! Cindy Snow

[@ProfessorofRock]

Thanks CindY!

[@LazyIRanch]

I was surprised by "That 70s Show" because they did a good job of recreating what my high school experience was really like in our middle class suburb. Twice, I saw Jackie wearing the same outfits I actually wore in the 70s, although I was more of a "Donna" than a "Jackie". The show, "Freaks and Geeks" _really_ nailed my personal HS experience, because I was always hanging out with the guys who had terrible garage bands, and occasionally passed around a doobie of the crummiest "dirt" weed that wouldn't "get a fly high" (as Cheech and Chong used to say about low quality cannabis). Keep on rocking, Cindy! 🎸🎶💃🧑‍🎤❤‍🔥

[@hbofbyu1]

"Time keeps on slipping into the future..." I heard that on a transistor radio one summer while my friends and I were building a bike ramp higher and higher trying to set a new distance record. Ever since, every time I hear that song I reassess where I am since that time and what I am against where I thought I would be.

[@margaretbehler4935]

I won Steve Miller's Greatest Hits 74-78 on a radio shoe. I was in grsde school so my Dad picked it up for me.

[@mitchellbaker9434]

Another big influence on Steve Miller was the late, great Johnny Guitar Watson. He always seems to be forgotten, but he could play the blues, and later funk, with anyone. Watson was the true Space Cowboy, and Miller has said that he felt sometimes that Hendrix was copying him.

[@ProfessorofRock]

Thanks for mentioning it!

[@ogam5]

.....just COULDN'T agree MORE, Mitchell.....

[@marktait2371]

friendand still laugh im club where he waa a dj its a real motha for yahhhh shouted stone cold

[@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980]

Everyone should check him out.

[@marktait2371]

​​​​@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980agree i have one of those j.g.w. budget 50s 60scd comps somewhere need to dig out like maybe essential series maybe forget i gave friend the cd years agi for his dj jobs real.motha but a have the vinly and a few others 70s randb funk mostly cd blues randb

[@rogertemple7193]

I've been a fan of Steve Miller for years since the seventies as a kid listening on AM radio or on the Midnight Special and still like his music especially the Joker and Jungle Love but I enjoyed hearing you talking about it as always thank you Professor.🎶🎶🎶🎶 🎶🎤🎸🎸🎹🥁🎶

[@ProfessorofRock]

Thanks Roger! Have a great weekend!

[@briantevington1608]

I still have the original Greatest Hits 1974-78 vinyl. After watching this, I'm popping it on the turntable.

[@melanieshaw3210]

I have mine too! I'm 58

[@lacyInmon1978]

I love this song. It's definitely a classic.

[@ProfessorofRock]

It never gets old!

[@michaelroberts3898]

I saw him in Nashville in July. He opened the east of the Mississippi shows on the Def Leppard and Journey stadium tour. 5 hour show and you knew every word. Nothing but a three way 70s and 80s greatest hits album lol. Steve was still just as potent a player and singer. Smooth and fun. His band was so chill that they must have had seats out in the crowd for the 2 main acts. They repeatedly walked right in front of our seats. It was a bucket list promise that I had made to my childhood best friend. I always said we would see a Journey show together before we died. I first promised him about 40 years ago. I thought we’d missed our chance when they broke up in the late 80s. I’m just glad the great Neal Schön kept the band alive and he still burns face melting solos. He’s a great story all his own. A professional musician since 15 who joined Santana over an offer to join Clapton, he has seemingly played melodic burning solos all his life. A night to remember

[@sheryljohnson5906]

Always loved this song,Ling before my now husband of 39 years started singing it to me. Love it even more and think of him every time i hear it now !! ❤❤

[@markoshun]

When we were kids, a friend of mine was singing along to Big Old Jetliner and it sounded weird. So I asked him what the words were. He said it’s some foreign language, maybe French, “mi go a shea aolina’. 😊 Never let him live that down.

[@justme8592]

Steve Miller's first seven albums may have 'flopped' commercially...but to date, they remain some of the most musically innovative and irresistibly listenable 'pop rock' records of that era. And even though 'The Joker' and his subsequent albums finally earned Miller mainstream and commercial success...that streak of experimental, innovative creativity was abandoned. And more's the pity.

[@rogerdeahl9629]

STEVE MILLER! The Joker. My nickname back in the day. 🤣 It was indeed huge, but I always preferred Jet Airliner. 🤷 Thanks Professor. Happy rainy, icy, snowy Friday!

