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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.

The original Modern Lovers, 1970–1974

Richman grew up in Natick, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, and began playing guitar and writing songs in his mid-teens, first performing solo in public in 1967. He became enamored of the Velvet Underground while he was still in high school, and after graduating in 1969, he moved to New York City where he became personally acquainted with the band and on one occasion opened the bill for them. Richman spent a couple of weeks sleeping on Velvets’ manager Steve Sesnick's sofa before moving into the Hotel Albert, a residence known for its poor conditions.

After nine months in New York, and a trip to Europe and Israel, Richman moved back to his native Boston. With his childhood friend, guitarist John Felice, he organized a band modeled after the Velvets. They quickly recruited drummer David Robinson and bass player Rolfe Anderson, and christened themselves "the Modern Lovers". They played their first date, supporting Andy Paley’s band the Sidewinders, in September 1970, barely a month after Richman's return. By this time their setlist already included such noted Richman songs as "Roadrunner", "She Cracked" and "Hospital". Richman's unique character was immediately apparent; he wore short hair and often performed wearing a jacket and tie, and frequently improvised new lyrics and monologues.

In early 1971 Anderson and Felice departed; they were replaced by Harvard students bassist Ernie Brooks, and keyboardist Jerry Harrison, completing the classic lineup of the Modern Lovers. This new configuration became very popular in the Boston area, and by the fall of 1971, enthusiastic word-of-mouth led to the Modern Lovers' first exposure to a major label when Stuart Love of Warner Bros. Records contacted them and organized the band's first multi-track session at Intermedia Studio in Boston. The demo produced from this session, and the group's live performances, generated more attention from the industry, including rave reviews from critic Lillian Roxon, and soon A&M Records was interested in the band as well.

In April 1972, the Modern Lovers traveled to Los Angeles where they held two demo sessions: the first was produced by the Velvet Underground's John Cale for Warner Bros. while the second was produced by Allan Mason for A&M. These sessions were later used on the band's debut album. While in California the band also performed live, and one gig at the Long Branch Saloon in Berkeley was later issued as a live album. Producer Kim Fowley courted the band, traveling to Boston to produce some poor-quality demos in June 1972. Felice rejoined the group for a few months after his graduation, and the band moved together to live in Cohasset, Massachusetts.

The Modern Lovers continued to be a popular live attraction, and on New Year's Eve 1972 supported the New York Dolls at the Mercer Arts Center on a bill which also included Suicide and Wayne County. Early in 1973 they were finally signed by Warner Brothers. However, before returning to the studio in Los Angeles to work with Cale, the group accepted an offer to play a residency at the Inverurie Hotel in Bermuda, owned by the family of a friend of Ernie Brooks. While there, Richman heard and became strongly influenced by the laid-back style of the local musicians, as documented in his later song "Monologue About Bermuda". There were also growing personality clashes among band members.