Today’s classic song of the day is “My Sharona” by the Knack. This perfect little piece of power pop was released in single form in June of 1979 and peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks. It also hit #1 on the Cash Box Top 100 chart and in Australia and Canada. Billboard ranked it the #1 song for all of 1979.
Believe it or not, the Knack were thought by some to be the next Beatles. In retrospect, I’m not sure why; maybe it’s because they were a four-piece group that wore matching outfits and played catchy pop songs. Despite the success of “My Sharona” and its follow-up, “Good Girls Don’t,” they certainly didn’t have the lasting impact of the Fab Four. They first got together in 1978, released three albums and a handful of singles, and broke up 1982.
“My Sharona” was written by singer Doug Fieger and lead guitarist Berton Averre about a girl named Sharona Alperin, who eventually became Doug’s girlfriend. (She was just 17 at the time; Doug was 24.) He claimed that, totally besotted by young Miss Alperin, it only took them 15 minutes to write the song:
“It was like getting hit in the head with a baseball bat; I fell in love with her instantly. And when that happened, it sparked something and I started writing a lot of songs feverishly in a short amount of time.”
By the way, that is Sharona Alperin herself on the cover of the “My Sharona” 45. No doubt her insouciant pose and perky white tee shirt helped sell a few copies.
Doug and Sharona went together for four years then broke up but still remained friends. Ms. Alperin became a successful realtor in Los Angeles; she visited Mr. Fieger frequently in his final months when he was dying from cancer in 2010.
