The Modern Lovers
Encyclopedia
The Modern Lovers were an American rock band
led by Jonathan Richman
in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970–74 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks with drummer David Robinson
(later of The Cars
) and keyboardist Jerry Harrison
(later of Talking Heads
). The sound of the band owed a great deal to the influence of The Velvet Underground
, and is now sometimes classed as "protopunk
". It pointed the way towards much of the punk rock
, new wave
, alternative
and indie rock
music of later decades. Their only album
, the eponymous The Modern Lovers
, contained stylistically unprecedented songs about dating awkwardness, growing up in Massachusetts
, and 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. Out of Richman's original bandmates, only Robinson was part of any of the other Modern Lovers incarnations.
, a suburb
of Boston
, and began playing guitar and writing songs in his mid teens, first performing solo in public in 1967. 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.
After nine months in New York, and a trip to Europe and Israel, Richman moved back to his native Boston. With his childhood friend and neighbor, guitarist John Felice, he organized a band modeled after the Velvets. They quickly recruited drummer David Robinson
and bass player Rolfe Anderson, and christened themselves "The Modern Lovers". They played their first date, supporting Andy Paley
’s band The Sidewinders, in September 1970, barely a month after Richman's return. By this time their setlist already included such classic Richman songs as "Roadrunner
", "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 students bassist
Ernie Brooks, and keyboardist
Jerry Harrison
, 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
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
, and soon A&M Records
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
for Warner Bros. while the second was produced by Alan Mason for A&M. The Cale 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
was later issued as a live album. Producer Kim Fowley
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 at Cohasset, Massachusetts
.
The Modern Lovers continued to be a popular live attraction, and on New Year’s Eve 1972 supported the New York Dolls
at the Mercer Arts Center
on a bill which also included Suicide
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
. 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 between the 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
(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
, with better results. Recordings from these sessions with Fowley were later released in 1981 on an album misleadingly titled The Original Modern Lovers (reissued on CD by Bomp Records in 2000).
Despite the original group's premature break-up, many of its members found considerable success elsewhere: founding member John Felice formed the seminal Real Kids, Jerry Harrison later joined Talking Heads
, David Robinson co-founded the Cars
, and Ernie Brooks would later work with David Johansen
, Arthur Russell, Elliott Murphy
, and Gary Lucas
.
Richman continued recording on his own, eventually moving to California in 1975 to begin working with Beserkley Records
whose boss Matthew King Kaufman
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
and included celebrated tracks such as "Roadrunner", "She Cracked", and "Pablo Picasso
".
Richman did not recognize this compilation as his "first album," preferring to recognize his debut as 1976's Jonathan Richman & 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 albums of all time," and it influenced numerous aspiring punk rock musicians on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Sex Pistols
(who covered "Roadrunner" on The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
).
, 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 Modern Lovers Live (1978) and Back in Your Life (1979).
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!” 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 version of the Modern Lovers, with Andy Paley
, 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 in 2001.
and later New Wave
and indie musical styles.
John Cale
, Iggy Pop
and David Bowie
have all covered "Pablo Picasso
". Seminal punk group the Sex Pistols
covered "Roadrunner" on The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
. Additional covers of "Roadrunner" include label mates The Greg Kihn Band
. Post-punk act Siouxsie and the Banshees revisited "She Cracked" on Downside Up
, as did Seaweed
on the John Peel
Sub-Pop Sessions album, and Joan Jett
sang "Roadrunner" on her cover album, "The Hit List." In 2010 A live cover by Titus Andronicus (band)
of "Roadrunner" was released on the fan compilation "Feats of Strength."
Live albums
(These three live albums are from the same three 1971-3 performances, but add and subtract a few different songs. The last two, combined, contain all the songs).
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
led by Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Michael Richman 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, generally acoustic backing...
in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970–74 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks with drummer David Robinson
David Robinson (musician)
David Robinson is an American rock drummer. He has performed with many rock bands including The Modern Lovers, DMZ and The Cars.He attended Woburn Memorial High School....
(later of The Cars
The Cars
The Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
) and keyboardist Jerry Harrison
Jerry Harrison
Jerry Harrison is an American songwriter, musician and producer...
(later of Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
). The sound of the band owed a great deal to the influence of The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
, and is now sometimes classed as "protopunk
Protopunk
Protopunk is a term used retrospectively to describe a number of musicians who were important precursors of punk rock in the late 1960s to mid-1970s, or who have been cited by early punk musicians as influential...
". It pointed the way towards much of the punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
, alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
and indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
music of later decades. Their only album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, the eponymous The Modern Lovers
The Modern Lovers (album)
The Modern Lovers is the first album recorded by the Boston-based band The Modern Lovers. It was released on Beserkley Records in 1976, although the original nine tracks had been recorded in 1972 . Six of the original tracks were produced by John Cale...
, contained stylistically unprecedented songs about dating awkwardness, growing up in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and 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. Out 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, MassachusettsNatick, Massachusetts
Natick is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Natick is located near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 33,006 at the 2010 census. Only west from Boston, Natick is considered part of the Greater Boston area...
