The Medallions were a rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 band led by Vernon Green

Vernon Green

Vernon Green was leader of the rhythm and blues band The Medallions. He wrote the 1954 song "The Letter" which contained the nonsense lyric, "the puppetutes of love," which was later picked up by Steve Miller as "the Pompatus of love." According to an interview with Green, puppetutes was "A term...

 (1937-2000). They were the first doo-wop group to record for Dootone Records. Their first release, "Buick 59," (based on Todd Rhodes's double-entendre R&B hit "Rocket 88") was backed with a ballad called
"The Letter." "The Letter" contained the nonsense lyric, "the 'puppetutes' of love," which was later picked up by the Steve Miller Band

Steve Miller Band

The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1967 in San Francisco, California. The band is managed by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals, and is known for a string of mid-1970s hit singles that are staples of the classic rock radio format.-History:In 1965, Steve Miller and...

 as "the pompatus

Pompatus

The word pompatus is a neologism used in the lyrics of Steve Miller's 1973 rock song "The Joker":-Lyrics:...

 of love" and used in their song "The Joker

The Joker (song)

"The Joker" is a song by the Steve Miller Band from their 1973 album The Joker. The song is one of two Steve Miller Band songs that feature the neologism "pompatus". The song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1974. It draws heavy influence from the Allen Toussaint's song Soul Sister featured...

".

Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa

Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...

 (interviewed on the Pop Chronicles

Pop Chronicles

The Pop Chronicles are two radio documentary series which together "may constitute the most complete audio history of 1940s-60s popular music." Both were produced by John Gilliland.-The Pop Chronicles of the 50s and 60s:...

documentary) expressed respect for their song, "Edna".

Since the death of Vernon Green, in 2000, the group has been "reconstituted" by several musicians and singers who backed up, and/or recorded with Green prior to his death.

The song "Annie Had A Baby", written by Hank Ballard, was released by Edwards & Wilson Entertainment Inc., and received "Song of the Year", and "Group of the Year" 2007-08, by a vote of over 50,000 musicians/artists worldwide who are members of Music Forte

Music Forte

Music Forte Inc. is an S-Corporation registered in the State of Illinois, located in Naperville, which promotes and sells digital music which focuses mainly on "indie music", which is somewhat of a loose term as it includes both signed and unsigned artists...

.

A second single, written by William A. Collins, "Watcha Gonna Do?", was released to Secondary Market Radio Stations on February 28, 2008.