Doug Fieger Dead: The Knack 'My Sharona' Singer Dies at 57

[Dogmudgeon]

Source: Huffington Post

Doug Fieger, leader of the power pop band The Knack who sang on the 1979 hit "My Sharona," died Sunday. He was 57.

Fieger, a Detroit-area native, died at his home in Woodland Hills near Los Angeles after battling cancer, according to The Knack's manager, Jake Hooker.

Fieger formed The Knack in Los Angeles 1978, and the group quickly became a staple of Sunset Strip rock clubs. A year later he co-wrote and sang lead vocals on "My Sharona."

Fieger said the song, with its pounding drums and exuberant vocals, was inspired by a girlfriend of four years.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/14/doug-fieger-dead-the-knac_n_462186.html

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I know that this isn't exactly earth-shaking news, but it is sad to read. I knew that Fieger had been sick, but hadn't heard anything more since then, around 2005-6. Then again, I don't really follow music closely these days.

http://www.knack.com/home.html">The Knack web site

--d!

[Forkboy]

1. That's sad news. As much as despise commercial radio....

...these guys were a part of music history, and not all of their own doing.

[Ohio Joe]

2. RIP - nt

[proteus_lives]

3. RIP.

That's too bad. I like that song.

[msanthrope]

4. "Is it just destiny, destiny?" RIP Doug. n/t

[veganlush]

5. his brother is Geoffrey , flamboyant..

..one time attorney for Jack "Dr. Death" Kevorkian. Sad news he will be missed...

[onehandle]

6. Yeah, it was years ago that he got sick. I was wondering how he was. Now I know.

'Good girls don't, but I do.'

Peace, Doug.

[EFerrari]

7. Wow, I'd no idea he was so young!

[Bluenorthwest]

8. I saw the Knack at the Inglewood Forum

Doug was great that night, long ago....

[Jamastiene]

9. RIP

:(

[Pab Sungenis]

10. Okay, here's my Knack story.

In 1991, the Knack had re-formed and put out their first album in 10 years, "Serious Fun." I was assistant music director at my college radio station, WSBU, which at the time was doing a pop/rock format. When the other assistant (Sean Deery) and I were stuck with the job of building the first playlist of the winter semester in January (since the Music Director himself couldn't be bothered) we sat listening to all of the new music that had landed on our desk over winter break.

With one space left to fill in the lineup, we dropped the single for "Rocket O' Love" in into the CD player. It was so wonderfully stupid and annoying that Sean and I practically fell on the floor laughing. As a joke, and also to annoy the music director who wouldn't do his job, I filled the last slot with "Rocket O' Love." Then, a few seconds later, I bumped the new "Bad Company" album out of Heavy Rotation and put "Rocket O' Love" in its slot.

For those who have never heard "Rocket O' Love" go drop the buck at iTunes. It's wonderfully stupid. This, for example, is the entire chorus:

I'm a rocket o' love. TAKE ME!
I'm a rocket o' love. RIDE!
I'm a rocket o' love!

This is the middle 8:

Well I'm a driver.
And I'm a raver.
And I'm a flamer.
Yes, I'm the Savior.
And I'm a diver. YEAH!
And I'm a craver.
OOOoh! Oooh baby, baby, look at me
I'M ON FIRE!

It's quintessential Knack. And it's not what radio was playing in January of 1991.

I was having a blast, playing the crap out of the song on my morning show and dealing with annoyed listeners calling in. I started doing doubleshots of "Rocket O' Love" and "Good Girls Don't." Everyone hated the song, but because our music director couldn't be bothered to do his job and take it off the playlist, we were spinning it 40 times a week.

Something that didn't occur to us at the time: WSBU at the time (and I believe it is once again) was considered one of the best college stations in the country and one of the most influential. Two of the stations in Buffalo (WGR-FM and WMJQ) were actually paying a few locals to listen to the station and log all of the music we were playing. Their research team would then rebuild our playlists from those reports, and see what the college kids were listening to. I guess one thing led to another, because in short order WMJQ started playing "Rocket O' Love" in heavy rotation. Shortly after that the other pop stations in Buffalo added it. Then the stations in Toronto and Rochester that were tracking WMJQ added it. And it went on down the line.

Until one morning when I opened Radio and Records and looked at the rock charts. "Rocket O' Love" had reached #9. Coming to my senses, I started playing "Rocket O' Love," and interrupted it saying "THIS HAS GONE FAR ENOUGH." I played a cart with the "scratching vinyl" soundeffect (since you can't really do that with a CD) and went into something else. Sean and I took "Rocket O' Love" off the playlist and moved it to recurrent, and then I quit as Assistant Music Director. I never played it again, even ironically. WMJQ dropped it, as did everyone else like ripples in a pool.

So while I can't say for certain that I helped launch the Knack's 1991 comeback single-handed, I'd like to say I had a share in it. Maybe even a big share. I also demonstrated that even back in 1991 corporate radio had no sense of humor.

Three years later, my friend Mike Nelson and I went to see The Knack at the TLA in Philadelphia. At one point, Doug Fieger asked "is there anything in particular you folks want to hear?" The chorus of shouts went up, yelling lots of different songs. After the clamor had died down, Mike and I stood up and yelled "ROCKET O' LOVE!"

Doug Fieger stared at us, paused, said "no." Then launched into "Another Lousy Day in Paradise."

We will miss you, Doug. You brought so many of us such joy.

[Javaman]

11. My, My, My Sharona...

I was in high school when this song hit the airwaves. That one song basically was the song of my senior year.

And as an odd anecdote: the beat was the perfect rhythm when I went on training runs with the cross country team. I would hum it in my head to keep my pace. :)

[mackerel]

12. There's a local DJ here goes by Noname but

his real name is Mike Nelson...hmmmmm?

Anyway here's to you Doug for making the teen years tolerable!

[Number9Dream]

13. His earlier band, Sky, was very good as well

The story makes no mention of Sky, but they were a 3-piece band fronted by Fieger. Had a minor early 70's success with "Rockin' Me Yet". Have the album on vinyl.

[Iggo]

14. Wow. 57. That's way too young.

R.I.P.