I-95 Drive Home Mystery Artist [VIDEO]

Tonight's mystery artists were ridiculed by journalists and because of that had their career stopped in its tracks regardless of the quality of their music. Any guess who our slighted band may be??

In a September 2015 interview between Musoscribe journalist Bill Kopp and The Knack’s lead guitarist Berton Averre, who composed or co-wrote of many of the Knack’s songs, recalled what they felt happened to the band’s momentum.

Kopp noted, “it’s very strange how quickly the band seemed to fall out of favor. It wasn’t as if the style had played itself out; power pop/new wave was still big when MTV kicked off. But The Knack was left behind, prevented from enjoying (and benefiting from) the heightened visibility that MTV offered.”

Berton Averre added, “From a personal standpoint, it was traumatic. “It was bewildering how things could turn around as quickly as they did.” He went on to say, “I did understand why,” Because what happened was, there were a certain number of people who didn’t like the band. That’s common: some people love a band, some don’t. The guys and gals who didn’t like us happened to be – among others – journalists. Basically, they had the power of the pen, and they would ridicule us.” And their ridicule had a very real effect. “Once you become a joke, that sticks. And it’s hard – if not impossible – to climb back from it.”

Good news for The Knack fans, in 2015, Grammy-winning label Omnivore Recordings has rescued three discs from their undeserved, ignominious obscurity, and  made them available to modern-day listeners and ones who liked the Knack back in ’79. Discs include The Knack’s Zoom (1998), 2001’s Normal as the Next Guy, and – also from 2001 – Live From the Rock ‘n’ Roll Funhouse.

Tonight's featured song: