The Knack
Encyclopedia : T : TH : THE : The Knack
The Knack are a Los Angeles-based rock band that rose to fame with their first single, "My Sharona", an international hit in 1979 (see 1979 in music).
The power pop of "My Sharona", coupled with the band's "retro" '60s new wave look, earned the band comparisons to The Beatles. Music critics hated disco, which dominated the music industry at the time, and were, at best, coolly receptive to other developing trends like punk rock, hip hop and heavy metal music. The Knack's power pop and hard rock influences earned them some critical credibility. After subsequent albums, though, the backlash against The Knack, similar to that of the Monkees a generation earlier, was strong, and the band broke up. They have since re-united and in 2001 put out their studio album Normal As The Next Guy and their live DVD Live From The Rock N'Roll Funhouse. As of 2005, The Knack are still active and play at various venues.
Singer Doug Fieger, a native of Detroit, Michigan, had previously played in a country rock band called Sky. Of the three other original members of the Knack (Berton Averre - Guitar, Prescott Niles - Bass, and Bruce Gary - Drums), Averre and Niles still currently play with The Knack. Several drummers have played for the group over the years, including Billy Ward (Serious Fun album), Terry Bozzio (Zoom album), and David Henderson as 'Holmes Jones' (Normal as the Next Guy and Live at the Rock N Roll Funhouse albums). Currently Pat Torpey (Mr. Big) is playing the drums for the group.
In 2005, The Knack made an appearance on the TV program "Hit Me Baby One More Time".
The Knack continue to write and record new songs, and they play concerts several times per month.
Parodies, samples and covers
With both the notoriety gained from being an international hit, and its distinctive rock guitar riff, "My Sharona" has been the subject of numerous parodies, tributes, and sampling, including "Weird Al" Yankovic's "My Bologna", and Run DMC's "It's Tricky". (for a longer list see article "My Sharona").Trivia
- Doug Fieger's brother Geoffrey Fieger is a well-known and often controversial lawyer and Michigan political candidate.
- All four members of the band are Jewish by birth.
Discography
Studio albums
- Get the Knack (1979) #1 (5 weeks) US, #65 UK
- ...But The Little Girls Understand (1980) #15 US
- Round Trip (1981) #93 US
- Serious Fun (1991)
- Zoom (1998)
- Normal As The Next Guy (2001)
- Re-Zoom (Zoom with Bonus Tracks) (2003)
Live Album Released on CD and DVD
- Live From the Rock n Roll Funhouse (2001)
Live Concert Released on Laserdisc
- The Knack Live at Carnegie Hall (1979)
Live Concert Released on DVD
- (Expected in mid-2006)
Compilation Albums
- My Sharona (1995)
- Retrospective (1992)
- (1998)
Documentary DVD
- Getting The Knack (2004)
Singles
- "My Sharona" (1979) #1 (6 weeks) US, #6 UK
- "Good Girls Don't" (1979) #11 US, #66 UK
- "Baby Talks Dirty" (1980) #38 US
- "Can't Put A Price On Love" (1980) #62 US
- "Pay The Devil" (1981) #67 US
Lead Singer Doug Fieger Solo Album
- First Things First (2000)
External links
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.