The Modern Lovers

The Modern Lovers were a proto-punk band in the early 1970's, considered to have been highly influential on the rock landscape of the ensuing decade. After the band's break-up, bandleader Jonathan Richman recycled the name for later bands in the 1970s and 1980s, which included none of the original members.

Though responsible for only one LP, the Modern Lovers are considered one of the most influential bands of the 1970s. The self-titled album—recorded in 1972 by John Cale of the Velvet Underground—was shelved for four years, but still sounded ahead of its time upon its 1976 release. The album had a profound influence on the punk movement, particularly The Sex Pistols, whose brash simplicity echoed the Modern Lovers' "Roadrunner," and Elvis Costello, whose straight-laced misfit persona seemed to emulate that of Richman, circa '72. "Roadrunner" is the band's signature tune, but the entire album was influential, including the track "I'm Straight," which oddly prefigures Minor Threat's "Straight Edge" by a decade.

Richman, who played guitar and sang, went on to record as a solo artist, according to his own uniquely childlike and sentimental vision. But he is not the only member of the band to earn notoriety elsewhere. Keyboardist Jerry Harrison would go on to form Talking Heads and guitarist John Felice is known for his Boston punk rock band, The Real Kids.