Rise in popularity, The Cars, and Candy-O (1978–1979) Robinson had also played in DMZ and the Pop! Hawkes returned to play keyboards and the band became 'the Cars', a name suggested by Robinson, whose sense of fashion had a strong influence on the band's image. Orr took over on bass and Robichaud was replaced by David Robinson, best known for his career with the Modern Lovers. Cap'n Swing soon came to the attention of WBCN disc jockey Maxanne Sartori, who began playing songs from their demo tape on her show.Īfter being rejected by several record labels, Ocasek got rid of the bass player and drummer and decided to form a band that better fit his style of writing. Benjamin Orr was the lead vocalist and did not play an instrument. Cap'n Swing also featured drummer Glenn Evans, later followed by Kevin Robichaud, and a jazzy bass player, which clashed with Ocasek's more rock-and-roll leanings. Later, Ocasek and Orr teamed with guitarist Elliot Easton (who had also studied at Berklee) in the band Cap'n Swing. Some of the songs they played became early Cars songs. Ric Ocasek and Ben Orr then performed as an acoustic duo called simply Ocasek and Orr at the Idler coffeehouse in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Hawkes left to tour with Martin Mull and His Fabulous Furniture, a musical comedy act in which Mull played a variety of instruments. The band included Greg Hawkes, who had studied at the Berklee School of Music and had played saxophone on Milkwood's album. In 1973, they released one album, How's the Weather, on Paramount Records, that failed to chart.Īfter Milkwood, Ocasek and Orr formed the group Richard and the Rabbits, whose name was suggested by Jonathan Richman. In Boston, Ocasek and Orr, along with lead guitarist Jas Goodkind, formed a Crosby, Stills and Nash-style folk rock band called Milkwood. The two were in various bands in Columbus, Ohio and Ann Arbor, Michigan, then moved to Boston in the early 1970s. Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr met in Cleveland, Ohio, in the 1960s after Ocasek saw Orr performing with his band the Grasshoppers on the Big 5 Show, a local musical variety program. 1.7 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and death of Ric Ocasek (2018–2019)īefore the Cars, members of the band performed together in several different groups.1.6 Reunion, Move Like This and second hiatus (2010–2017).1.5 Post break-up, solo careers and death of Benjamin Orr (1989–2009).1.4 Heartbeat City, Door to Door, superstardom, and first hiatus (1984–1988).1.3 Change in sound, Panorama, and Shake It Up (1980–1983).1.2 Rise in popularity, The Cars, and Candy-O (1978–1979).It was the band's final performance with Ocasek, who died on Septemof cardiovascular disease. In April 2018, the Cars were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and reunited to perform at the induction ceremony. Following a short tour in support of Move Like This, the band once again went on hiatus. The surviving original members of the Cars reunited in 2010 to record the band's seventh and final album, Move Like This, which was released in May 2011. The band won Video of the Year for ' You Might Think' at the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. The Cars had four Top 10 hits: ' Shake It Up' (1981), ' You Might Think' (1984), ' Drive' (1984), and ' Tonight She Comes' (1985).

The band's debut album, The Cars, sold six million copies and appeared on the Billboard 200 album chart for 139 weeks. The Cars were named Best New Artist in the 1978 Rolling Stone Readers' Poll. Robert Palmer, music critic for The New York Times and Rolling Stone, described the Cars' musical style: 'They have taken some important but disparate contemporary trends- punk minimalism, the labyrinthine synthesizer and guitar textures of art rock, the '50s rockabilly revival and the melodious terseness of power pop-and mixed them into a personal and appealing blend.' The Cars were at the forefront of the merger of 1970s guitar-oriented rock with the new synthesizer-oriented pop that became popular in the early 1980s. Ocasek and Orr shared lead vocals, and Ocasek was the band's principal songwriter. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, it consisted of Elliot Easton ( lead guitar), Greg Hawkes ( keyboards), Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr ( bass guitar), and David Robinson ( drums). The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1977.

The cars you might think