[@Sweet--Richard.4981]

I'm from Findlay

[@Whisper_292]

I love them both, but I also like Jet Airliner more.

[@ProfessorofRock]

Hey Roger! Thanks for watching my friend!

[@LazyIRanch]

Hard to choose one favorite, but I've always loved "Abracadabra". When my brother's band played a cover of that song, he always changed some lyrics just to see if the audience would notice. He'd sing, "Abracadabra, I'm gonna freak out and stab ya!"😂🤪😲

[@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980]

At least it isn’t raining in North Carolina.

[@AlbumReviewChannel]

The only channel where the host is years younger than his audience.

[@BillGraper]

He's only 4 years younger than me. I guess that still qualifies as "years younger." 😃

[@tehfiredog]

He's a bit older than me, which would mean by your logic most the audience is as well. 😅 Thankfully though, good music - and the stories behind it - is timeless!

[@williambarry8015]

Love feeding my wild birds while listening to The Professor.

[@dougpool4730]

🤣🤣🤣 Decades older

[@TracyN67]

Wings of Pegasus channel is the same.

[@davidandbenedictalosh9781]

"Rolling Stone is a political rag". So is the Rock Hall. Such a shame.

[@tedbecker4051]

One of my favorite songs from my childhood. When I heard it, I thought pompitous was similar to pompous, like he was singing about the arrogance or pretentiousness of love. Still love the song. Glad it extended his career because I love his follow-up hits. His music tends to lift my spirits.

[@ProfessorofRock]

So classic!

[@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980]

Kind of like an oxymoron there.

[@tedbecker4051]

@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 - True

[@TerrickTerran]

Really enjoy the song and glad to see it covered. I might not be able to identify with the song but it and Steve are fantastic.

[@ProfessorofRock]

Ha ha. Best lingo of the 70s from a song!

[@LaManteca76]

Lol, I'll never be a gangster of love or a midnight toker but I love it just the same! 😁

[@TerrickTerran]

@@LaManteca76 exactly. I think the best some of us can strive for is to be Maurice. 😁😆

[@markthompson9056]

Steve met Boz Scaggs in highschool and they formed a band. The rest is history.

[@ricksatterstrom7461]

I love when this song is played. It mellows me out and get that Steve Miller smile on as I sing. Great backstory as always Adam.

[@GabbiBnnuy]

This song brings me right back to college where Steve Miller Band Greatest Hits was a favorite

[@angelamarino8741]

Steve Miller was one of my favorite bands growing up. You talk about different clicks and the music we listened to…I went to school in a small high school in AZ, in with the cowboys and we listened to Rock! We were the ones driving down country roads with speakers blaring loudly with the windows down! The Joker was a favorite! I taught my kids to be eclectic and we listened to everything. But, the one band we listened to the most, was Steve Miller! They even got their band director to let them play some of his music, I loved it!❤

[@darleneschneck]

This song came out during my final semester of high school-what a fun, carefree time!

[@Fregulus5]

The Joker has one of the best bass lines in all rock history. And I always thought Maurice had to do with Maurice Chevalier!

[@ProfessorofRock]

Love the bass line! It's just a perfect song!

[@stevenfunderburg1623]

Thank you Professor for A. Celebrating Steve and B. Bashing the Rock n Roll Hall of Shame and C. Bashing the once relevant Rolling Stone.

[@dianefontaine7204]

I’ve been a fan of The Steve Miller Band since I first heard The Joker. Still listen to their music. Thanks for another great video!

[@marktait2371]

same we had the hand me down 8 track in friends old clunker

[@bulkvanderhuge9006]

I was 10 years old when this song came out, and because of that, I have spent 51 years believing that whenever I sang, or heard the word "Pompatus" in the song, I was completely wrong.

[@bignoodle2265]

So this song has been my personal anthem since at least sophomore year of high school possibly earlier. I have POMPETISly expressed for decades that "I really love your peaches want to shake your tree" as being the greatest line in rock and roll ever. Right up there with the police's " like a humiliating kick in the crotch." I have two vanity plates My Buick is Spce cwby, . And my truck is Maurice. And yes the vehicles are referred that to that way. Thanks for another great synopsis!!! Still a grinner, and still a Sinner!

