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.

[3] 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.

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.

[4] 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.

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.

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.

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.

However, the sessions with Cale in September 1973 also coincided with the death of their friend Gram Parsons (a former Harvard student, like Harrison and Brooks), and produced no usable recordings.

[4] Despite the original group's premature break-up, many of its members found considerable success elsewhere: founding member John Felice formed the Real Kids, Jerry Harrison later joined Talking Heads, David Robinson co-founded the Cars, and Ernie Brooks would later work with David Johansen, Arthur Russell, Elliott Murphy, and Gary Lucas.

In early 1976, Richman put together a new version of the Modern Lovers, with Leroy Radcliffe (guitar), Greg 'Curly' Keranen (bass) and the returning David Robinson (drums).

[6] In 1980 Richman again formed a new Modern Lovers, with Keranen, drummer Michael Guardabascio and backing singers Ellie Marshall and Beth Harrington.

[8] The Modern Lovers band was influential on the then-burgeoning punk rock and later new wave and indie musical styles, as viewed in the feature-length 2015 documentary Danny Says.

In 2009 Titus Andronicus covered "Roadrunner" on its EP The Innocents Abroad – Live in London 23/02/09; this recording was subsequently included on the fan compilation Feats of Strength.