“My Sharona” is a 1979 rock hit by The Knack that served as the lead single from their debut album Get the Knack. Written by lead singer Doug Fieger and guitarist Berton Averre, the song is widely considered one of the defining hits of the late 1970s power pop revival and was the best-selling single of 1979 in the United States.
Inspiration and Composition
The song was inspired by Sharona Alperin, a 17-year-old clothing store clerk whom Fieger met in 1978. Despite Fieger being in a relationship at the time, he pursued Alperin intensely, eventually breaking up with his girlfriend to date Alperin. The track’s iconic guitar riff was originally developed by Averre, but Fieger transformed it into a song by adding the stuttering vocal hook and lyrics that captured his immediate infatuation. Although Fieger claimed the song was written from the perspective of a 14-year-old boy, it was completed in approximately 15 minutes after the music and lyrics clicked.
Production and Legacy
Produced by Mike Chapman at MCA Whitney Studios, the recording process was rapid, with the entire Get the Knack album completed in just 11 days to capture the band’s raw energy. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks in August 1979. Its success helped launch The Knack to instant fame, though the band is often categorized as a “one-hit wonder” in popular culture. Alperin, who posed for the single’s cover art, later became a successful real estate agent and remained friends with Fieger until his death from cancer in 2010.
[Intro]
[Verse 1]
Ooh, my little pretty one, pretty one
When you gonna give me some time, Sharona?
Ooh, you make my motor run, my motor run
Gun it coming off of the line, Sharona
[Chorus]
Never gonna stop, give it up, such a dirty mind
I always get it up for the touch of the younger kind
My, my, my, I, yi, woo!
M-m-m-my Sharona
[Verse 2]
Come a little closer, huh, ah, will ya, huh?
Close enough to look in my eyes, Sharona
Keeping it a mystery gets to me
Running down the length of my thighs, Sharona
[Chorus]
Never gonna stop, give it up, such a dirty mind
I always get it up for the touch of the younger kind
My, my, my, I, yi, woo!
M-m-m-my Sharona
M-m-m-my Sharona
[Instrumental]
[Verse 3]
When you gonna get to me, get to me?
Is it just a matter of time, Sharona?
Is it j-just destiny, d-destiny
Or is it just a game in my mind, Sharona?
[Chorus]
Never gonna stop, give it up, such a dirty mind
I always get it up for the touch of the younger kind
My, my, my, I, yi, woo!
M-m-m-my my my, I, yi, woo!
M-m-m-my Sharona
M-m-m-my Sharona
M-m-m-my Sharona
M-m-m-my Sharona
[Instrumental]
[Outro]
Ooh, my Sharona
Ooh, my Sharona
Ooh, my Sharona