, a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and began playing guitar and writing songs in his mid teens, first performing solo in public in 1967. 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
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
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
Steve Sesnick
Stephen Sesnick was a club owner who served as manager of The Velvet Underground after the band ended their association with Andy Warhol in 1967....
's sofa before moving into the Hotel Albert, a residence known for its poor conditions.
After nine months in New York, and a trip to Europe and Israel, Richman moved back to his native Boston. With his childhood friend and neighbor, guitarist John Felice, he organized a band modeled after the Velvets. They quickly recruited drummer David Robinson
David Robinson (musician)
David Robinson is an American rock drummer. He has performed with many rock bands including The Modern Lovers, DMZ and The Cars.He attended Woburn Memorial High School....
and bass player Rolfe Anderson, and christened themselves "The Modern Lovers". They played their first date, supporting Andy Paley
Andy Paley
Andy Paley is a noted record producer and musician who has been active since the late 1960s. His work includes stints as a producer for such noted musicians as Madonna, the Ramones, Jonathan Richman, Debbie Harry, Brian Wilson and Jerry Lee Lewis....
’s band The Sidewinders, in September 1970, barely a month after Richman's return. By this time their setlist already included such classic Richman songs as "Roadrunner
Roadrunner (Jonathan Richman song)
"Roadrunner" is a song written by Jonathan Richman and recorded in various versions by Richman and his band, in most cases credited as The Modern Lovers.Critic Greil Marcus described it as "the most obvious song in the world, and the strangest"...
", "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 students bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Ernie Brooks, and keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
Jerry Harrison
Jerry Harrison
Jerry Harrison is an American songwriter, musician and producer...
, 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 Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
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
Lillian Roxon was a noted Australian journalist and author, best known for Lillian Roxon's Rock Encyclopedia . Her niece Nicola Roxon, the Australian politician, is currently the federal Minister for Health....
, and soon A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
was interested in the band as well.
In April 1972, the Modern Lovers traveled to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
where they held two demo sessions; the first was produced by the Velvet Underground's John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
for Warner Bros. while the second was produced by Alan Mason for A&M. The Cale 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, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
was later issued as a live album. Producer Kim Fowley
Kim Fowley
Kim Vincent Fowley is an American record producer, impresario, songwriter, musician, film maker, and radio actor. He is best known for his role behind a string of novelty and cult rock pop singles in the 1960s, and for managing The Runaways in the 1970s...
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 at Cohasset, Massachusetts
Cohasset, Massachusetts
Cohasset is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, though it is not contiguous with the main body of the county. The population was 7,542 at the 2010 census.- History :...
.
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
The New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
at the Mercer Arts Center
Mercer Arts Center
The Mercer Arts Center was a group of live theaters on Mercer Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, and was part of the Broadway Central Hotel until its collapse on August 3, 1973....
on a bill which also included Suicide
Suicide (band)
Suicide is an American electronic protopunk musical duo, intermittently active since 1970 and composed of vocalist Alan Vega and Martin Rev on synthesizers and drum machines. They are an early synthesizer/vocal musical duo....
and Wayne County
Jayne County
Jayne County , formerly known as Wayne County, is an American male-to-female transsexual performer, musician and actress whose career has spanned several decades. County would go on to be known as rock's first transsexual singer...
. 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
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
. While there, Richman heard and became strongly influenced by the laid-back style of the local musicians
Music of Bermuda
The music of Bermuda is often treated as part of the Caribbean music area. Its musical output includes pop singer Heather Nova while Collie Buddz have also gained international success with reggae hits in the US and the UK....
, as documented in his later song "Monologue About Bermuda". There were also growing personality clashes between the 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
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
(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
Gold Star Studios was a major 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 influential and successful commercial recording studios in the world....
, with better results. Recordings from these sessions with Fowley were later released in 1981 on an album misleadingly titled The Original Modern Lovers (reissued on CD by Bomp Records in 2000).
Break-up of the band and release of the first Modern Lovers 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 seminal Real Kids, Jerry Harrison later joined Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
, David Robinson co-founded the Cars
The Cars
The Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
, and Ernie Brooks would later work with David Johansen
David Johansen
David Roger Johansen is an American rock, protopunk, blues, and pop singer, as well as a songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal protopunk band The New York Dolls and also achieved commercial success under the pseudonym Buster Poindexter.-Early life:Johansen was born in...
, Arthur Russell, Elliott Murphy
Elliott Murphy
Elliott James Murphy is an American rock singer-songwriter, novelist, producer and journalist living in Paris.-Biography:Elliott James Murphy, Jr. was born in Rockville Centre, New York to a show business family...
, and Gary Lucas
Gary Lucas
Gary Lucas is an American guitarist, a Grammy-nominated songwriter, a soundtrack composer for film and television, and an international recording artist with over a dozen solo albums to date. He has been described as "one of the best and most original guitarists in America" ; a "legendary leftfield...
.
