Doug Fieger of The Knack Dies at Age 57
Doug Fieger, the lead singer and a guitarist of the band the Knack, made famous by their 1979 hit “My Sharona” has died at the age of 57.
From the New York Times:
The cause was lung cancer, his family announced.
With a six-week run at No. 1, “My Sharona” was the inescapable hit of the summer of 1979, and it became a staple of high school dance parties for years to come. Built on a simple riff that was as perky as it was sexy, the song, by Mr. Fieger and the band’s lead guitarist, Berton Averre, celebrated teenage lust in unabashed terms. “When you gonna give it to me?” Mr. Fieger sang in the impatient whine that was his hallmark.
The song, written about a 17-year-old high school student who had caught the eye of the 26-year-old Mr. Fieger, displaced Chic’s disco anthem “Good Times” on Billboard’s singles chart and came to symbolize the commercial arrival of new wave, the poppier, snazzier-dressed cousin of punk rock. (That girl, Sharona Alperin, is now a high-end real estate agent in Los Angeles.)
Tags: Berton Averre, Cancer, Doug Fieger, Fieger, Fieger Dies, Knack, Knack Death, Lung Cancer, My Sharona, Sharona Alperin, The Knack
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February 15, 2010 at 11:57 pm
Don’t remember Doug, but sure do remember the Song. I was in a Band when “My Sharona” was like a Record that was “stuck”, playing over-and-over every 5 Minutes on the Airwaves. Our Rythym Guitar Player insisted on adding it to our Set-List, and I was so sick of it that I refused to be on Stage when the rest of the Band did it. It was a clever and “catchy” tune alright, but if you listen to all the “Breaks”, and changes in the actual Rythym, it really wasn’t a Song which was easy to Dance to— Of course, “the Drunks” never cared! Anyway, too bad about Doug…. too young. I hope he was able to enjoy the success of his “One Hit Wonder”.