Exactly, it was so huge. It seems like a different world back then before the internet took over everything

B/c it's a great song. Catchy drum & bass beat and a killer guitar solo.

True. I was so sick of it.

Too MUCH airplay- end of 7th grade in 1979- a great song to hear once in a while....but when it came out it was on EVRY hour, EVERY day on EVERY station and got to be annoying...

Hard to imagine they had never heard this. Played hourly for a whole year !

Yes!

Aye, a fantastic solo.

Was the long guitar solo on the radio edit? I can't remember hearing it that long before. It's a good solo!

no... there is shortened version of the solo.. which cuts out a BIG chunk. I hate that version. I hate this song.. It's is so corny with no substance... and then this killer solo comes out of nowhere and saves this song from aging into obscurity....

One of my favorites solos. I tend to shy away from 'stabby' solos that are only for teqnical skills. I love the flow and passion of a solo. Roy Clark Malaguina ? Blue Oyster Cult , live Veteran of the Pysic Wars Black Sabbath Planet Caravan , really toni Iomi is a master at this. and many more lesser known solos

I hated how catchy it was, almost felt tricked. It was played so often it made me hate it for years. And I really don’t like power pop songs. After many years, I begrudgingly gave it a different kind of listen . . . and understood why it was so good and that it was okay for it to be catchy. I liked it, hated it because it gobbled up so much air time, and decades later liked it again. But I never loved it, because it just doesn’t do to me what I need music to do for me: either grab me by the crotch, heart or brain.

Exactly

Very true. Another song that happened to was "Smooth". I got to the point where I avoided it for years. Then I heard it again a couple years ago and I remembered how great it is.

I never loathed it...for some reason! 😊

100%. Even now when I hear the song, I cringe, even though I know it's a good song.

Also in the late 70s OTHER THAN DISCO

The whole Get The Knack album is great

They need to react to that one. So weird, fun and wonderful. Watched the b52s perform that live at the Minnesota Zoo

The biggest hit of 1979, number 1 for the year.. but the album.. was perfect..

Berton Averre on guitar!!!!

Kinda reminds me of stuff Elliott Easton was during around that time but with more bars in the song to stretch out in.

Yes!! And it could be only heard with the album version! The crappy radio edit cuts out much of that solo. Crime against humanity!

Lol, I was like, damn, how many timelines did I jumped?!😆

First thing I saw was the E instead of A. Pedants of the world unite 🙌

Yeah, that solo should be ranked right up there with any solo by Clapton or any other guitar "god."

Second to My,Bologna - Weird Al Yankovic Which they most defintley should now cover!

Berton Averre's solo is still one of my all-time favourites all these years later. I love it when the album version comes on wherever I'm listening ... that extra 45 seconds of solo just takes the song to a whole other level.

Exactly!

I love this solo, it's beautifully thought out and structured, yet have to say I think I'd heard every individual lick before (speaking as an oldster) kinda like how the basic riff is a simplified version of LZ's Immigrant Song. Still, My Sharona is timeless perfection to me.

Actually, that is impressive. I am duly impressed. I was 18 when this came out; went well on party mix tapes. One to get the guys up!

That's actually MORE likely to make it a banger, rather than making it more difficult for it to rock out this hard. Back in the day it was a pretty common thing and many bands (for instance Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) did it.

And outrageous guitar solo.

Not even a littlew surprised. They were listening to each other and reacting to each other.

Srsly? I didn't know that. It's tight as hell.

Oh yea it was, huge!! On the radio always. Oh and LOL, they were called the new Beatles!!

No 1 song of 1979?!!! I believe. Loved how The Knack dressed...

ITs known to be a 70s song ,It Was the number 1 song of 1979

Yes they did.

Maybe, but I would have to credit the Mighty Van Halen 1 yr prior for killing disco.

Do you remember the disco destruction at Comiskey baseball park? Blew up a huge pile of Disco records , crowd went wild and tore up the field. WLS Chicago heyday.

That's a good thing, right?

@@MetalMcfly I think I understand your logic and would want to agree with it. But then I'm immediately struck by the fact that the same could be said of AC/DC who were already a bigger band by 1979. These two bands took years creating a following that by 1978/79 had swelled considerably in the US. And yet disco was still talked about and thriving. My Sharona hit the radio by the end of the year and was inescapable towards Christmas. Ultimately The Knack became a flash in the pan story whereas Van Halen and AC/DC are not. But history is funny like that. To think that the popularity of rock n roll started with Bill Haley & The Comets' Rock Around The Clock. Hardly the band to represent all of rock's penchant for juvenile delinquency, is it? I don't recall much fuss about disco in the eighties save the Disco Sucks banners that made people laugh. But that's my recollection of things. I realize that in other places, acceptance and rejections of trends, especially commercially promoted trends, may differ significantly.

