Although he hailed from Baltimore, singer/songwriter Greg Kihn found his way to San Francisco in the mid-70s, becoming a part of that city's rich pop music history. Strongly influenced by '60s guitar pop, Kihn became a successful local act during the late '70s with his band, embraced by fans for his straight-forward style of power pop.

By 1981, Kihn and his band had released half a dozen albums, each one selling better than the previous, but he had yet to break out on a national scale. That changed with Rockihnroll, lucky album number seven, when it was released in the summer of 1981. Released as a single "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" proved to be irresistible to listeners.

With its clean guitar lines and "na na nas," there was nothing especially groundbreaking about "The Breakup Song." However, the song's high energy, infectious chorus, and universal theme of rejection clicked. In July, the song became the Greg Kihn Band's first US Top 40 hit, saturating airwaves throughout the summer.

Album rock radio quickly embraced the song, where it reached the Top Five, and pop stations weren't far behind. Following nearly three months on the pop charts, "The Breakup Song" peaked at #15 in late September. Kihn and his band's fortunes would ebb and flow for the next decade, but "The Breakup Song" possessed a timeless quality that makes it sound as fresh twenty five years later as it did in 1981.

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