I just learned that the Knack’s leader singer Doug Fieger died at the age of 57 from lung cancer on February 14, 2010! Ironically, the girl he loved that inspired his biggest hit, My Sharona, was by his side during his final days. Here’s an excellent piece from NPR about the real Sharona.

I loved The Knack who blasted all the way up the charts thirty years ago in 1979 with “My Sharona”. It was a steamy and infectious song that became the number one song of the year according to Billboard Magazine thanks to its six week reign at the summit.  The leader singer wrote the song about his then girlfriend with the unique and unforgettable name, Sharona. Sadly, their relationship didn’t last much longer than the song’s popularity but the memory of the song will last forever for many of us. The good news is that they always remained friends until the very end.

By the way, 15 years after the song originally hit the scene, the song enjoyed renewed success when it was used prominently in a movie called “Reality Bites” (1994) starring Ethan Hawke, Winona Ryder and Janeane Garofalo.

Here’s My Sharon by The Knack (You’ll have to watch it on youtube)

Good Girls Don’t (But I do) was their follow-up hit single. Top 10-ish song, but not a number one blockbuster.

Baby Talks Dirty was the lead single off their followup album to their debut. I remember being disappointed and knowing deep down that it was the end for the Knack when it came to long-term commercial success anyway.

By the way, a few years ago they performed on an ill conceived reality show called “Hit Me Baby One More Time” where former popular acts competed against one another and the audience picked the winner. They each did their biggest hit and a version of a modern hit. The Knack did My Sharona and then a fabulous rendition of Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl”. Unfortunately, they lost to Vanilla Ice! Ouch.