Before My Sharona: How Power Pop Became Power Pop

Get Surfshark VPN at and enter promo code TRASHTHEORY for 83% off and 3 extra months for FREE! The Beatles broke up in 1970. Emerging two years later, Power Pop was an attempt to resurrect the Fab Four’s early days. What did it sound like? Impossibly catchy tunes with attitude, taking the contagious harmonies, jangly guitars and la la las of the British Invasion groups, and making them punchier, sometimes heavier. Pop music but powerful. Key bands like Raspberries, Big Star, The Flamin Groovies and Cheap Trick lamenting, yearning and crying about young love in a way that you couldn’t help but sing along to. The genre would hit its commercial peak at the end of the 70s. But what were the essential steps along the way, the key tracks and influencers? And how did it get to the point where “My Sharona” could become the biggest-selling US single of 1979. This is how Power Pop became Power Pop. #powerpop #bigstar #musicdocumentary This video is sponsored by Surfshark. Additional Writing by Serenity Autumn. Soundtrack Luar - Citrine () Jesse Gallagher - The Golden Present Luar - Anchor () 00:00 Introduction 00:53 Ad Time 02:03 The Beatles & The British Invasion 08:16 The Other Side of the Atlantic 11:34 Sugar, Sugar & The Rise of Bubblegum Pop 15:12 Badfinger: The New Fab Four? 16:55 Raspberries: The First Power Pop Band 19:39 Big Star: December Boys Got It Bad 22:09 Todd Rundgren: And Make It Loud and Clear 23:34 The Return of US Power Pop 28:54 Glam Rock & The Bay City Rollers 31:23 Stiff Records & The Outcasts of Pub Rock 34:09 When Power Pop & Pop Punk Collide 36:56 The Records: The Writ Has Hit The Fan 38:41 Cheap Trick: Didn’t I, Didn’t I, Didn’t I... 40:52 The New Wave-ification of US Power Pop 45:22 The Knack: ...My Thighs, Sharona You can also follow me here: Twitter: Facebook: Or support me on Patreon: