I read the thread about Steve Miller Band’s use of the term “Pompatus of Love” http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_065.html
The reason I looked it up was because I heard the term in a much earlier song by the Guess Who called: Clap for the Wolfman. The Wolfman himself has a few drive by comments, one of which is I’m your pompatus of love. Give it a listen.
Chris
I’d go back and read the column… The Medallions song was recorded in '54, even an early Guess Who song would be from no earlier than '65. Both Miller & The Guess Who could’ve derived the lyric from the same source, which strikes me as the Occam’s Razor treatment of the problem.
“Clap for the Wolfman” was released in 1974. “The Joker” was released in 1973. The Guess Who surely got that from Steve Miller.
:smack: …with this new info, I reassign my Occam’s Razor solution of the problem to the above. 