Monday 8/2/21 10pm ET: Feature LP: The Knack – Get The Knack (1979)

Get the Knack is the debut album by American rock band The Knack, released June 11, 1979. At the time, the album was one of the most successful debuts in history, selling over one million copies in less than two months and spending five weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart.

The lead single from the album, “My Sharona”, was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks and number one on Billboard’s Top Pop Singles of 1979 year end chart. The follow-up single, “Good Girls Don’t,” reached number 11 on the Hot 100 and followed “My Sharona” to number one on the Canadian Singles Chart.

“Let Me Out” – 2:20
“Your Number or Your Name” – 2:57
“Oh Tara” – 3:04
“(She’s So) Selfish” – 4:30
“Maybe Tonight” – 4:00
“Good Girls Don’t” – 3:07
“My Sharona” – 4:52
“Heartbeat” – 2:11
“Siamese Twins (The Monkey and Me)” – 3:25
“Lucinda” – 4:00
“That’s What the Little Girls Do” – 2:41
“Frustrated” – 3:51

Doug Fieger – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Berton Averre – lead guitar
Prescott Niles – bass
Bruce Gary – drums

Friday 10am ET: Feature Artist – The Knack

The Knack was an American rock band based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with their first single, “My Sharona”, an international number-one hit in 1979.

Singer Doug Fieger was a native of Oak Park, Michigan, a northern suburb of Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in the 9 Mile/Coolidge area. The brother of attorney Geoffrey Fieger (later known for representing Jack Kevorkian in a series of assisted suicide cases) Fieger had previously played in an eclectic rock band called Sky as well as the Sunset Bombers. Although Sky had received a modest amount of acclaim, including being produced by Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller, the band broke up without having any chart success. As a result, Fieger made the decision to move to Los Angeles and start another band.

Shortly after arriving in L.A., Fieger met Berton Averre (lead guitar, backing vocals and keyboards), and the two started a songwriting partnership. Fieger had also known Bruce Gary (drums) for years before forming the Knack in 1978 with Prescott Niles (bass). Niles was the last to join, a week before the band’s first show in June 1978. In the meantime, Fieger had been doubling on bass on a series of demos that the group had shopped to several record labels, all of which were rejected. Some of these songs later made up the band’s debut album Get the Knack, and included “Good Girls Don’t”.

In 2005, the Knack made an appearance on the TV program Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, performing “My Sharona” and Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl”.

In 2006, Doug Fieger and Berton Averre filed a lawsuit against the rap music group Run–D.M.C. for copyright infringement. The lawsuit alleges that the defining guitar riff from “My Sharona” was used without permission in the Run-D.M.C. track “It’s Tricky” from their 1986 album Raising Hell.

In 2006, during a performance in Las Vegas, Fieger became disoriented, developing a dull headache, and grasping for the words to the songs that he had written and performed for years. Diagnosed with two brain tumors, Fieger underwent surgery and radiosurgery and returned to performing. However, he still continued to battle brain and lung cancer until his death on February 14, 2010, in Woodland Hills, California, at the age of 57, effectively bringing the band to an end.

Saturday 12:45am ET: Feature LP #2: The Knack – Round Trip (1981)

Round Trip is the third studio album by power pop/new wave band The Knack that was released by Capitol Records in 1981. It received generally unfavorable critical reviews, but it reached #93 in the Billboard 200 and also contained single “Pay The Devil (Ooo, Baby, Ooo)” (hitting #67 on the Billboard Hot 100). “Boys Go Crazy” was issued as the single from the album in Australia. It was also issued as a follow up single to “Pay the Devil” in the U.S. and was expected to be “chart bound” on the Hot 100, but it did not chart. The band broke up a few months after its release, with their label dropping them due to failed expectations. They remained disbanded until a 1986 reunion.

There
“Radiating Love” 4:42
“Soul Kissin'” 3:40
“Africa” 4:34
“She Likes the Beat” 3:04
“Just Wait and See” 3:04
“We Are Waiting” 4:25

Back
“Boys Go Crazy” 2:48
“Lil’ Cals Big Mistake” 3:45
“Sweet Dreams” 3:37
“Another Lousy Day in Paradise” 3:34
“Pay the Devil (Ooo, Baby, Ooo)” 4:13
“Art War” 4:13

Saturday 12am ET: Feature LP: #1 The Knack – Get The Knack (1979)

Get the Knack is the debut album by the Knack, released in June 1979. At the time, the album was one of the most successful debuts in history, selling over one million copies in less than two months and spending five weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart. The lead single from the album, “My Sharona”, was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks and number one on Billboard’s Top Pop Singles of 1979 year end chart. The follow-up single, “Good Girls Don’t,” followed “My Sharona” to #1 on the Canadian Singles Chart, and reached #11 in the U.S.

“Let Me Out” – 2:20
“Your Number or Your Name” – 2:57
“Oh Tara” – 3:04
“(She’s So) Selfish” – 4:30
“Maybe Tonight” – 4:00
“Good Girls Don’t” – 3:07
“My Sharona” – 4:52
“Heartbeat” – 2:11
“Siamese Twins (The Monkey and Me)” – 3:25
“Lucinda” – 4:00
“That’s What the Little Girls Do” – 2:41
“Frustrated” – 3:51

Sounds of The 70s with Dan Varroney 9am ET

Join Dan Varroney with Sounds of the 70s today at 9:00 featuring the hits from this week in 1971, 1974, & 1979, including, Lou Rawls, Coven, Doobie Brothers, Undisputed Truth, Cher, Olivia Newton John, Andy Kim, Eric Clapton, John Denver, The Knack, Crystal Gayle,  Sammy Johns, Kiki Dee, Robert John, Night, Donna Summer & Chic. We’ll also feature Hamilton, Joe, Frank & Reynolds, Doobie Brothers, and John Denver.