For those who were there – and I admit that I’m old enough to be one of them – the hype surrounding the release of The Knack’s debut album seemed unprecedented. Incredibly, Get the Knack was released 30 years ago this month – in June of 1979. As a boy, I visited Greenwich Village for the first time that summer, and I remember seeing stickers advertising the album around the neighborhood. When Get the Knack arrived, it arrived like a rocket. One minute, these four guys were just another unknown band from L.A. The next minute, their album and its first single, “My Sharona,” had topped the charts.

The backlash against The Knack seemed to happen almost as quickly as their ascent had. A group of people in the Bay Area started the popular “Knuke the Knack” campaign (remember, this was 1979). And for the most part, critics hated the band. Wayne King even wrote in the Rolling Stone Record Guide that The Knack’s music was “sickening and unlistenable.” That seems a bit harsh, bit there were a variety of factors at work here. Some people simply resented the fact that The Knack was an overnight success (though in truth, most of the band members had been toughing it out on the L.A. club circuit for several years). Others got sick of the fact that every time you turned on the radio, you would hear “My Sharona” or another song from the album. Fab Four fans were upset that The Knack were being marketed as a sort of “new Beatles” (the cover of the Get the Knack album was in fact modeled on that of Meet the Beatles). And feminists resented them for the unabashed sexuality of songs like “She’s So Selfish” and “Good Girls Don’t,” which bordered on misogyny. With all these odds stacked against them, the band made things even more difficult for themselves by refusing to do interviews early on. And frontman Doug Fieger’s famous smirk on the cover of Get the Knack definitely didn’t help.

To be fair, some of the criticism of The Knack was understandable. But what was often overlooked between the hype and the backlash is that Get the Knack is probably one of the best power pop albums of all time. “My Sharona” was just the tip of the iceberg. The Knack showcased their pure pop sensibilities on “Your Number or Your Name,” covered Buddy Holly on “Heartbeat,” rocked out on “Frustrated” and even got sentimental on the ballad “Maybe Tonight.” From start to finish, Get the Knack is a great disc.

After the band hit number-one, label executives tripped all over each other in a race to sign the next Knack. The next few years saw a plethora of power pop bands arrive on the scene, all sporting skinny ties and snappy songs. Many of these bands genuinely had talent; some did not. But it’s unlikely that a lot of them would even have had the chance to make a record if The Knack hadn’t paved the way for them.

Meanwhile, the original lineup of the band – Fieger, lead guitarist Berton Averre, drummer Bruce Gary and bassist Prescott Niles – made two more albums together. They rang in the ‘80s with their sophomore set, But the Little Girls Understand. Compared with Get the Knack, this disc was a major disappointment. Not only was the backlash against the band in full swing by this point, but truth be told, the album just wasn’t as good as their debut. 1981’s Round Trip was better. Although still not on a level with Get the Knack, the album was by far the band’s most diverse outing to date. Although songs like “Radiating Love,” “Boys Go Crazy” and “Just Wait and See” were typical Knack fare, other tracks found them stretching musically. “Africa” was a successful foray into jazz-pop while “We Are Waiting” was an experimental song that included backwards guitar and a passage sung in Hebrew. Unfortunately though, Round Trip pretty much sank without a trace.

Not long after this, The Knack broke up. That was more than 25 years ago. Since that time, they have regrouped periodically and made three more studio albums. The most recent, 2001’s Normal as the Next Guy, was actually quite good. But again, it passed virtually unnoticed. That’s a shame because for as many people who know “My Sharona,” there are just as many who have no idea that The Knack has made a lot of other good music over the years.

Today, the band still includes three quarters of the original lineup -- Doug Fieger, Berton Averre and Prescott Niles. This trio has played with an asortment of different drummers over the years (Bruce Gary died in 2006) and is still based in Los Angeles. Although they haven’t released any new music since Normal as the Next Guy, The Knack have toured frequently over the last few years and released the album and DVD Live from the Rock N’ Roll Funhouse a few years back. And of course, “My Sharona” continues to pop up in TV and films, securing its place as one of the most popular songs of the ‘70s.

I’ve spoken with Doug Fieger several times, most recently in 2008. What I didn’t know when we spoke then was that he’s gone through hell on the health front in the last few years. I knew that Fieger had had some health issues – but I didn’t know the extent of those issues, as you’ll see. Nevertheless, I greatly enjoyed our conversation. And at the time of this writing, Fieger is still alive and kicking. My own hope is that sometime soon, he gets the credit he deserves for being a great pop tunesmith.

My first question, I guess, is how is your health these days ‘cause from what I read, you had some health issues last year and I was wondering how you’re feeling.

