It became a hit, reaching number 32 during a stay of thirteen weeks on Billboard's Hot Soul Singles chart.

[2] The song was a feature of his live shows, with some performances playing up the gangster theme with a simulated siren and a mock police bulletin.

Most versions open with: Jesse James and Frank James, Billy the Kid all the rest Supposed to be some bad cats, out in the West But when they dug me, and my gangster ways They hung up their guns, and made it to the grave 'Cause I'm a gangster of love Author David Ritz has identified "Gangster of Love" as Watson's "most famous song"[3] and the different recordings have been released on numerous compilations of Watson's music.

In an album review for AllMusic, Amy Hanson commented: [Miller's Sailor] is the LP that introduced many to the Johnny "Guitar" Watson classic "Gangster of Love", a song that would become almost wholly Miller's own, giving the fans an alter ego to caress long before "The Joker" arose to show his hand.

[6]In 1973, "The Joker", written by Miller, was his first number one hit and included the line "some call me the gangster of love".