There are several bands called The Knack. For the less famous ones: see bel… Read Full Bio ↴There are several bands called The Knack. For the less famous ones: see below. The by far most famous and successful ones were the 'My Sharona' guys from Detroit, MI, United States.

1. The Knack was an American new wave/power pop band from Detroit, Michigan, based in Los Angeles. They rose to fame with their first single, "My Sharona", which was an international hit in 1979. The power pop of "My Sharona", coupled with the band's retro 60s look, earned the band comparisons to The Beatles (though the band members themselves viewed the 'New Beatles' label as tongue-in-cheek). Many music critics hated disco, which dominated the music industry at the time, and were, at best, coolly receptive to other developing trends like punk, electronica, and heavy metal.

The Knack's hard rock influences earned them some critical credibility and massive commercial success with their debut album, 1979's 'Get The Knack'. The band had formed in May 1978, known at first as '20/20', and, after shopping their demo tape to various record labels without success, they began playing the local club circuit. Quickly gaining a following as musicians such as Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen praised them, they finally signed with Capitol Records in January 1979. Reaching #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, 'Get The Knack' has earned praise for decades, with Kurt Cobain in particular claiming it as one of his top fifty albums of all time.

While fans praised their new wave and power pop fueled sound, many critics still found issues with the group's in-your-face image in their lyrics, with accusations of misogyny popping up. After subsequent releases, the social backlash against the Knack (similar to that of The Monkees a generation earlier) was strong. Dave Marsh of 'Rolling Stone' in particular wrote, "In Fieger's lyrics, women are literally commodities whose chief purpose is to be brutalized." A 'Knuke the Knack' campaign emerged based on that as well as the perceived corporate-based over-hype. With their second album, '...But the Little Girls Understand', getting less commercial success (doing well, but not up to expectations), the band broke up mid-tour on New Year’s Day 1982. Besides the turmoil around the group, they also faced near total burnout among themselves, particularly given Fieger's drugs-heavy lifestyle, and the band members reportedly hadn't the energy to do much of anything after their third album, 'Round Trip', came out.

They re-united sporadically several years later and released a new album on January 16, 1991, titled 'Serious Fun'. A comeback accompanied by a public reunion and tour, it failed to reach either commercial or critical success but resulted in the hit single "Rocket O' Love", which reached #9 in Billboard's Mainstream Rock Chart. They continued playing through the 90s and into the new millennium, with 2003's 'Re-Zoom' (or 'Zoom') being their last studio album. Commercial airplay mostly eluded the group over the 90s, but a generation of new fans who loved 80s-era new wave music provided a devoted cult following. Lead singer and main songwriter Doug Fieger was diagnosed with cancer in 2005. Fieger battled the disease until his death on Valentine's Day 2010.

Fieger, a native of Detroit, Michigan, had previously played in a country rock band called Sky. Of the three other original members of the Knack (Berton Averre - Guitar, Prescott Niles - Bass, and Bruce Gary - Drums), Averre and Niles remained with the group as it ended. Gary died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2006. Several drummers had played for the group over the years, including Billy Ward (Serious Fun album), Terry Bozzio (Zoom album), and David Henderson as 'Holmes Jones' (Normal as the Next Guy and Live at the Rock N Roll Funhouse albums). Pat Torpey (Mr. Big) played the drums for the group right before they ended.

There are other artists with the same name:

2. The Knack was a short-lived 1960s American psych/garage band from Los Angeles, CA. They recorded for Capitol Records. Formed in 1965, the band comprising Mike Chain (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Dink Kaplan (lead guitar, backing vocals), Larry Gould (bass, backing vocals) and Pug Baker (drums), formally débuted at The Ice House in October 1966 and released four singles in total, of which Time Waits For No One was the best-seller. They toured throughout the U.S. but worked most frequently in Hollywood.

3. The Knack was a mid-60's British band originally known as The Londoners, a moniker they adopted whilst paying their beat group dues in the clubs of Germany in the early 60s. Upon returning to the UK in 1965 and changing their name to the rather hipper The Knack (after the recently released Richard Lester film), they recorded half a dozen singles for Decca and Piccadilly including the mod R&B ravers "She Ain't No Good", "Time Time Time" and "Stop!". Their final single, "(Man From The) Marriage Guidance And Advice Bureau", featured a more mature acoustic sound, which nodded towards both The Kinks and the impending psychedelic explosion. They broke up in 1967 and leader Paul Gurvitz formed the band The Gun.

Girl I Never Lied to You
The Knack Lyrics

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Corey-Byrom

Picking up the pieces
They're shattered all around me
I'm looking at a photograph
And it hurts so bad
Girl I never lied to you
But I wish I had

I hear there's people talking
I know just what they're saying
You read it in a magazine
And it's never any good
Girl I never lied to you
but I wish I could

Sitting in this lonely room
Sometimes I wonder why
To think that I could hold you now
All I had to do was lie

Picking up the pieces
To put them back together
I never meant to hurt you girl
And you never understood
Girl I never lied to you
Now I wish I could

Sitting in this lonely room
Sometimes I wonder why
To think that I could hold you now
All I had to do was lie

Picking up the pieces
To put them back together
I never meant to hurt you girl
And you never understood
Girl I never lied to you
Now I wish I could

Girl I never lied to you
Girl I never lied

Girl I never lied to you
Girl I never lied

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of The Knack's song "Girl I Never Lied to You" express the pain and regret of a man who has lost the love of his life. He is looking at a photograph, which contains the pieces of their shattered relationship, and it hurts him deeply. Despite his undeniable love for her, he confesses that he wishes he had lied to her because it would have been easier for her and him. He hears people talking about him, probably saying bad things about him, and he knows what they mean because he has read it in a magazine. He wishes he could deny everything that the people are saying about him, even if it means lying. He is sitting in a lonely room, feeling sorry for what he has done, and wondering why he did not lie when he had the chance. He admits that all he had to do was lie to keep her with him, but he couldn't bring himself to do so, and now he is struggling to pick up the pieces and put them back together. The man never meant to hurt her or make her feel betrayed, and he wishes he could take it all back. However, he can't, and so he is left with only regret.

The song is relatable because it resonates with the audience who might have gone through the same experience of losing someone special. It is an emotional song that speaks of the pain of losing love, and the regret of not holding on to it when it was there.

Line by Line Meaning

Picking up the pieces
Trying to fix what I've broken

They're shattered all around me
Everything is a complete mess

I'm looking at a photograph
Seeing a memory of what we had

And it hurts so bad
The pain is unbearable

Girl I never lied to you
I always told you the truth

But I wish I had
Maybe it would have been easier if I had lied

I hear there's people talking
Rumors are spreading about us

I know just what they're saying
I'm aware of what people are saying

You read it in a magazine
The rumors are even being printed in the media

And it's never any good
The rumors are never positive

Sitting in this lonely room
Feeling alone and isolated