cherylsteele
08-24-2006, 07:36 PM
Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Drummer Bruce Gary, who set the distinctive beat of the Knack's 1979 hit ``My Sharona,'' one of the best-selling singles of the decade, died Aug. 22. He was 55.
Gary's death was announced on the band's Web site today. He died from complications of lymphoma in Tarzana, California, the Associated Press said, citing his mother.
``My Sharona,'' on the band's first album, ``Get The Knack,'' was the top-selling pop single in the U.S. for six weeks in 1979, and the album went platinum -- a recording industry certification denoting sale of a million copies -- in seven weeks, according to the Knack's Web site. Six million copies of the album ultimately sold worldwide, according to lead singer Doug Fieger's Web site.
Gary went on to collaborate with musicians from George Harrison to Bob Dylan. He also produced a popular CD of drum samples, ``Bruce Gary's Drum Vocabulary,'' that can be added to songs in professional and home recordings, AP said.
In 1994, ``My Sharona'' returned to the pop charts as part of the soundtrack to the film ``Reality Bites,'' the band said.
Gary's death came three weeks after Fieger, the lead singer, underwent surgery in Los Angeles for brain tumors, the band's Web site said.
Gary's death was announced on the band's Web site today. He died from complications of lymphoma in Tarzana, California, the Associated Press said, citing his mother.
``My Sharona,'' on the band's first album, ``Get The Knack,'' was the top-selling pop single in the U.S. for six weeks in 1979, and the album went platinum -- a recording industry certification denoting sale of a million copies -- in seven weeks, according to the Knack's Web site. Six million copies of the album ultimately sold worldwide, according to lead singer Doug Fieger's Web site.
Gary went on to collaborate with musicians from George Harrison to Bob Dylan. He also produced a popular CD of drum samples, ``Bruce Gary's Drum Vocabulary,'' that can be added to songs in professional and home recordings, AP said.
In 1994, ``My Sharona'' returned to the pop charts as part of the soundtrack to the film ``Reality Bites,'' the band said.
Gary's death came three weeks after Fieger, the lead singer, underwent surgery in Los Angeles for brain tumors, the band's Web site said.