Clem Burke is a drum beast!

Yes! And, Mr.Handleman and Radiating love.

Absolutely - Good Girls Don't was such a staple for me in High School

I dig "Good Girls Don't" & IDGAS but A&A would probably have some BS gender or feminist all over their azz crying to cancel these dudes for reacting to that jam! Blah,ha!! "That you know you can't erase, 'Til she's sitting on your face." Yada! yada! yada!

Which is also why no one else has done a "Good Girls Don't" reaction.

@@216Numbskull Perhaps but frankly there's much worse stuff out today...

YES! Donnie Iris!

"Ah Leah" is insanely great. I too was in high school when these songs came out. I bought the Donnie Iris album when it came out, and wasn't disappointed.

Ah, Leah, yes, Pleeeaase

"Love is Like a Rock" is great, too!

Absolutely YES! “Ah Leah!”

Absolutely!!!

I FULLY AGREE!!

I mentioned above, this song is always an S plus with me, always and I wish they would have gone there. That’s alright though, we lived through this time and what a hell of a time the late 70’s and early 80’s were, if I could go back to any time period in my life it would be then. 😎

Even with their A/A+ rating, they sort of missed the boat on this one.

100%...very underrated guitar solo

Before Weird Al, our high school friends changed it to "my scrotum"

class of 75 our anthem band was Montrose amazing what 4 short years did to the Rock Pop culture.

A great genre. Definitely need to hear Go All the Way by The Raspberries!

@@adamp2029 Yes definitely. The Raspberries would go over well I think. I was at a power pop listening party on Discord a few Thursday's back About 20 people shared songs, and we had so many in our own vaults that we did a part two that Saturday. It was power pop overload and fatigue, but trust me every song played was 🔥

The Records - Starry Eyes is another one.

@@douglasfrantzen3011 Amazing song. Remember Flamin' Groovies? "Shake Some Action" would be great too

@@susanklasinski1805 Yes, love that song too. Really evokes some emotion when listening to it.

Saw the Knack in Detroit right after the album hit big. Great show, lots of energy and if I remember correctly, a packed house at a 4k seat music theater.

@@chrisstonehouse92 What a great memory to have!

The song was great but the album was legendary.. right on

I was thinking My Toyota. Now I gotta look it up and figure this dilemma out.

It was Weird Al's first single and was eventually re-recorded on his first album. The original single was just him on accordiin, which was recorded in a bathroom.

@@mustangdebbie56 I thought Weird Al's first one was "Another One Rides the Bus"- I heard it premiere on Dr. Demento. But this one was one of his really early ones.

@@Sunfell My Bologna was released in 1979. Another One Rides the Bus in 1981. His first song played on Dr Demento was Belvedere Cruisin' in 1976.

Eric Carmen! They did a live recorded comeback show in 2005 on Sunset Strip. They rocked this song again.

That song helped me go from being an AM radio, top 40-hearing little kid to digging hard rock

Still a great song to hear.

Power Pop is one of my favorite styles, but I just can't get into Go All The Way. It starts out great with that tough riff, then the verses come in and, man, it suddenly becomes so wimpy. Raspberries had better songs, Just my opinion.

@@shoogerkane I'm not a big fan of that tune either. But, it's better than having to listen to "All By Myself" that's for sure. That song will make you wanna blow your brains out! Terrible...

Love that song! I also liked the song, I got a new girl now, but I can't remember who sang it?

Americas answer to the Kinks? Lmfao. Time has settled that one.

Yes, snowflakes today would have “canceled” The Knack for their creepy lyrics. They dressed like the next coming of The Beatles but that wasn’t happening. I first heard this song at a roller rink and soon bought the album. Yes, they pretty much were a one-hit wonder. “Good Girls Don’t” might have cracked Top 40, not sure. Andy & Alex liked the rhythm guitar. I think lead singer Doug played rhythm guitar?

@@straycatttt2766 "Good Girls Don't" made it to #11 on the US charts, so technically they were a two-hit wonder. :-) This one seems to be the song most people remember nowadays, though.

Solid all the way through! Lucinda is a favorite!

That's exactly my memory from my narrow-minded, heavy-rocking dumb teenaged self. I very soon began to appreciate the new wave.

Yes, there is a fine line between power pop and rock. There are groups that were considered power pop but if you listen to more than just their hits you'll discover some pretty good rock.

I really don't recall "most rock fans hated this song" I was around 17 when this came out and definitely got into it big time as did my friends. I was more of a prog rock fan (Genesis, Jethro Tull Yes etc) but I think it was such a great relief from the short lived Disco thing that was happening at that time.

