R.I.P. – Doug Fieger
Written by admin on February 14, 2010
Doug Fieger, former lead singer of The Knack, lost his battle with cancer this morning at age 57. Fieger and the Knack mainstreamed the “new wave sound” of rock in 1979 when they hit #1 with “My Sharona.”
UPDATE: A quite posted on The Knack’s official website: “Our hearts are broken, we will miss you Doug.”
Fieger’s brother, Geoffrey, told The Detroit News that the family will issue a statement later today.
The Knack mixed the developing power pop sound with a good amount of 60’s British Invasion throwback in them; I consider them in many ways similar to the Dave Clark Five with a heavier bassline. Industry suits touted them as the leaders of the new mainstream rock movement. Unfortunately, labels like that can be a curse, as the Knack’s music was of good quality and probably could have been consistent players in alt-rock circles and did produce other hit singles, the band could not be generic enough to satisfy the masses after being hyped that way (that, I consider to be a good thing).
“My Sharona” is considered one of mainstream music’s “game changers” at one of the many times the industry suits kept working to homogenize the industry, but postponed their victory as audiences kept clamoring for a new sound. The Knack is credited with helping force programmers to consider airplay for other great alternative bands of that era and the next few years to come.
