(Doug Fieger - 1952-2010)

When I heard the news this morning about the death of Doug Fieger, after a long, seemingly endless series of struggles with Cancer, it still came as a shock. As my colleague John Amato has said, Doug was a truly great human being who was of inestimable help to so many - by his word, his actions and his deeds. He was a serious musician who maybe got pigeonholed by his overwhelming success with The Knack, destined to be forever remembered as the guy who gave us "My Sharona". But sometimes we skip over all the essential parts of the person and focus on the glossy bits, the ones that perhaps aren't so important in the long run. Where Doug as a friend to many and a quiet inspiration to more than he'll ever know will stay a lot longer than the notes will.

But still Doug was an incredible talent, spending his life in the service of music. This track, as way of a tribute to Doug, comes from his earliest days, while still in high school, recording two albums for RCA as the band Sky. Don't Want Nobody comes from their second lp Sailor's Delight, written by Doug with production by Jimmy Miller. The Knack would be years off and galaxies away. This was Doug as I first heard him and that's how I remember him.

Thank you Doug for your quiet strength, your dignity and your incredible courage. You will be sorely missed.