And her photo was on the cover of the single

Yes Sharona but hey its Americans spelling , say no more !!!!

@@aldoesposito8195 yes the one with the see through top.

She was also very underage. Most people miss that he's singing about preferring underage girls.

Wasn’t she 16 and he was 26?

Hay mr Tim Did you NOT like Boston Van HALEN Kiss Acdc The Eagles Areosmith The Cars The Police Toto The Rolling Stones Mjs Off the Wall lp in 1979 , Kiss ,,,,,,This is just a small sample ...... of other music that you did not have to be tortured with from 1975 to 1980

@@theodoreritola7641 You ask a good question. Of all the bands you listed The Police and The Rolling Stones were the only ones to hold my interest during that period. The other bands may have had individually good songs, but collectively, they didn't resonate with me. I went through a period where I was bored with album rock. The Knack came out and I liked their punkish vibe, their energy.

I have to say I was never tortured by disco. There are inspiring and awesome elements in all forms of music. A great transition here, a cool riff there, horns, violins, sweet vocal harmonies. Usually top-tier orchestration too, usually. There is almost always something to be treasured.

I’m with you on the disco thing. I turned 20 in 1975, so I remember those years well. I hated most disco.

@@theodoreritola7641 Loved then, and still do, all those bands. They got me through the tacky disco years.

Demento

Yes, this song inspired young Alfred Yankovic (age 17) to go into the dorm bathroom with his accordion and record "My Bologna" and send the tape to Dr. Demento. The rest is history.

I turned 13 in 1980!

@@sallyphillips9175 same

New Wave was already alive & very well in the late '70s. You were too young to know that at the time.

Yes! You put it so well.

13 in 1980 as well and this was HUGE!

I remember two upperclassmen in high school who swore this song was the worst thing to happen to rock in forever. Talk about getting it wrong...

@@jamie4993 That's what I'm saying.. It caused factions in music, but to me it was a game changer. There's a handful of songs every so often that come around that do something like this. If it gets too mainstream you're considered a "sellout" and everybody always has an opinion when you become number one.

This commentary is a spot on account of what is was like for an anti-disco young rock lover. Great job TB.

Me: **cough** Van Halen **cough** AC/DC Back In Black and Van Halen 1 & 2 kicked the door open for hard rock in the late 70s/early 80s. There's a reason why The Knack was a 1 hit wonder compared to Van Halen and AC/DC.

@@swordmonkey6635 oh for sure... I'm just conveying the state of Music at the time. Remember Rod Stewart, The Stones, Kiss all did Disco. Rock music was in a shift. of course 🤘Van Halen🤘 was still really new, but all the old guards were gone Sabbath fired Ozzy, Kiss sucked, Alice Cooper was gone Ted Nugent was in his last hurray... Led Zeppelin was over. Keith Moon died Bon Scott died Aerosmith was broken up all the older bands from the late '60s and '70s were gone. I'm not saying that My Sharona saved rock and roll but it helped some people away from the disco scene in late 79 and brought us over to 1980. And then Back in Black and Blizzard of Oz hit and we never looked back 🤘

Great call. "Zoom" is a terrific album in its own right!

Born to die

Hey cool name. Is it a homage? Oh I do hope so as I am a Zevon fangirl. I think A&A need to deep dive Warren soon. SOON and not base anything on Werewolves.

@@DawnSuttonfabfour it came up in a dream. I don’t remember the context, but thought that would make an unusual alias. I don’t know much about Mr Zevon’s music outside of Werewolves. Is there an album in particular that you would recommend? I am always looking for something new (to me) to listen to.

@@zevongrie1402 All of 'em. He's a wordsmith, witty, auto and semi autobiographical songs (he lived a VERY interesting life). Oh and other musicians LOVE him. I will happily give you a playlist but if you want just start at the beginning and keep on going. There is a dedicated official channel on YT. It's a great alias, however you came by it.

And then their last Top 40 song "Baby Talks Dirty" which is well regarded as a career killer for them from their second album.

My Jensen Triaxials were cranked to 11!!

Many thanks for that. 🤣🤣

It really jams me up when you hear it on the radio and they just cut the solo.

@Crow T. Robot, we all know that Detroit audiences are the greatest rock 'n' roll audiences in the world!!! Some of the best music/artists came Detroit!!! Grew up across the border in Windsor, On and was always in Detroit and surrounding areas for concerts Gotta say, thanks, Detroit, thanks for the memories!!😀👍❤✌

@@lynnschnekenburger7270 You Windsorites are pretty awesome, too!