I feel fine but unfortunately I still have health issues. I have metastatic lung cancer…

Oh my God. I’m really sorry.

That’s what it is. And over the last year and a half I’ve had 15 brain tumors. So it’s been… it’s been an interesting experience to say the least, and I’m still in the middle of it but I feel great in the meantime. I’ve had all of those brain tumors removed either physically or through a process they call the gamma knife. And right now I’m involved in an experimental clinical trial and… you know we’re hopeful, but that’s what’s going on.

I had no idea the seriousness of it, I’m really sorry. I…

No, no, that’s just what it is, you know?

This coming Saturday, I’m visiting [someone I know] who has cancer and it’s the weirdest thing too, because he tells me he feels great and yet they don’t know what the prognosis is. You know, one week he’s doing better than the next. And like you, he’s a young guy, he’s in his fifties and…

Right… well, there’s so much they don’t know about cancer, and not to do an interview about cancer, but I can probably do that now (laughs), you know, after what I’ve learned over the past four years or so. But there’s so much they don’t know and there’s so much they’re learning and in the meantime I’m staying as healthy as I can and doing… I’m doing every possible kind of therapy. You know I was on intravenous chemotherapy for 11 and a half months, I’ve been on oral chemotherapy for the past eight or nine months as well as now this Benford excel therapy that they just started on me a month ago, and I’m halfway through that. So we’ll see. You know, I’m hopeful. In the meantime, I’m living my life and that’s pretty much been… staying alive and staying healthy has been my focus for the last little while. Other than that, it’s been doing some gigs. We did a TV show in Italy about a month and a half ago and then about three months ago we did a festival in Spain and right before that we did another TV show in Italy and we’ve done some corporate dates here and there and we’re booking some dates for the summer this year.

I think last time I spoke with you, Normal as the Next Guy [had come out] and I believe that was your last studio album.

Right.

So I’m just wondering in the five or so years since then what [the band has been doing].

Well, we did the Live From the Rock N’ Roll Funhouse CD and DVD, and then we did a live DVD last year called Live from the World Café, which was an HD television presentation that they did in 5.1, and that’s out on Universal. But no new product.

You know, the thing is, with a band like ours, we’re not going to be played on the radio with new material. I’m surprised you knew that there was a new album out even five years ago (laughs). Because music sells music and they don’t play it on the radio and there’s really no way of people finding out, except through surfing the web, that we’ve got some new record out. So there’s not much reason to do it. There may be, you know, 10,000 hardcore fans and unfortunately, on a financial level, it just doesn’t make sense to spend all that time and effort, to sell 10,000 records. I hate to break things down to an economic thing, but as I get older my time gets much more precious. And especially considering the stuff that I’m going through, I realize just how precious my time is and I have to weigh do I want to spend a month and half in the studio, pretty much every day, making a record that maybe 10,000 people will like. And on top of that, Berton, who doesn’t have any health concerns, doesn’t really want to do it (laughs).

In the wake of your success, labels went nuts trying to sign every pop band that was out there, and everyone wanted their own Knack. Many of those bands weren’t as good as you guys; a few of them were; a lot of them got lost in the shuffle. Were there any bands from that time period that stood out to you that you thought should have gotten a better shake?

None of the bands that didn’t make it I thought should have, frankly. I was never impressed too much. We weren’t part of that. We wore skinny ties but we weren’t part of any scene. We were our own thing. We were a rock and roll band. I always kind of resented the fact that we were blamed for this quote-unquote power pop or new wave movement that all the record companies jumped on. It was more of an indication of what the reality of the record business was and what record companies were all about, and look where it led them. They’re over. [The] record business is done – stick a fork in it. And, you know, good riddance as far as I’m concerned. Those were people who hated musicians and hated music and weren’t in it for the right reasons.

But the music… you know, I thought that all the bands that were great made it. Blondie, The Cars, Cheap Trick… who else from that era? Those were pretty much [it]. And us. Those were the bands that really made it from that group, and I thought all of us were really good. All those bands had hits and played good music and all of them are still operating. I mean, The Cars are operating with a different singer but it’s still that music. And Cheap Trick are still out doing it and I know Blondie has been out for a while.

Cheap Trick actually still sound fabulous.

Absolutely. They’re a great band, great musicians. The thing is, if you’re a good musician you should get better as you get older (laughs). And, you know, some bands don’t, I suppose. But they do and I believe we certainly have. I think The Knack is a better band today [than ever]. As good a band as we were back in ’79, I think we’re a better band in 2008.

I wanna ask you about a couple of specific Knack songs, not necessarily the obvious ones… just a couple of my favorites from over the years. One of them is “Terry and Julie Step Out.” What was the [motivation for that one]?

