The Modern Lovers

The Modern Lovers were an American rock band formed in Natick, Massachusetts in 1970 by Jonathan Richman. 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 (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 the Stooges, and is now sometimes classified as "proto-punk". It pointed the way towards much of the punk rock, new wave, alternative and indie rock music of later decades. Their debut studio album, the eponymous The Modern Lovers (1976) contained idiosyncratic songs about dating awkwardness, growing up in Massachusetts, love of life, and the USA. The band would also release another studio album, The Original Modern Lovers (1981), and three live albums.

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. This incarnation of the band released 7 studio albums and one live album. Of Richman's original bandmates, only Robinson was part of any of the other Modern Lovers incarnations, and he left the band's second incarnation that same year it formed. Notable members of the second incarnation include producer Andy Paley (who worked with acts such as Brian Wilson with The Beach Boys and Jerry Lee Lewis) and filmmaker Beth Harrington.