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

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes 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 gen ...

, born in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

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

Ahmet Ertegun Ahmet Ertegun (, Turkish spelling: Ahmet Ertegün; ; – 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 ch ...

for "

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

" by the

Steve Miller Band The Steve Miller Band is an American rock music, rock band formed in 1966 in San Francisco, California. 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 t ...

, which became a U.S.

number one single ''#1 Single'' is a reality-based show that aired on E! Entertainment Television in the United States. The eight-segment program premiered on January 22, 2006 and ended its run on March 19, 2006. Synopsis In this reality-based series, all of w ...

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 "Lovey Dovey" is a popular American rhythm and blues song originating in the 1950s and written by Eddie Curtis and Ahmet Ertegun, with the latter usually credited using his songwriter's pseudonym "Nugetre" (Ertegun spelled backwards). The song' ...

", 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 had ...

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

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

" (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," recorded by

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

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 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 26, 2021 i ...

, 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 " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

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

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer and guitarist. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also produced three Grammy Award-win ...

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 doctorate ...

. A French version was recorded by

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

as "Qu'ça saute" on ''Monsieur Henri'' (1994). Curtis died of colon cancer in New York on 22 August 1983, aged 56.http://bmrcsurvey.uchicago.edu/collections/2529-1 Black Metropolis Research Consortium Survey. Retrieved on 10 January 2015.

References

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