The Knack's Doug Fieger dies at 57

The Knack was formed in 1978 and soon signed with Capitol Records. Fieger co-wrote 'My Sharona,' which was a No. 1 hit for six weeks in 1979. The tune was inspired by a former girlfriend.

Doug Fieger, leader of the Los Angeles-based power pop band the Knack who co-wrote and sang on the 1979 No. 1 hit "My Sharona," has died. He was 57.

Fieger's sister, Beth Falkenstein, said he died Sunday at his home in Woodland Hills. He had cancer.

"My Sharona" was No. 1 for six weeks. Fieger said the song was inspired by a former girlfriend.

"He was an extraordinary lover of all things popular culture," Falkenstein said of her brother. "He was an eternal pop teenager but highly intellectual and intense."

Doug Lars Fieger was born Aug. 20, 1952, in Detroit and grew up in suburban Oak Park, Mich.

After graduating from high school, he went to England to record two albums with the group Sky, his sister said.

The group broke up after moving to Los Angeles. The Knack was formed in 1978 and soon was discovered on the L.A. club scene and signed with Capitol Records.

In its brief moment in the sun, the Knack put the phrase "power pop" into the musical lexicon for its compact, hook-filled, guitar-based rock songs that recalled the sound of the '60s British Invasion bands, particularly the Beatles and the Kinks.

Their signature white shirts and skinny black ties and vests became a hallmark of the New Wave music scene, which distinguished itself from punk with catchier songs and less overt anger at the political and musical establishment.

Times pop music critic Robert Hilburn, writing in 1979, said the best songs on their debut album "Get the Knack" were "classics of their kind. They reflect perfectly the intense teen emotion that was at the heart of early rock."

--Times Staff Reports

Read more: Doug Fieger dies at 57; leader of the L.A. band the Knack sang 'My Sharona'

Photo: The Knack:  Doug Fieger, left, Berton Averre and Prescott Niles. Credit: Smile Records

Comments

[Rob Visconti]

I remember hearing "My Sharona" almost anywhere I went in the summer of my 12th year on earth.(1979) I still have that single(45) with her on the sleeve. I spent a number of years wondering what ever happened to that band, and why one song can make and even break a music career. I had the privledge of speaking to Doug in April of 2000 at the Rainbow in Hollywood, Ca., and it wasn't until about 30 minutes into our conversation that I realized who he was. I thought The Knack Had broke up, but he said no and that he had never given up on his love for making music. He asked if my band(Dr. Martini) had used the new tool of the internet and websites to help stay in touch with fans of ones music. That was when I realized that he still felt the same way about playing music, and how important it was to enjoy doing it. Doug, you were a great inspiration to me , and You will always be bigger than the song that became hard to outshine. A One Hit Wonder is what I have heard said in the past, but what a Wonderful Wonder you were.......Rock in Piece