# Pompatus of Love revisited

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompatus-of-love-revisited/265058>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [September 19, 2004, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompatus-of-love-revisited/265058 "2004-09-19T23:25:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![guitarburke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e274bd/32.png) [@guitarburke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guitarburke)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompatus-of-love-revisited/265058/1 "2004-09-19T23:25:47Z")

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I read the thread about Steve Miller Band’s use of the term “Pompatus of Love” [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4\_065.html](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

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**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\
**Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompatus-of-love-revisited/265058/2 "2004-09-20T10:14:51Z")

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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.

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**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\
**Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompatus-of-love-revisited/265058/3 "2004-09-23T05:06:18Z")

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“Clap for the Wolfman” was released in 1974. “The Joker” was released in 1973. The Guess Who surely got that from Steve Miller.

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**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2004, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pompatus-of-love-revisited/265058/4 "2004-09-25T08:33:28Z")

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> [@rfgdxm](#):
>
> “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. 🙂