Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

It was covered in the late 70s, and I bet it was a 4001.

Definitely a 4001, the song was from '79.

And a travesty that they cut one of the all time great solos just for an AM version.

Amen, Glenn....that one is a tricky (and sweet) solo. The Knack is a big RIC band.

"This forum's been here since the 70s? WOW! Didn't know that..."

I don't believe you in your original post, or I in mine, ever mentioned this forum.
Prescott playing a 4001 on the first Knack album is common knowledge. He also used a Guild at the time.

It is weird that they did a video version of the AM release. Too bad the full length version doesn't seem to be up yet (if one exists.)

They probably did that because it was the "single".

The Knack and My Sharona helped put Weird Al on the map when he did My Balogna ...

According to the Rickbeat website, the 4003 did initially come out in 1979. I'd read somewhere that Steve Smith of the Vapors had one.
These initial "1st edition" 4003's have the split pickguard to allow for access to the truss rods near the pickguard (instead of under truss rod cover). Eventually the trust rod adjust moved back up to the normal location.
The easiest way to tell would be to try and count the number of pickguard screws. The initial 4003's would have more than the "normal" 8 mounting screws (10 mounting screws + the two neck pickup screws).

I was lucky enough to see The Knack when they toured downunder(78/79).Unfortunately they were not too well received!They played at"Bombay Rock" nightclub, a huge Melbourne venue at the time for live bands.The support band were a new act,"Australian Crawl"(soon to become one of Australia's biggest bands)very unknown at this stage though!
(The lead singer had just broken both arms in a car accident, so performed minus guitar, and with both arms in casts!)
The Knack opened with "My Sharona", and the crowd went wild!Whatever they played next wasnt up to that standard, the next even worse! It simply deteriorated until they were BOOed off-stage!
Having been touted as the "Next Beatles",it was a disappointing night!

Steve Dahl's parody of this song, Ayatollah, which like the original song was played in the midst of the hostage crisis in Tehran, was far better that Weird Al's usual fare.

"Oh you got a pretty beard, pretty beard, oh you got a pretty beard, Ayatollah!"

And you're very "weird, very weeeeird." There was also a line in their about sandals that was pretty funny.

Back in Chgo for the holidays, my friends played me the 25th Anniversary doc. of Disco Demolition Night. As one of them said, "man, the 70s were crazed."

I was raised in the Chicago area, and remember my dad listening to Dahl (who was still on the radio) when he picked me up from Midway airport a few years ago. He was still funny. He's got the "Chicago" accent down. I too remember the Disco Demolition. I also remember talking my dad into seeing Chicago Sting soccer games back in old baseball park - and I ain't talking Wrigley.
Go Bears!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEZ1yDsSMEY