It was one of the first songs Berton and I ever wrote, back in probably 1974 when we first got together and started writing songs. I met Berton in ’73-’74, around that time, and we started writing songs together. [That song] was originally called “Daddy Turns the Volume Down,” and it had this guitar riff that Berton had come up with and… different lyrics, but some of the lyrics were the same. And we used the lick… we slowed the lick down, and used it on Round Trip for a song called “Soul Kissing.”

So we used it for “Soul Kissing” and then when we were writing [the album] Zoom, I played Berton a version, a demo version that we had cut of this song “Daddy Turns the Volume Down,” and I said maybe we should speed it up again and revisit this and write a song about it. At that time, there were all these bands that were sort of coming around and doing the power pop, paisley, psychedelic thing and it was just a comment about that, you know, sort of a cynical comment. A tongue in cheek, cynical comment about the bands who weren’t even alive in the first psychedelic era trying to capture that polka-dot shirt, puffy-sleeve thing.

Tell me about “Can’t Put a Price on Love.”

That’s one of my favorite songs that we ever wrote, actually. That [was] one of the only songs from the second album that didn’t exist at the time of the first album.

Really?

Yeah, because we had wanted to record a double album, and we had all the songs except for a couple for the second album. Get The Knack was [originally] supposed to be a double album, and Capitol wouldn’t let us do it because they said nobody [would] buy a double album from a new band. They were wrong, and it would have saved us a lot of grief had we been able to do that, but they wouldn’t let us do it. So we basically recorded the first album and then recorded all the songs from the second album, because we wanted to sort of clear the slate. And “Can’t Put a Price on Love” was written on our first US tour, actually in the bus. Berton and I were in the back of the bus and were playing our guitars… electric guitars just without amplifiers, and Berton came up with that lick and, you know, it was just an idea. It was just, “let’s write a song.” It didn’t have any kind of special lyrical significance, although I thought that the lyrics were good.

One last song I gotta ask you about. The last song on the last album was “The Man on The Beach.”

Well, that’s a song Berton wrote a number of years ago and it was his tribute to Brian Wilson. And we tried to record it as Brian would have recorded it, you know, circa Smile or Pet Sounds, that era. Unfortunately, I don’t have as good a voice as Brian or any of the Beach Boys, so it’s a less successful recording through my vocal limitations, but not due to the song. I think it’s a great song, but that’s one that Berton wrote all on his own.

That one I liked a lot. And it’s interesting, all the different kinds of music you guys have done.

It’s true. “My Sharona” casts a long shadow. Because of the success of that song, people have not gotten hip to so much of what we’ve done. And people don’t realize just how many hits we’ve had – and I’m not talking about just necessarily singles or chart hits, although we had five bona fide chart hits – I’m talking about songs that were played on the radio, songs that people know. You know, I’ve had people come backstage and say, “I came to see you ‘cause I remember ‘Good Girls Don’t’ and I remember ‘My Sharona,’ but while I was listening to the set I was thinking, ‘Well I know that song, I know that song…’ and go through 10 songs, and it’s true. The Knack had a lot of songs that, in our heyday, were very popular with a large audience.

Now the later songs… it’s neat to know that you have listened to Zoom and Normal as the Next Guy and songs from those albums. Truthfully, I think that Zoom is the best record that The Knack ever made. But, you know, only like 15,000 people bought that album, maybe 20,000.

But you know, what are you gonna do? In the scheme of things, I had a great career and, you know, how many people get to have anywhere near the kind of success that we’ve had. The band formed 30 years ago and here you are still talking about it. And we’re still out playing and people are still paying money to come see us play. And how many people get to do that in their life? And I’ve never had to get a job!

Your music still means a lot to a lot of people.

Well, thanks a lot. I really appreciate it.

-Dave Steinfeld

Hootie & the Blowfish’s sophomore set, Fairweather Johnson, arrived in 1996. While it certainly sold respectably, it did not approach the commercial heights of Cracked Rear View. And subsequent albums sold even less. By the turn of the millennium, though the band solidered on, many people had forgotten about Hootie & the Blowfish, largely due to changing trends. 

In 2002, Rucker released his solo debut, Back to Then. Unlike a Hootie & the Blowfish album, this disc leaned more toward soul. Rucker even dueted with Jill Scott on the song “Sometimes I Wonder.” But surprisingly, the album passed nearly unnoticed among both Hootie fans and soul aficionados.

Rucker’s second solo effort. Learn to Liv,e was released last fall, some six years after Back to Then. Unlike that release, Learn to Live is an out-and-out country album. Rucker released it on Capitol Records Nashville, collaborated with some of that town’s best-known writers and scored cameos from such country music heavyweights as Brad Paisley and Vince Gill. Also unlike Back to Then, Learn to Live is an unqualified success. The album’s first single, “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” hit number-one on the country charts, making Rucker the first African-American artist to pull this off since Charley Pride in 1983. Likewise, the album itself and the second single, “It Won’t Be Like This for Long,” have both topped the country charts.

