Miller was born to Dr. George "Sonny" Miller, a pathologist, jazz enthusiast and amateur recording engineer, and Bertha, a jazz-influenced singer. In 1950, the family moved to Dallas, Texas. His first guitar chords were taught to him by the legendary Les Paul, pioneer of the electric guitar and also Miller's godfather. While at St. Mark's School of Texas, Miller formed his first band, The Marksmen. Miller taught classmate Royce Boz Scaggs some guitar chords so he could join the band; Scaggs became better known by his nickname, Boz. Miller attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison during the 1960s, where he formed The Ardells. Scaggs joined the Ardells the next year. Ben Sidran was added to the Ardells as a keyboardist the following year. Miller was only sixteen when he started college, and dropped out six credit hours shy of a literature degree. Les Paul encouraged young Miller to utilize his prodigal talents, and much of Miller's success has been attributed to Paul's tutelage during his childhood and teenage years.
Prior to forming the Steve Miller Band, Miller was in a band with Barry Goldberg called the Goldberg-Miller Blues Band. They formed in 1965, and released one single, before Miller left the band.
In 1968, Miller formed the Steve Miller Band, with Miller handling vocals, and released an album, Children of the Future, the first in a series of discs rooted solidly in the psychedelic blues style that dominated the San Francisco music scene at the time. Scaggs would leave the band after a couple of albums. Sailor, Brave New World, Your Saving Grace and Number 5 followed. These albums performed respectably on the album charts but failed to yield a hit. This first period in Steve Miller's music formed part of double album compilation "Anthology" which includes a guest appearance on drums by the then Beatle Paul McCartney on the song "My Dark Hour".
1973's The Joker marked the start of the second phase of Miller's career: more pop-oriented and simplistic, the album featured a number one hit in the U.S. in the title track as well as several other popular tunes. In fact, "The Joker" hit Number One on the UK singles chart in September 1990 after it was used on a television commercial.
Miller followed up The Joker with Fly Like an Eagle in 1976 and Book of Dreams in 1977. This pair of albums represented the peak of Miller's commercial career, both reaching the top echelons of the album charts and spawning a seemingly-endless series of hit singles, including "Rock'n Me", "Take the Money and Run", "Jet Airliner" and "Jungle Love". While critics lambasted Miller for abandoning his more ambitious approach and socially-aware lyrics for simple pop-rock and derivative blues tunes, fans gravitated towards the catchy, melodic songs in great numbers, and the Steve Miller Band co-headlined a major stadium tour with the Eagles in 1977.
On the heels of this massive success, Miller took a long hiatus from recording and touring, emerging in 1981 with Circle of Love, an ambitious album possibly intended to appease critics of his new style. Sales were disappointing, however, and in 1982 he returned to the pop formula with another hit album, Abracadabra. This was Miller's last great commercial success; a series of collections, live albums and attempts to find a new style appeared sporadically, but after 1993 Miller gave up producing records altogether. However, he collaborated with Paul McCartney on the former Beatle's 1997 Grammy-nominated album, Flaming Pie.
_The_Joker
Steve Miller Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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
But don't you worry baby don't worry
Cause' I'm a picker
I'm a grinner
I'm a lover
And I'm a sinner
Playin' my music in the sun
I'm a joker
I'm a smoker
I'm a mid-night toker
I get my lovin' on the run
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
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
Ooh wee baby, I sure show you a good time
Cause' I'm a picker
I'm a grinner
I'm a lover
And I'm a sinner
Playin' my music in the sun
I'm a joker
I'm a smoker
I'm a mid-night toker
I sure don't want to hurt no one
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
People keep talkin' about me baby
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 now, I'll show you a good time
The Steve Miller Band's song "Joker" is a classic rock track that's often associated with fun and carefree times. The song's lyrics are filled with playful one-liners and sexual innuendos that add to its lightheartedness. The opening verse establishes Miller's various aliases, as some people call him the space cowboy, the gangster of love, or Maurice, while he also sings of the "pompitous of love," a nonsense phrase that he admits he made up.
