Good Girls Don’t – The Knack | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#11); 1979
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
When Get The Knack locked onto #1 for five weeks in late summer, 1979, the Knack were suddenly the hottest thing around. For singer/guitarist Doug Fieger it had a been a long time since he’d first graced the charts with Sky, a rock trio from Detroit that had reached #160 with its self-titled debut LP in 1971.
After a second album, Sailor’s Delight, sank, the band had disbanded, and that was that until Fieger’s stunning success with Get The Knack. Two weeks after the album hit the top, debut single My Sharona did likewise on the Hot 100.
Sharona was only two weeks into its six week run at #1 when follow-up Good Girls Don’t debuted. The dueling singles passed each other in the Top 20 on October 27th, and on November 10th Good Girls Don’t peaked at #11.
Get The Knack went on to move two million copies past the registers, and My Sharona was the year’s top single. The Knack faded just as quickly as they’d risen, and called it a day in 1982.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Mike Chapman
Lyrics Written by:
- Doug Fieger
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).