The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by
Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...
in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks with drummer
David Robinson
David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...
(later of
The Cars
The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes (keyboards), ...
) and keyboardist
Jerry Harrison
Jeremiah Griffin Harrison (born February 21, 1949) is an American songwriter, musician, producer, and entrepreneur. He began his professional music career as a member of the cult band the Modern Lovers before becoming keyboardist and guitarist ...
(later of
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.[Talkin ...](_blank)
). The sound of the band owed a great deal to the influence of
the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...
, and is now sometimes classified as "
proto-punk
Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music played mostly by garage bands from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock movement. The phrase is a retrospective label; the musicians involved were generally not originally associated wit ...
". It pointed the way towards much of the
punk rock,
new wave,
alternative
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film
* ''The Alternative ...
and
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
music of later decades. Their only album, the eponymous ''
The Modern Lovers
The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks w ...
'', contained idiosyncratic songs about dating awkwardness, growing up in
, love of life, and the USA.
Later, between 1976 and 1988, Richman used the name Modern Lovers for a variety of backing bands, always billed as "Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers". These bands were quieter and featured more low-key, often near-childlike songs as Richman drew on
folk-rock and other genres. Of Richman's original bandmates, only Robinson was part of any of the other Modern Lovers incarnations.
The original Modern Lovers, 1970–1974
Richman grew up in
Natick, Massachusetts
Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...
, a suburb of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, and began playing guitar and writing songs in his mid-teens, first performing solo in public in 1967.
[Boston Rock Storybook – Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers]
He became enamored of the Velvet Underground while he was still in high school, and after graduating in 1969, he moved to New York City where he became personally acquainted with the band and on one occasion opened the bill for them. Richman spent a couple of weeks sleeping on Velvets’ manager
Steve Sesnick's sofa before moving into the Hotel Albert, a residence known for its poor conditions.
[Tim Mitchell, There's Something About Jonathan, 1999, ]
After nine months in New York, and a trip to Europe and Israel, Richman moved back to his native Boston. With his childhood friend, guitarist
John Felice
The Real Kids are an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, United States, led by guitarist, singer and songwriter John Felice.
Career
Felice (born 1955) grew up in Natick, Massachusetts, as a neighbor and friend of Jonathan Richman, a ...
, he organized a band modeled after the Velvets. They quickly recruited drummer
David Robinson
David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...
and bass player Rolfe Anderson, and christened themselves "The Modern Lovers". They played their first date, supporting
Andy Paley
Andrew Douglas Paley (born November 2, 1952) is an American songwriter, record producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist who formed the Paley Brothers, a 1970s power pop duo, with his brother Jonathan Paley. Following their disbandment, And ...
’s band the Sidewinders, in September 1970, barely a month after Richman's return. By this time their setlist already included such noted Richman songs as "
Roadrunner
The roadrunners (genus ''Geococcyx''), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States and Mexico, us ...
", "She Cracked" and "Hospital". Richman's unique character was immediately apparent; he wore short hair and often performed wearing a jacket and tie, and frequently improvised new lyrics and monologues.
In early 1971 Anderson and Felice departed; they were replaced by
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
students bassist Ernie Brooks, and keyboardist
Jerry Harrison
Jeremiah Griffin Harrison (born February 21, 1949) is an American songwriter, musician, producer, and entrepreneur. He began his professional music career as a member of the cult band the Modern Lovers before becoming keyboardist and guitarist ...
, completing the classic lineup of the Modern Lovers. This new configuration became very popular in the Boston area, and by the fall of 1971, enthusiastic word-of-mouth led to the Modern Lovers' first exposure to a major label when Stuart Love of
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
contacted them and organized the band's first multi-track session at Intermedia Studio in Boston. The demo produced from this session, and the group's live performances, generated more attention from the industry, including rave reviews from critic
Lillian Roxon
Lillian Roxon (8 February 1932 – 10 August 1973) was a noted Australian journalist and author, best known for ''Lillian Roxon's Rock Encyclopedia'' (1969).
