Song of the Moment: My Sharona

"Doug Fieger, 57, the leader of the power pop band the Knack who sang on the 1979 hit 'My Sharona,' died Feb. 14 at his home in Los Angeles," the Washington Post reports. "He had cancer.

"Mr. Fieger, a Detroit area native, formed the Knack in Los Angeles 1978, and the group quickly became a staple of Sunset Strip rock clubs. A year later, he co-wrote and sang lead vocals on 'My Sharona.' Mr. Fieger said the song, with its pounding drums and exuberant vocals, was inspired by a girlfriend of four years.

"'I had never met a girl like her - ever,' he told the Associated Press in 1994. 'She induced madness. She was a very powerful presence. She had an insouciance that wouldn't quit. She was very self-assured . . . She also had an overpowering scent, and it drove me crazy.'

"'My Sharona,' an unapologetically anthemic rock song, emerged during disco's heyday and held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard pop chart for six weeks, becoming an FM radio standard."

Released: June 1979

Length: 3:58 (single edit); 4:52 (album)

Label: Capitol

B Side: "Let Me Out"

Charts: Reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100; the U.S. Cash Box Top 100 Singles; and the Australian Kent Music Report.

Covers: By Pearl Jam and Yo La Tengo. Also, Weird Al Yankovic began his song parody career with "My Bologna"; Steve Dahl turned out "Ayatollah"; The Dead Kennedys sang "my payola" in "Pull My Strings"; and commercials included "My Toyota," "Nine Coronas," and "My Chalupa."

Wikipedia: "Lead singer/guitarist Doug Fieger was 25 when he met Sharona Alperin (who was 17 at the time) and she inspired a two-month-long run of songwriting . . .

"Whenever he thought about her, he would think of Berton Averre's guitar riff. The two worked out the structure and melody from there. Sharona appears on the picture sleeve for the single, and became a major booster of the band bringing many girls to their early shows.

"Sharona Alperin is now a real estate agent in Los Angeles, California.

"The easily recognizable riff of 'My Sharona' was written by the band's guitarist, Berton Averre, long before he ever joined The Knack.

Songfacts: "This hit #1 in Canada in 1979 and stayed on top for three weeks (replaced by The Cars' 'Let's Go'); The Knack quickly scored another #1 hit here in the same year: 'Good Girls Don't,' which also held the pole position for three weeks."

Lyrics:

Ooh my little pretty one, pretty one.
When you gonna give me some time, Sharona?
Ooh you make my motor run, my motor run.
Gun it comin' off the line Sharona
Never gonna stop, give it up.
Such a dirty mind. Always get it up for the touch
of the younger kind. My my my i yi woo. M M M My Sharona . . .

Come a little closer huh, ah will ya huh.
Close enough to look in my eyes, Sharona.
Keeping it a mystery gets to me
Running down the length of my thighs, Sharona
Never gonna stop, give it up. Such a dirty mind.
Always get it up for the touch
of the younger kind. My my my i yi woo. M M M My Sharona . . .

When you gonna give it to me, give it to me.
It is just a matter of time Sharona
Is it just destiny, destiny?
Or is it just a game in my mind, Sharona?
Never gonna stop, give it up.
Such a dirty mind. Always get it up for the touch
of the younger kind. My my my i yi woo. M M M My Sharona . . .

YouTube:

At Carnegie Hall.

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Kurt's Sharona.

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The underappreciated lead.

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Memories and observations welcome.

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Previously in Song of the Moment:
* Iron Man
* The Story of Bo Diddley
* Teach Your Children
* Dream Vacation
* When The Levee Breaks
* I Kissed A Girl
* Theme From Shaft
* Rocky Mountain High
* North to Alaska
* Barracuda
* Rainy Days and Mondays
* Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?
* Baby, It's Cold Outside
* Man in the Mirror
* Birthday Sex
* Rio

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