The Knack

The Knack will always be highly regarded for their exuberant, feel-good post-punk anthem My Sharona, one of the biggest hits of all time. Formed by Doug Fieger in 1978 after the break-up of his former band Sky, the group quickly built a reputation around Los Angeles and jammed with the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty before signing with Capitol Records. Overcome and inspired by meeting his new 17-year-old girlfriend Sharona Alperin, Fieger experienced a huge burst of creativity, penning most of their debut album Get The Knack (1979) in one big flourish. The record became one of the fastest selling albums of all time with worldwide sales of over 6 million as My Sharona became one of the biggest hit of the year and topped the US singles chart for six weeks. Follow-up single Good Girls Don't reached Number 11 in the US, but albums ...But The Little Girls Understand (1980) and Round Trip (1981) could never match their early success and the band split in 1992. The use of My Sharona in the film Reality Bites prompted a reunion in 1994, but later albums failed to spark much interest and it was only drummer Bruce Gary who forged much of a musical career, becoming an acclaimed session musician for George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart and Sheryl Crow before his death in 2006. Doug Fieger died of cancer in 2010.