[@OyDoggy]

I knew it!! As soon as you said he sang a lyric that he misheard I knew it had to be "the pompatius of love"

[@areneesouder]

"I'm a joker, I'm a smoker, I'm a midnight toker",yep, that's me 👍😎✌️💜😁

[@e-handle9634]

Mom was 48 when I bought this original 45 in 8th grade she totally 'got', loved & sang the ' really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree ' part 💃 - fly like an eagle cover is included on : Les Paul and Friends- (Steve😏) L P '05 ❤️‍🔥😎 w/ a clip of Steve ' singing ' bout 'kinnygarden' age and Les saying how good he'll be.....🧐🤔😋

[@merkazoidduff7651]

Love the shade on Rolling Stone. I like to say Rolling Stone ‘journalists’ are all the ‘Mr. Jones’ Dylan was singing about.

[@TheBent139]

Well, they all love Dylan. Jews take care of each other. That's their dirty little secret. If you were a Bob Zimmerman fan or acolyte, you got a good write up and probably made the Hall of Fame.

[@Chapps1941]

@@TheBent139 give it over. I liked Dylan from a very young age and it was only when l turned 22 that l found out he was a Jew. Made no difference to me. I'm Aussie and don't care for that scheissen. I like singers for their singing and not their bloody ethnicity.

[@karaokekraziness3891]

It's funny that you mentioned air guitar and air drumming in your intro because I incorporate air instruments into my performances on my KZbin channel on a regular basis! Being an entertainer, I don't want to just sit in a chair or stand in place when I sing because I think it would be boring to watch. So I dance, act lyrics out, and play air instruments when the music moves me to do so. I just recently did a cover of One from Metallica for Veteran's Day, which incorporates some very intense air guitar! I'm just a big teenager at heart, and I refuse to age! At least I'm unique!

[@pinballinc1752]

100% correct on The Rolling Stones mag. Stopped reading it years ago.

[@light9999]

Yep. And that's "rag" not "mag."

[@conniec7650]

@@light9999The Professor did call it a rag which is exactly what it is! Rolling Stone caca!

[@JismIsm-en4kz]

I laugh at the covers - Despicable

[@igorsdonjon2271]

its add copy more than anything else

[@grizzywald]

I'll confess I listened to this song for years before it dawned on me he was saying a made-up word. The tyranny of familiarity made me think he was just saying 'properties', and then when I did clock that he was saying pompatus/pomapatice, assumed it was some deep American dialectic variant of 'pompousness' or 'pomposity'. Maybe he's dyslexic, I thought. Hell, it really pays to listen fully sometimes. Really cool song

[@denisearmbruster7478]

I was 18 when 'The Joker" hit!!.....Really love your peaches gonna shake your tree!!❤ BTW, I am originally from Atlanta, Georgia and my nickname was "The Peach"! A great time in my life! Great Video!!!❤

[@lieslwindjulie3230]

Yes. "It's feels good music." 😊 Thank you, professor! ❤

[@michaelreid5912]

Classic and iconic! POR if you’ve ever heard Steve Miller’s Live version of ‘Going to Mexico’ featuring Norton Buffalo on Blues Harp, take a listen. We haven’t even cracked his FM gem ,’Fly Like An Eagle’. A song best heard on good headphones. Steve is a truly a rock icon!

[@Benny_Sims]

Steve Miller has one of the best voices I've ever heard. A flawless tenor.

[@ProfessorofRock]

Amen!

[@azurejerseygirl]

Always wondered who Maurice was. I always liked this song. It’s just like the name joker. And we laugh and have a good time we hear it. Thanks steve miller band!

[@kestrelpounces]

I always thought "I'm a picker, I'm a grinner" came from HeeHaw's Buck Owens and Roy Clark, who started one of their sets with "I'm a-pickin'", "And I'm a-grinnin' " but it could have just as easily been the other way around- I'm not sure when this recurring set was introduced on the show.

[@JeanieD]

That’s what I thought, too!

[@marktait2371]

same my sister and i joked for years gloom.despair agony on me ooohhh

[@jackmessick2869]

They were closing the show with the picking and grinning segment long before 1974.

[@kestrelpounces]

@@marktait2371 thank you!! I had a mental block and couldn't remember what came next- you unlocked it and the rest of the lines all came tumbling out! I must have memorized it phonetically because I would have been too young to have completely understood the lyrics. 🤣

[@marktait2371]

​​​​@@kestrelpouncesha if it werent for bad luck wed have no luck at all gloom despair angony on me then the corny jokes i saw an article local.paper the family may set up a fans mini museum tiny meherrin va. kinda like the patsy kline in winchester in the future im from va. so you or other viewers may not be familiar with patsy kline at her childhood home very small but been sucessful local tourist attraction was in our local mag. this year

[@markjolyn94]

Steve Miller was amazing. Such great music. Sadly Jim Gaines passed away 2 days ago. RIP Jim

[@jefflanham1080]

Jim was a very good friend of mine…..one of the most kind hearted guys in the business and an extraordinary Producer!!!

