Prescott Niles
he Knack’s huge 1979 hit ‘My Sharona’ is instantly recognizable for its bouncing, new wave bass-line. That iconic part was played by Prescott Niles, a musician keen to explore the different timbres of various bass guitars. As well as being in the quintessential new wave act, Niles has worked with many alternative, pop, and classic rock bands. In fact, the New Yorker was hand-picked by none other than George Harrison to appear on the Shanghai Surprise movie soundtrack in 1986.
“At the time I lived in England,” says Niles. “The first thing George said to me was, ‘I heard ‘My Sharona’’ so I felt I was respected and that I could play. Then I had the added pressure of playing with Jim Keltner on drums! A genius. I was reading from a chord chart. George had all these