From Italy to Australia, then the USA
She was born Lillian Ropschitz in Alassio, Provi ...
, and soon
A&M Records
A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
was interested in the band as well.
In April 1972, the Modern Lovers traveled to Los Angeles where they held two demo sessions: the first was produced by the Velvet Underground's
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
for Warner Bros. while the second was produced by
Allan Mason for A&M. These sessions were later used on the band's debut album. While in California the band also performed live, and one gig at the Long Branch Saloon in
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
* George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer ...
was later issued as a live album. Producer
Kim Fowley
Kim Vincent Fowley (July 21, 1939 – January 15, 2015) was the American record producer, songwriter and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and managed The Runaways in the 1970s. He has been ...
courted the band, traveling to Boston to produce some poor-quality demos in June 1972. Felice rejoined the group for a few months after his graduation, and the band moved together to live in
Cohasset, Massachusetts
Cohasset is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 8,381.
History
Cohasset was inhabited for thousands of years by Native Americans prior to European colonization, from whom English c ...
.
The Modern Lovers continued to be a popular live attraction, and on New Year's Eve 1972 supported the
New York Dolls
New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial succe ...
at the
Mercer Arts Center
The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary avant-garde performance and experimental art institution located at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was foun ...
on a bill which also included
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
and
Wayne County. Early in 1973 they were finally signed by Warner Brothers. However, before returning to the studio in Los Angeles to work with Cale, the group accepted an offer to play a residency at the Inverurie Hotel in
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, e ...
, owned by the family of a friend of Ernie Brooks. While there, Richman heard and became strongly influenced by the laid-back style of
the local musicians, as documented in his later song "Monologue About Bermuda". There were also growing personality clashes among band members.
Although on the band's return Richman agreed to record his earlier songs, he was anxious to move in a different musical direction. He wanted to scrap all of the tracks they had recorded and start over with a mellower, more lyrical sound. The rest of the band, while not opposed to such a shift later, insisted that they record as they sounded now. However, the sessions with Cale in September 1973 also coincided with the death of their friend
Gram Parsons
Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) who was known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist who recorded as a solo artist and with the International Submarine Band, ...
(a former Harvard student, like Harrison and Brooks), and produced no usable recordings.
The record company then recruited Kim Fowley to produce more sessions with the band, this time at
Gold Star Studios
Gold Star Studios was an independent recording studio located in Los Angeles, California, United States. For more than thirty years, from 1950 to 1984, Gold Star was one of the most successful commercial recording studios in the world.
Founded ...
, with better results. Recordings from these sessions with Fowley were later released in 1981 on an album titled ''The Original Modern Lovers'' (reissued on CD by Bomp Records in 2000).
Break-up and release of first album
Following the failure to complete a debut album, Warner Brothers withdrew their support for The Modern Lovers, and Robinson left the band. They continued to perform live for a few months with new drummer Bob Turner, but Richman was increasingly unwilling to perform his old (although still unreleased) songs such as "Roadrunner", and after a final disagreement between him and Harrison over musical style the band split up in February 1974.
Despite the original group's premature break-up, many of its members found considerable success elsewhere: founding member John Felice formed
The Real Kids
The Real Kids are an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, United States, led by guitarist, singer and songwriter John Felice.
Career
Felice (born 1955) grew up in Natick, Massachusetts, as a neighbor and friend of Jonathan Richman, a ...
, Jerry Harrison later joined
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.[Talkin ...](_blank)
, David Robinson co-founded
The Cars
The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes (keyboards), ...
, and Ernie Brooks would later work with
David Johansen
David Roger Johansen (sometimes spelled ''David Jo Hansen''; born January 9, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under ...
,
Arthur Russell,
Elliott Murphy
Elliott James Murphy (born March 16, 1949) is an American rock singer-songwriter, novelist, record producer and journalist living in Paris.
Biography
Elliott Murphy was born in Rockville Centre, New York, grew up in Garden City, Long Island ...
, and
Gary Lucas
Gary Lucas (born June 20, 1952) is an American guitarist/songwriter/composer who was a member of Captain Beefheart's band. He formed the band Gods and Monsters in 1989.
