The Cars were an American rock band that emerged from the early punk scene in the late 1970s. Members of the band were guitarist Ric Ocasek, bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson. They hailed from Boston, Massachusetts and were signed to Elektra Records in 1977.

The Cars were at the forefront in merging 1970s guitar-oriented rock with the new synth-oriented pop that was then becoming popular and which would flower in the early 1980s. Most of the singles included an Elliot Easton guitar solo, with the sound filled out by Greg Hawkes's synthesizers and the harmonies of Easton, Robinson, and Hawkes. Lead vocals were split, with Ric Ocasek taking about 60% and Benjamin Orr taking the remaining 40%. Their most successful song, "Drive", was sung by Orr. While Ocasek was the sole lyricist and main songwriter for the band, Orr would act as frontman in live appearances.

History

Early years

Before The Cars, the members of the band began coming together in several early forms. Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr were the first to meet at a party in Columbus, Ohio, and they began performing as a duo, covering rock 'n roll classics as well as performing their own material. They refused to perform the Top 40 hits club owners expected to hear from a young band. After deciding that Boston would be a better place to break into the music business, Ocasek and Orr relocated there. It was there that they met Greg Hawkes, who had studied at the Berklee School of Music, and the three, along with lead guitarist Jas Goodkind, were the first to work together in a folk band called Milkwood. They released an album titled "How's the Weather" in 1972 that failed to chart.

After Milkwood, Ocasek and Orr formed the group Richard and the Rabbits, whose name was suggested by Jonathan Richman. They were a local club band for a while. Soon after, Hawkes temporarily left Ocasek and Orr and joined up with groups including Orphan, a soft-rock band, and Martin Mull and His Fabulous Furniture, a musical comedy act in which he played a variety of instruments. Ric Ocasek and Ben Orr then performed as an acoustic duo called simply "Ocasek and Orr" at the Idler coffeehouse in Cambridge. Some of the songs they played became the underlying music in early Cars' songs.

Later, Ocasek and Orr teamed up with future Cars guitarist Elliot Easton (who had also studied at Berklee), in Captain Swing (or Cap'n Swing). The band caught the attention of Maxanne Sartori, a local DJ on WBCN-FM who began frequently playing their songs. Though they were slowly becoming more experienced musicians, Cap'n Swing still had a long way to go before developing a professional image. Record labels were turned off by the band because they said they looked "too weird". Cap'n Swing also featured a very jazzy drummer and bass player which clashed with Ocasek's more rock and roll leanings. Benjamin Orr acted as frontman, did not play an instrument, and sang the bulk of Cap'n Swing's demos. Ocasek soon got rid of the bass player, the keyboardist and the drummer and decided to form a band that better fit his style of writing. Since one of the major complaints from the major record labels was that Ben Orr didn't do anything except stand there and sing, they decided he should hold something, thus he took over bass guitar duties. The drummer was replaced by David Robinson. Robinson said that he should really have a regular job instead, and that the Cars would be his last band. Best known for his career with the Modern Lovers, Robinson had also played in DMZ and the Pop! It was Robinson who came up with the name "The Cars", which led to automobile-related puns. Ocasek said of the name, "It's so easy to spell; it doesn't have a 'z' on the end; it's real authentic. It's pop art, in a sense."

Peak years

After spending the winter of ’76 playing all over New England, developing, honing, and ultimately perfecting the songs that would become their debut album, the band was signed to Elektra Records. The demo version of "Just What I Needed" would turn out to be the first single from the band’s debut album, The Cars, released in 1978 and reaching #3 on the Billboard Pop album chart. "My Best Friend’s Girl" and "Good Times Roll" soon followed, charting in the Billboard Top 40. Following the lead of Roxy Music, the band commissioned famed Playboy artist Alberto Vargas to design the sexy illustration for the cover of their second album, Candy-O, released in 1979. Hits from that album included "Let’s Go" and "It’s All I Can Do", both Top 40 hits.

A more experimental album, Panorama, was released in 1980, charting only one Top 40 hit with "Touch and Go". Rolling Stone described the album as "Ocasek's art record, and not a very good one at all". In 1981, the Cars bought their own studio in Boston, Synchro Sound. The only Cars album recorded there was Shake It Up, an album that was recorded in happier times. It was their first album to score a Top 10 hit with the title track, and had another Top 40 hit in "Since You’re Gone". In 1982, the Cars took a short break and went to work on solo projects, with Ric Ocasek and Greg Hawkes both releasing their debut albums (Beatitude and Niagara Falls, respectively).

The Cars re-united and released their most successful album, Heartbeat City, in 1984. The first single, "You Might Think", helped the Cars win Video of the Year at the first MTV Video Music Awards. Other hit singles from the album included "Magic", "Hello Again", and "Why Can’t I Have You". Their most successful single, "Drive", gained particular notability when it was used in a video of the Ethiopian famine prepared by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and introduced by David Bowie at the 1985 Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium in London.

Break-up and solo careers

After the resulting period of superstardom and another hit single, "Tonight She Comes", from their Greatest Hits, the Cars took time off again to pursue solo projects. Elliot Easton and Benjamin Orr released their debut albums (Change No Change and The Lace, respectively), while Ric Ocasek released his second solo album, This Side of Paradise. In 1987, the Cars released their last album, Door to Door, but it failed to approach the success of their previous albums. They announced the group's breakup in February 1988.

In the late 1990s, rumors circulated of a Cars reunion, with no results. However, in 1995 Rhino Records released a 2-CD set , containing all the group's hits mixed with rarities (demos, non-album b-sides). They followed up with the releases of (1999), their debut album in 2-CD format, and Complete Greatest Hits.

Ocasek continues to perform as a solo artist, having released over seven studio albums. David Robinson has retired from music and spends most of his time with his restaurant. Benjamin Orr died of pancreatic cancer on October 3, 2000. In 2005, Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes combined their talents with Todd Rundgren, Prairie Prince (The Tubes, Utopia), and Kasim Sulton (Utopia, Meat Loaf) in a revamped lineup, The New Cars, to perform classic Cars songs along with selections from Rundgren's solo work and some new original material.

Band members

Former members

• Ric Ocasek - rhythm guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
• Benjamin Orr - bass, backing vocals, lead vocals
• Elliot Easton - lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals
• Greg Hawkes - keyboards, synthesizer, percussion, saxophone, tenor saxophone, backing vocals
• David Robinson - drums, percussion, backing vocals

Discography

For more details on this topic, see The Cars discography.

External links

• The Cars Official Site
• The Cars Official MySpace Site
• The Cars VH1 Artist Page
• The Cars MTV Artist Page
• The Cars AOL Artist Page
• The Cars Billboard Artist Page
• The Cars Rolling Stone Artist Page
• Heartbeat City site
• The Cars discography and singles chart
• The Cars biography
• Official site for The New Cars
• Rock & Roll Feature: The Cars New Wave 80s Pop with a Unique Style A review and analysis of the Cars debut album from the Soul of Rock 'n' Roll.
• Cars Unreleased A rare compilation of unreleased tracks from The Cars and the members of The Cars