Richman continued recording on his own, eventually moving to California in 1975 to begin working with Beserkley Records
Beserkley Records
Beserkley Records was an independent record label based in Berkeley, California, from 1973 to 1984. Beserkely is usually regarded as a powerpop & rock and roll label; during the seventies, the band released albums by Earth Quake, Greg Kihn, Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers, The Rubinoos, and...
whose boss Matthew King Kaufman
Matthew King Kaufman
Matthew "King" Kaufman was owner and chief producer at leading independent label Beserkley Records in Berkeley, California from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s, successfully producing records by Jonathan Richman, Greg Kihn and others.-Biography:Raised in Baltimore, Kaufman graduated from law...
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 (album)
The Modern Lovers is the first album recorded by the Boston-based band The Modern Lovers. It was released on Beserkley Records in 1976, although the original nine tracks had been recorded in 1972 . Six of the original tracks were produced by John Cale...
and included celebrated tracks such as "Roadrunner", "She Cracked", and "Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso (song)
"Pablo Picasso" is a song written by Jonathan Richman for the proto punk group The Modern Lovers. The song was recorded in 1972 at Whitney Studios in Los Angeles, and produced by John Cale, but was not released until 1976, on the Modern Lovers' self-titled debut album...
".
Richman did not recognize this compilation as his "first album," preferring to recognize his debut as 1976's Jonathan Richman & 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 albums of all time," and it influenced numerous aspiring punk rock musicians on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
(who covered "Roadrunner" on The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle is a mockumentary film directed by Julien Temple and produced by Don Boyd and Jeremy Thomas about the British punk rock band Sex Pistols....
).
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 (bass) and the returning David Robinson (drums). Keranen had previously played with The RubinoosThe 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" , "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" , and for the theme song to the 1984 film Revenge of the Nerds...
, 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 Modern Lovers Live (1978) and Back in Your Life (1979).
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!” 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 version of the Modern Lovers, with Andy Paley
Andy Paley
Andy Paley is a noted record producer and musician who has been active since the late 1960s. His work includes stints as a producer for such noted musicians as Madonna, the Ramones, Jonathan Richman, Debbie Harry, Brian Wilson and Jerry Lee Lewis....
, 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 in 2001.
Influence
The band was highly influential on the then-burgeoning punk rockPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and later New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
and indie musical styles.
John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
, Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
and David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
have all covered "Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso (song)
"Pablo Picasso" is a song written by Jonathan Richman for the proto punk group The Modern Lovers. The song was recorded in 1972 at Whitney Studios in Los Angeles, and produced by John Cale, but was not released until 1976, on the Modern Lovers' self-titled debut album...
". Seminal punk group the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
covered "Roadrunner" on The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (album)
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle is the soundtrack album of the film of the same name. Although released under Sex Pistols' name, it includes performances by other artists.- Production :...
. Additional covers of "Roadrunner" include label mates The Greg Kihn Band
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 " and "Jeopardy" .-History:...
. Post-punk act Siouxsie and the Banshees revisited "She Cracked" on Downside Up
Downside Up
Downside Up is a four-disc box set collecting B-sides and bonus material from the catalog of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Also included is The Thorn , originally released in 1984....
, as did Seaweed
Seaweed (band)
Seaweed is a band from Tacoma, Washington who were active throughout the 1990s. Their style of music is a combination of punk rock and grunge, mostly due to its 'dirty' sound.-History:...
on the John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
Sub-Pop Sessions album, and Joan Jett
Joan Jett
Joan Jett is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actress.She is best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts including their hit cover "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular...
sang "Roadrunner" on her cover album, "The Hit List." In 2010 A live cover by Titus Andronicus (band)
Titus Andronicus (band)
Titus Andronicus is a punk/indie rock band from Glen Rock, New Jersey, USA, formed in 2005. The group takes its name from the Shakespeare play Titus Andronicus, and has cited musical and stylistic influences as diverse as Neutral Milk Hotel and Pulp...
of "Roadrunner" was released on the fan compilation "Feats of Strength."
The Modern Lovers
- The Modern LoversThe Modern Lovers (album)The Modern Lovers is the first album recorded by the Boston-based band The Modern Lovers. It was released on Beserkley Records in 1976, although the original nine tracks had been recorded in 1972 . Six of the original tracks were produced by John Cale...
(recorded September 1971 and March 1972, released 1976) - The Original Modern Lovers (recorded 1972, released 1981)
Live albums
- Live at the Longbranch Saloon (1992)
- Precise Modern Lovers Order (1994)
- Live at the Longbranch and More (1998)
(These three live albums are from the same three 1971-3 performances, but add and subtract a few different songs. The last two, combined, contain all the songs).
Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers
- Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers (1976)
- Rock 'n' Roll with the Modern Lovers (1977)
- Modern Lovers 'Live (1978)
- Back in Your Life (1979)
- Jonathan Sings! (1983)
- Rockin' and Romance (1985)
- It's Time For … (1986)
- Modern Lovers 88 (1988)
External links
- Simes' Jonathan Richman Pages includes a comprehensive Modern Lovers Discography.
- Website for Greg Keranen aka "João Dilberto"
- The Bostonians - article by Keith Gessen