Lucas has released more than 50 albums to date as a solo artist or band l ...
.
Richman continued recording on his own, eventually moving to California in 1975 to begin working with
Beserkley Records
Beserkley Records was an American independent record label based in Berkeley, California, from 1973 to 1984. Beserkley is usually regarded as a power pop and rock and roll label. During the 1970s, the label released albums by Earth Quake, Gre ...
whose boss
Matthew King Kaufman
Matthew "King" Kaufman (born May 19, 1946) is an American record producer who was the owner of leading independent label Beserkley Records in Berkeley, California from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s, successfully producing records by Jonath ...
had met Richman when he worked with A&M. While Richman never returned to the Velvets-inspired sound of the original Modern Lovers, the demo recordings made with that group eventually surfaced in various formats. The first of these releases came in 1976 when Beserkley compiled a posthumous LP from the first two demo sessions produced by Cale and Mason; issued on Beserkley's Home of the Hits subsidiary, the album was simply titled ''
The Modern Lovers
The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks w ...
'' and included celebrated tracks such as "Roadrunner", "She Cracked", and "
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
".
Richman did not recognize this compilation as his "first album," preferring to recognize his debut as 1976's ''
Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers,'' an album pursuing the lighter, softer direction he had in mind with a completely different band (the two collections were released within months of each other). However, ''The Modern Lovers'' was given an enthusiastic critical reception, with critic Ira Robbins hailing it as "one of the truly great
art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...
albums of all time", and it influenced numerous aspiring punk rock musicians on both sides of the Atlantic, including the
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
(who covered "Roadrunner" on ''
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
''The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle'' is a 1980 British mockumentary film directed by Julien Temple and produced by Don Boyd and Jeremy Thomas. It centres on the British punk rock band Sex Pistols and, most prominently, their manager Malcolm Mc ...
'').
Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, 1976–1988
In early 1976, Richman put together a new version of The Modern Lovers, with Leroy Radcliffe (guitar),
Greg 'Curly' Keranen Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (more commonly spelled " Gregg") is also a surname.
People with the name
* Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people
*Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canad ...
(bass) and the returning David Robinson (drums). Keranen had previously played with
The Rubinoos
The Rubinoos are an American power pop band that formed in 1970 in Berkeley, California. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I Think We're Alone Now" (1977, a cover of the hit by Tommy James & the Shondells), "I Wanna Be Your Boyfrien ...
, and Radcliffe with Woody's Truckstop. They recorded the album ''Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers'' (1976), but Robinson again left after Richman persisted in reducing the size and volume of his drum kit, and was replaced by D. Sharpe. This band recorded the album ''
Rock 'n' Roll with the Modern Lovers'' (1977) and toured until Keranen left to go to college and was replaced by Asa Brebner, who played on the albums ''The Modern Lovers Live'' (1978) and ''
Back in Your Life'' (1979).
David "D." Sharpe died in 1987, aged 39.
In 1980 Richman again formed a new Modern Lovers, with Keranen, drummer Michael Guardabascio and backing singers Ellie Marshall and Beth Harrington. They recorded the album ''
Jonathan Sings!
''Jonathan Sings!'' is the fourth album by American rock band Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, released in 1983 by Sire Records.
Reception
The album placed number 8 in ''The Village Voices annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll of 1984. '' N ...
'' in 1981/82, but it was not released until 1983. The group toured to support the album, often regarded as one of Richman's best, but split up after Keranen again left in 1984.
The final incarnation of The Modern Lovers, with
Andy Paley
Andrew Douglas Paley (born November 2, 1952) is an American songwriter, record producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist who formed the Paley Brothers, a 1970s power pop duo, with his brother Jonathan Paley. Following their disbandment, And ...
, Brennan Totten and (initially) Asa Brebner again, toured and recorded between 1985 and 1988. Richman finally retired The Modern Lovers name after the album ''
Modern Lovers 88''.