[@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980]

I didn’t hear about that. Sad. R.I.P. Jim.

[@flavellinator]

As a 10-year-old, I remember My friends and I singing this song repeatedly and not understanding the lyrics at all...

[@ProfessorofRock]

Ha ha! Very cool!

[@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980]

It’s a fun song to figure out!

[@richardlahan7068]

The song is basically about a stoner that sleeps around.

[@vocalguy714]

BEST VIDEO so far! It would have taken me so long for this amount of research

[@allengray5748]

AWESOME! FLY LIKE AN EAGLE my first concert (and smell of the herb) and BOOK OF DREAMS my second concert. $8.00 each!! Thanks Adam! Peace 🕊️ ☮️♾️😎🎸🤟🏼

[@Whisper_292]

Wow, $8. We'll never see that again.

[@ProfessorofRock]

Thanks Allen!

[@marktait2371]

yep friend and i were looking in steely dan squeeze furs how much it would cost us tickets ride share expensive beers numbers kept creeping up then rememember our local amp. all acts except skynyrd were flat fee 10 dollars incuding s.m.b. 16 oz cup beer 2 dollars slice of pizza one dollar club was 5 dollars can beer one dollar both free parking also

[@marktait2371]

p.s. we saw polce ghost and van halen diver down i think were 10 dollars per ticket we got at tower records no add ons or surcharges

[@johnathansaegal3156]

Oh, the younger generation who missed out on the era of Wolfman Jack on the radio. He was one cool, groovy cat.

[@ProfessorofRock]

I agree. A bad DUDE!

[@marktait2371]

yep he came on like 10 11 o clock sat. night our station

[@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980]

He was so cool.

[@richardchambers3533]

" You got the curves baby, I got the angles!" Wolfman Jack

[@barackmycat9448]

I always loved Sailor and Children of the Future most. He is an awesome guitar player. He blew away Boston with reviews saying, "Eric Clapton, eat you heart out".

[@ProfessorofRock]

Cool!

[@Number1ZERO69]

AI goes to the professor when it wants it's musical knowledge! 😉

[@fletch_reid]

I remember seeing Steve Miller at Westlake Mall in Seattle in the early 1990's (he had a house on Mercer Island and another I think in Friday Harbor) and pointing him out to my friend. My friend didn't believe it was him so we stopped him and told him how much we loved his music. He was such a great guy and talked to us for quite a while. We still quote his lyrics to other in emails.

[@DaveWillmore]

Love this song.

[@ProfessorofRock]

SO laid back!

[@CowGirlKat8691]

Was very busy yesterday & didn't get to see this. Great video & song! What a history Steve had in his childhood!! 🤠

[@pinballinc1752]

My first concert ever- Steve Miller July, 27 1977 "Book of Dreams" tour at the Omni in Atlanta.

[@SteeeeveC]

You are so right about Rolling stone mag. I used to love all the music magazines back in the 80’s and early 90’s. Miss all the in depth info from Circus, Hit Parader and RS

[@ProfessorofRock]

So true!

[@kmm111313]

Yep, that's a mic drop @15:57 "The truth is Steve Miller's music will outlast Rolling Stone, which isn't even a a music magazine anymore, let's be honest - it's a political rag!"

[@km2182]

Saw SMB this summer - they were great! He's, what, 80?? No frills, just a plain white backdrop. My husband didn't care that he missed Journey or Def Leppard that night, but he was p*ssed he missed Steve Miller 😅

[@RabidJohn]

I always assumed 'The Joker' had been a hit in the UK on release, because it was something I heard on the radio and a lot of pub juke boxes in the 70s. And when 'Abracadabra' turned up in the 80s, everybody knew it was the guy who'd sang 'The Joker'. I've found there's a lot of that on UK radio, though; for example I know every word of Steely Dan's 'Reeling in the Years' from hearing it on the radio, yet it was never a hit here.

[@mudhens4ever]

Favorite solo artists, in no particular order: Van Morrison, Boz Scaggs, and Jackson Browne!