The song continues with Miller addressing accusations of infidelity from his partner. While people tell her that he's "doin' you wrong," he reassures her that he's "right here at home." Miller then describes himself as a "picker" and a "grinner" who's also a "lover" and a "sinner," playing his music in the sun as a "joker," a "smoker," and a "midnight toker." He emphasizes that he doesn't want to hurt anyone, and he celebrates the relationship with his partner, describing her as the "cutest thing" he's ever seen and declaring his love for her "peaches."
Line by Line Meaning
Some people call me the space cowboy yeah
Some people refer to me as a person who drifts from place to place with a free-spirited attitude
Some call me the gangster of love
Some call me someone who is cool and confident when it comes to love
Some people call me Maurice
Some people refer to me as a name that I have used to give myself an air of sophistication
Cause' I speak of the pompitous of love
Because I speak of an undefined and elusive quality of love that cannot be named or explained
People talk about me baby
People often discuss or gossip about me
Say I'm doin' you wrong, doin' you wrong
They say I'm treating you badly, mistreating or cheating on you
But don't you worry baby don't worry
But don't worry, my dear, because everything is alright
Cause' I'm right here at home
Because I'm here with you, not out doing anything to hurt you
Cause' I'm a picker
Because I'm a skilled musician who plays guitar
I'm a grinner
I always wear a smile, happy and upbeat
I'm a lover
I am someone who is passionate about love and romance
And I'm a sinner
But I'm not perfect, and sometimes I give in to temptation and do things that are not right
Playin' my music in the sun
I love playing my guitar in the warmth and brightness of a sunny day
I'm a joker
I have a good sense of humor and love making people laugh
I'm a smoker
I smoke marijuana for enjoyment
I'm a mid-night toker
I smoke marijuana late at night
I get my lovin' on the run
I enjoy casual affairs and don't like to be tied down to one person or place for too long
You're the cutest thing that I ever did see
You're the most attractive person I've ever laid eyes on
I really love your peaches
I really enjoy your intimate parts
Want to shake your tree
I want to have sex with you
Lovey dovey, lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time
I'm always affectionate towards you, sweet and loving
Ooh wee baby, I sure show you a good time
Oh, I'll make sure to give you a lot of pleasure and fun
I sure don't want to hurt no one
I don't want to cause harm or negative consequences for anyone through my actions
People keep talkin' about me baby
People continue to talk and gossip about me
Well don't you worry, don't worry, no don't worry mama
Well, my dear, don't worry or stress about all the chatter because it's all good
Come on baby now, I'll show you a good time
Let's enjoy each other and have some fun together
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: STEVE MILLER, EDDIE CURTIS, AHMET ERTEGUN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@klyvemurray
@@theodoreritola9758
The fuckwit "producer" known as Mark Ronson has fucking autotuned
John Lennon's vocals!!
Let's get a local house painter to touch up the Mona Lisa!!
Or better still..
Get some studio musicians to re-record the entire Beatles catalogue.
After all, their tracks were recorded on shitty analogue tape!!
Maybe Mark Ronson could adjust the tempo on some of the
'slower' tracks...FFS!!
.
@dheyvao_silva
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 pompatus 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
Ooh, whoo, ooh, whoo
You're the cutest thing that I ever did see
I really love your peaches
Wanna shake your tree
Lovey dovey, lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time
Ooh wee 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
Ooh, whoo, ooh, whoo
People keep talkin' about me baby
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
I really love your peaches
Wanna shake your tree
Lovey dovey, lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time
Come on baby now, I'll show you a good time
@tintin_bs5826
Thanks NYT, for picking such a well known song for one of your categories.
@MrDoubleG16
purp squad
@Feodoric
💪💪💪
@brenamagdalena11
Right? For once, I actually got purple on my first try. Came here because I haven't listened to this song in forever. Love it.
@MrLala12321
First time I got a purple connection first haha
@shannonemert
I just finished and I had to look this song up. Memories come pouring in.
@ashleycalmell1563
whose here cuz connections lol <3
@kimberlyreid2485
🙋♀️hi, it’s me.
@NoctiiN
not me
@itzzachygaming9939
I have never heard of this song in my life