It’s ironic that Rucker has had more success in traditionally “white” musical genres – especially now with country – than he did when he released a soul album. But then, he’s always been something of an anomaly, if a reluctant one. I recently caught up with Rucker when he called me from an airport during one his rare “free” moments. He struck me as a down-to-earth guy who would rather talk about how talented Radney Foster is than about race. But whether he’s done it consciously or not, Darius Rucker has brought people of different worlds a little bit closer together. Here are some excerpts from our conversation.

You’re having a lot of success right now in the country world.  When did the idea to record a country album first hit you? Was it recently or was it awhile back?

Years ago! Probably in the late ‘80s. I guess I started talking about it in the late ‘80s and, you know, it was just – I was into the music. We listened to a lot of it, I was really into Foster & Lloyd at the time. And I just wanted to make a country record. 

So in a sense, this [album] was 20 years in the making?

Yeah, in a sense. It just felt like – I don’t know. It was something that I always talked about and just never did ‘cause we were always doing something else. And you know, it was time, I guess. 

You recently became the first black artist to hit number-one on the country singles chart since Charley Pride, which was in ’83. I’m curious to get your thoughts on that.

When [“Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”] started getting into the Top 20 is when people started talking about that. You know, I never thought about it and if I had thought about it, I would have thought probably Trini Triggs or Cleve Francis, or one of those guys had a Top 20 at least! At first, it was just surprising and then, you know, you gotta feel good about it because you want success. 

People always ask me, ‘Is this gonna open doors for other African-American artists?’ I hope so. But, you know, I’m still trying to open the door for me. 

A few minutes ago, you mentioned Foster & Lloyd. In a couple of the interviews I’ve read with you, you’ve cited Radney Foster as one of your influences. I actually am more familiar with Bill Lloyd of the two. And I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about Radney, his music and what it’s meant to you.

Oh, Radney’s straight Texas country music. (laughs) You know, he writes amazing melodies and his songs were always great, but it was his voice that really did it for me. He’s got this huge country voice. That was what made me wanna do a country record, was hearing Radney sing “Crazy Over You” and thinking to myself, “God, that guy sounds like me, I can sing that.” And then he kept delivering the songs with Foster and Lloyd and then Faster and Llouder, you know? And then they break up and he puts out Del Rio, Texas and he puts out Labor of Love. He kept delivering. 

It seems like [Foster & Lloyd] sometimes don’t get the credit they deserve.

Oh, not sometimes. I think all the time. The only place they get the credit they deserve is [from] the people who are in the business.

Who are some of the other musicians that influenced you when you were a kid?

New Grass Revival. You know, Sam Bush and Bela Fleck and those guys were really big for me. Dwight Yoakam. The first time I heard “Little Ways,” I was hooked. And Dwight and I have that thing where neither one of us has ever heard a shuffle we didn’t love, you know? 

Nanci Griffith was [also] massive for me. I remember walking into work when I was working retail and hearing [a song] and walking halfway to the store and stopping and turning all the way back around to see who this was singing. And it was Nanci Griffith. Ever since then, I’ve been totally crazy about her. 

One song [from Learn to Live] that I wanted to ask you about specifically was “It Won’t Be Like This for Long.” In addition to being one of the singles, it’s one that grabbed me because it has a really sweet sentiment to it that reminded me almost of “Cats in the Cradle” [by Harry Chapin]. 

Oh yeah, cool! I’ll take [that]. 

What was the impetus for that song?

My kids. Me and the guys I was on the road with, we were just sitting around talking about kids and we all had kids, about the same [number] and we decided to write a lullaby and we wrote “It Won’t Be Like This for Long.” 

As far as the other guys from Hootie & the Blowfish, are you still in touch with them? Are there any plans [for another album?]

Oh yeah, we just played six gigs last month. We still have a bunch of charity stuff that [we’re involved in]… I’m sure there’s another Hootie & the Blowfish record on the horizon, but I don’t know when. I got a few more country records to make. 

This could be a coincidence, but the fact that you’re hitting number one now, 25 years after Charley Pride, within months of America electing Barack Obama – in terms of race and America, do you think the country is getting more open-minded in general? 

I think the younger generation is definitely a lot more open-minded than when I was young. You know, where I live is a lot more open-minded than when I was young and I guess that proves it, with Barack Obama being President. I would have told you pretty much until Election Day that it wasn’t gonna happen. 

-Dave Steinfeld