The Knack's Doug Fieger -- in memorium

Doug Fieger, lead singer and songwriter of the successful and influential power pop band The Knack, died on Valentine's Day after a long battle with lung cancer. It's a very sad end to an amazing musical life.

I knew he was sick during this time, but he still continued to give interviews. He gave a terrific one in January 2008 to Vintage Guitar magazine about his amazing collection of equipment, growing up loving rock and roll, and the impact of the classic single "My Sharona." There was no mention of his illness in the article.

"You can have the same equipment, but unless you've got Jimmy Page's fingers, you ain't gonna sound like Jimmy Page," Fieger says. "Still, as a collector, I like having what a lot of the players that inspired me had."

According to the obituary that appeared in his hometown Detroit News newspaper, Fieger told the paper just last month, "I don't know any better than anyone else when I'm going. I've had 10 great lives. And I expect to have some more. I don't feel cheated in any way, shape or form."

The Knack's premiere album, Get The Knack, sold 6 million copies and brought back a love for 60's-era British invasion guitar rock and roll to the world. Although their aping of the Beatles caused a huge backlash and ridiculous expectations for the band's second album, they kept plugging away making great music and giving no quarter.

If you have any doubts of the staying power of "My Sharona," then you can remember the funny scene from the 1994 film "Reality Bites" (shown below) or that the song is featured in an edition of the video game Guitar Hero.

Their third album, Round Trip, produced by Jack Douglas (Aerosmith, John Lennon), gave them a bigger, in-your-face sound, and featured one of my favorites of theirs, a tour de force called "Africa."

Leaving Capitol for Charisma for the one off Serious Fun, old Detroit buddy Don Was roughed up the band's sound, gave the guitars more edge, but the songs were still there, like "Rocket o' Love" and the title cut.

The band continued releasing records periodically with mixed results, such as Zoom and Normal As The Next Guy.

What Fieger should be remembered for is finding a grand musical vision and sticking with it. Clearly, he was mesmerized by the melodic rock songwriting of the 60's, grew up learning how to play and collecting these instruments that mean so much to him. Even when the critics turned on The Knack and eventually the public went along, he still believed in the three-minute rock song with hooks and harmonies, lots of guitars, and the angst of a teenager.

I own a wonderful DVD the Knack did in 2002 called Live From The Rock 'n' Roll Fun House, where three quarters of the original band do a fantastic staged run through of many of their great songs.

Below is a video memorial for Doug Fieger and The Knack, starting with a local cable interview he did in Rhode Island. You'll notice that a number of these performances were from the past few years, when Fieger was battling cancer, but that did not stop him. Rest in piece, Mr. Fieger.

Ted Nugent -- "Cat Scratch Fever" (1977)

Ted Nugent -- aka "The Nuge" aka "The Motor City Madman" -- always provided the most entertaining funniest interviews in 70's rock magazines, hands down. There were plenty of loud hard rock acts touring incessantly to every arena dump in the land, and plenty of them could come up with dumb double-entendre song titles that could rival any hair metal band.

Nugent, however, had nothing extraordinary about him except his over-the-top personality, worship of hunting, calling everybody else a wussy, and misogynist treatment of women.

Let's just go through some of Nugent's song title catalog to get an idea of what he was contributing to American culture in his first heyday: "Turn It Up," "Hard As Nails," "Violent Love," "Spit It Out," "Snake Charmer," "Bite Down Hard," and the mightily subtle "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang" (these are just titles, the lyrics truly open up these concepts!).

So he's touring and making records, and with some luck actually comes up with a few minor FM tunes produced by unsung rock producer Tom Werman ("Dog Eat Dog," "Free For All," "Strangehold").

Along the way, he's the definition of Mr. Quotable in every rock magazine at the time, like this gem from an August 1977 issue of Rolling Stone when Japanese journalists walk into his Philadelphia hotel room: "Tell them Nips that I've never read anything about me from Japan that wasn't disgusting bullshit." Later, he screams at them: "Animals were put here for human beings to use! Anyone who says that man is not a predator is a sap."

One can easily devote an entire web site to Ted Nugent quotes. But I digress from the music....

The stars align for Nugent on the title song of his 1977 Epic album Cat Scratch Fever -- a completely original guitar riff of an A chord climbing up to the C chord keeping the A bass. It's a wicked package of trademark 70's hard rock with a highly distorted solo, the shaker moving in on the solo (an old Rolling Stones trick), and a theatrical double-fake ending. This was his one big breakthrough top 40 hit, deservedly so for the best thing he ever wrote. Oh, and let's sample those lyrics...

Well I don't know where they come from
But they sure do come
I hope they comin' for me
And I don't know how they do it
But they sure do it good
I hope they doin' it for free

They give me cat scratch fever
Cat scratch fever

The first time that I got it
I was just ten years old
I got it from some kitty next foor
I went and see the doctor and
He gave me the cure
I think I got it some more

They give me cat scratch fever
Cat scratch fever

You wanna see a taste of The Nuge in his 70's white-spandex pants, no shirt, spiked amulets, mile long hair, real animal tail hanging off his butt, Gibson-totin' prime? Feast your eyes on the classic 1978 clip when he hosted the "Midnight Special" TV show. Check out the acts performing on the show that night (AC/DC, Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, Golden Earring, REO Speedwagon, Thin Lizzy!), all announced by the late great Wolfman Jack!