Richman continues to perform, often solo and preferring acoustic instruments, and currently has no plans to undertake another group like his original band. A tribute album consisting primarily of Modern Lovers songs, ''If I Were a Richman: a Tribute to the Music of Jonathan Richman'', was released by
Wampus Multimedia
Mark W. Doyon (born October 4, 1962) is an American author, recording artist, and creative director. He has led the indie rock bands Arms of Kismet, Wampeters and Waterslide, and produced tribute albums to Jonathan Richman, Lou Reed and Warren Z ...
in 2001. Asa Brebner died in 2019, aged 65.
Influence
The Modern Lovers band was influential on the then-burgeoning
punk rock and later
new wave and
indie
Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Gaming
*Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies
*Indie game, any game (board ...
musical styles, as viewed in the feature-length 2015 documentary ''
Danny Says
"Danny Says" is a ballad written by Joey Ramone. The song was originally released as the third track on the Ramones' 1980 album, ''End of the Century''. The 2002 Expanded Edition CD of the album includes a demo version of "Danny Says" among the b ...
''.
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
,
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...
and
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
have all covered "
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
"; it was also covered by Los Angeles-area rock band
Burning Sensations
Burning Sensations was a short-lived Los Angeles area rock band. The group is best known for its MTV hit "Belly of the Whale", the music for which blends a rather unusual fusion of rock and calypso styles, and for covering the Jonathan Richman s ...
for the soundtrack of the 1984
Alex Cox
Alexander B. H. Cox (born 15 December 1954) is an English film director, screenwriter, actor, non-fiction author and broadcaster. Cox experienced success early in his career with ''Repo Man (film), Repo Man'' and ''Sid and Nancy'', but since th ...
film ''
Repo Man''; additionally the song was covered by the English post-punk band
Television Personalities
The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy.Earp, Joseph.The Missing Man Of Music: A Search For The Elusive Dan Treacy Of Television Personalities. ''The Brag'', 26 July 2016 ...
on their album ''
Don't Cry Baby, It's Only a Movie''.
Seminal punk group the
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
covered "
Roadrunner
The roadrunners (genus ''Geococcyx''), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States and Mexico, us ...
" on ''
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
''The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle'' is a 1980 British mockumentary film directed by Julien Temple and produced by Don Boyd and Jeremy Thomas. It centres on the British punk rock band Sex Pistols and, most prominently, their manager Malcolm Mc ...
''.
Joan Jett
Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...
sang "Roadrunner" on her cover album, ''The Hit List''. In 2009
Titus Andronicus
''Titus Andronicus'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593, probably in collaboration with George Peele. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy and is often seen ...
covered "Roadrunner" on its EP ''The Innocents Abroad – Live in London 23/02/09;'' this recording was subsequently included on the fan compilation ''Feats of Strength.'' Additional covers of "Roadrunner" include those by
Wire
Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm
A wire is a flexible strand of metal.
Wire is c ...
and Richman's labelmates
The Greg Kihn Band
The Greg Kihn Band is an American band that was started by frontman Greg Kihn and bassist Steve Wright. Their most successful singles include "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" ( ''Billboard'' Hot 100 #15) and "Jeopardy" (''Billboard'' H ...
.
English rock band
Echo & the Bunnymen covered "She Cracked" live on ''
Crystal Days'' in 1985, although with some altered lyrics. Post-punk act
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...
released "She Cracked" as the extra b-side of "This Wheel's on Fire" 1987 double-pack 7-inch, collected on ''
Downside Up
''Downside Up'' is a four-disc box set collecting B-sides and bonus material from the catalogue of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Also included (on disc four) is '' The Thorn'' EP, originally released in 1984. Most of these songs (only presen ...
''. Additionally, American grunge band
Seaweed
Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...
covered "She Cracked" on the ''
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
Sub-Pop Sessions'' album, in 1994.
More recently,
Aloe Blacc
Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally by his stage name Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles "I Need a Dollar", " The Man", which topped the charts in th ...
performed the band's "New Kind of Neighborhood" in a series of television advertisements for Google.
