The Knack

The Knack was an American power pop band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1978 by Doug Fieger (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Berton Averre (lead guitar, backing vocals), Prescott Niles (bass) and Bruce Gary (drums). Spearheaded by the success of their debut single "My Sharona", their first album, Get the Knack (1979), reached number-one in several countries. However, their next two albums, ...But The Little Girls Understand (1980) and Round Trip (1981), were less successful, leading the band to disband in 1982.The band reunited in 1986 and released their fourth album, Serious Fun, in 1991, before breaking up again the following year. After a brief reunion in 1994, the Knack reunited a final time in 1996, recording two more albums, Zoom (1998) and Normal as the Next Guy (2001). Following Fieger's death in 2010, the Knack permanently disbanded. Their final studio album, Rock & Roll Is Good for You: The Fieger/Averre Demos was released in 2012.Singer Doug Fieger was a native of Oak Park, Michigan, a northern suburb of Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in the 9 Mile/Greenfield 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".Within months of their live debut, popular club gigs on the Sunset Strip, as well as guest jams with musicians such as Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Ray Manzarek, led to the band being the subject of a record label bidding war. The band was pursued by ten record labels, but decided on Capitol Records; at the time, the Knack was given the largest signing sum in the label's history. A&R executives Bruce Garfield and Bruce Ravid are credited with signing the band.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.