Eddie "Memphis" Evans Curtis, Jr. (17 July 1927 – 22 August 1983) was an American

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

, born in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

. He is credited as a co-writer along with Steve Miller and

Ahmet Ertegun Ahmet Ertegun ( ; , ; July 31, 1923 – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist. Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and championed many lead ...

for "

The Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, the character first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' on ...

" by the

Steve Miller Band The Steve Miller Band is an American rock music, rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1966. The band is led by Steve Miller (musician), Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles ...

, which became a U.S. number one single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the week of January 12, 1974 and U.K. No.1 single in 1990. "The Joker" used a line from Curtis's song, " Lovey Dovey", which was recorded by numerous artists, beginning with the R&B group

The Clovers The Clovers are an American rhythm and blues/doo-wop vocal group who became one of the biggest selling acts of the 1950s.The Guinness Who's Who of Fifties Music. General Editor: Colin Larkin. First published 1993 (UK). . The Clovers p77. They ha ...

in 1954. Elements of "The Joker" were used for Shaggy's international number one hit "

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

" (2001), which Curtis also received a co-writing credit for. Curtis also wrote Don Cherry's 1956 hit "Wild Cherry" and Connie Francis' 1959 hit "You're Gonna Miss Me." Curtis wrote " "It Should've Been Me","ASCAP www.ascap.com recorded by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

in 1953 for the Atlantic label. The song also appears on the album ''We've Got a Live One Here'' by

Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen were an American country rock band founded in 1967. The group's leader and co-founder was pianist and vocalist George Frayne IV, alias Commander Cody (born July 19, 1944, in Boise, Idaho; died September ...

, recorded in 1976, re-issued in 1996. Unveiled by

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...

in 1963, Curtis' tune "Hardhead" was first covered by Jordan himself on ''I Believe in Music'' (1973), and then in 1992 (as "Hard Head") on

Robert Palmer Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful and soulful voice, sartorial elegance and stylistic explorations, combining soul, funk, jazz, rock, pop, regga ...

's '' Ridin' High'', accompanied by guitarist

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums, live performances, and slide guitar playing from the late 1 ...

and a big band directed by

Clare Fischer Douglas Clare Fischer (October 22, 1928 – January 26, 2012) was an American keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. After graduating from Michigan State University (from which, five decades later, he would receive an honorary doctorat ...

. A French version was recorded by

Henri Salvador Henri Salvador (18 July 1917 – 13 February 2008) was a French Caribbean singer, comedian and cabaret artist. Biography Salvador was born in Cayenne, French Guiana. His father, Clovis, and his mother, Antonine Paterne, daughter of an Indigen ...

as "Qu'ça saute" on ''Monsieur Henri'' (1994). Curtis died of colon cancer in New York on 22 August 1983, aged 56.

References

1927 births 1983 deaths African-American songwriters Songwriters from Texas 20th-century African-American people 20th-century American songwriters {{US-songwriter-stub