Discography
Albums
The Modern Lovers
;Singles
Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers
Singles
* Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers: "New England" / "Here Come the Martian Martians" (Beserkley B-5743, US, 1976)
* Jonathan Richman: "
Roadrunner (Once)" / The Modern Lovers: "Roadrunner (Twice)" (Beserkley BZZ1, UK, 1977) (UK #11)
* Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers: "
Egyptian Reggae" / "Roller Coaster by the Sea" (Beserkley BZZ2, UK, 1977) (UK #5)
* Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers: "The Morning of Our Lives" / "Roadrunner (Thrice)" (Beserkley BZZ7, UK, 1977) (UK #29)
* Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers: "New England" / "Astral Plane" (Beserkley BZZ14, UK, 1977)
* Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers: "
Abdul & Cleopatra" / "
Oh Carol" (Beserkley BZZ19, UK, 1978)
* Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers: "Buzz Buzz Buzz" / "Hospital (live)" (Beserkley BZZ25, UK, 1978)
* Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers: "Lydia" / "Important In Your Life" (Beserkley BZZ28, UK, 1979)
* Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers: "That Summer Feeling" / "This Kind of Music" (Rough Trade RT 152, UK, 1984)
* Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers: "I'm Just Beginning To Live" / "Shirin and Fahrad" (Rough Trade RT 154, UK, 1985)
Line-up
*
Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...
– vocals, guitar (1970–1974, 1976–1988)
*
David Robinson
David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...
– drums, backing vocals (1970–1973, 1976)
*
John Felice
The Real Kids are an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, United States, led by guitarist, singer and songwriter John Felice.
Career
Felice (born 1955) grew up in Natick, Massachusetts, as a neighbor and friend of Jonathan Richman, a ...
– guitar (1970–1971)
* Rolfe Anderson – bass (1970–1971)
* Ernie Brooks – bass, backing vocals (1971–1974)
*
Jerry Harrison
Jeremiah Griffin Harrison (born February 21, 1949) is an American songwriter, musician, producer, and entrepreneur. He began his professional music career as a member of the cult band the Modern Lovers before becoming keyboardist and guitarist ...
– keyboards, backing vocals (1971–1974)
* Bob Turner – drums (1973–1974)
* Leroy Radcliffe – guitar, backing vocals (1976–1979)
*
Greg 'Curly' Keranen Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (more commonly spelled " Gregg") is also a surname.
People with the name
* Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people
*Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canad ...
– bass, backing vocals (1976–1977, 1980–1984)
* Denotra 'D' Sharpe – drums, backing vocals (1976–1979)
* Asa Brebner – bass, backing vocals (1977–1979), guitar (1985–1986)
*
Andy Paley
Andrew Douglas Paley (born November 2, 1952) is an American songwriter, record producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist who formed the Paley Brothers, a 1970s power pop duo, with his brother Jonathan Paley. Following their disbandment, And ...
– guitar, backing vocals (1979, 1985–1986), keyboards, drums (1984–1985)
* Steve Tracey – backing vocals (1979)
* Michael Guardabascio – drums (1980–1986)
* Ellie Marshall – backing vocals (1980–1986)
*
Beth Harrington
Beth Harrington (born July 2, 1955 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an Emmy-winning, Grammy-nominated filmmaker based in Vancouver, Washington, specializing in documentary features. Her documentaries often explore American history, music and culture, ...
– backing vocals (1980–1984)
* Ken Forfia – keyboards (1982–1984)
* Ned Claflin – backing vocals, accordion (1984–1986)
* Brennan Totten – guitar, backing vocals (1986–1988)
* Johnny Avila – drums, backing vocals (1986–1988)
References
External links
Simes' Jonathan Richman Pagesincludes a comprehensive Modern Lovers Discography.
Website for Greg Keranen aka "João Dilberto"*
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Protopunk groups
Garage rock groups from Massachusetts
Musical groups established in 1970
Natick, Massachusetts
Musical groups from Boston
Bomp! Records artists
Sire Records artists
Rough Trade Records artists
Virgin Records artists
Rounder Records artists
1970 establishments in Massachusetts