The Cars‘ frontman Ric Ocasek has died at 75.
The Cars formed in Boston in 1976 and released six albums between 1978 and 1987 delivering 13 top 40 singles in America including top ten hits ‘Shake It Up,’ ‘You Might Think,’ ‘Drive’ and ‘Tonight She Comes’.
The band were always commercially more successful in the States than in Britain, but Heartbeat City‘s ‘Drive’ peaked at number four over here in 1984 after re-entering the chart as a result of the song being played against footage of the Ethiopian famine during the Live Aid concert. That song was written by Ric but sung by bassist Benjamin Orr, who co-founded the band with Ocasek.
Orr died in 2000 from pancreatic cancer but the remaining members were reunited for one final album in 2011, Move Like This. Ric Ocasek released seven solo albums (two issued before The Cars split in early 1988) but it was his work as a producer that kept him most busy. His credits in this area included Weezer, Hole, The Wannadies and The Cribs. Ric also remixed three tracks from Lloyd Cole and The Commotions‘ 1984 Rattlesnakes album, for the American version of the album. Heartbeat City album is a beautiful new wave classic. The title track and ‘Why Can’t I Have You’ being a highlight.
The songwriter/guitarist/lead singer for The Cars, was found dead in his Manhattan townhouse at the age of seventy-five. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame just last year. It was a tough weekend for ’70s/’80s rock giants, as Eddie Money also passed away on Friday.
Ocasek wrote pop songs that you never got sick of hearing at the grocery store because they were so infectious, full of pomp and vigor and joy. Although the band released only seven albums total, from 1978 to 2011, the radio singles “Just What I Needed,” “Shake It Up,” “You Might Think,” and “Drive” were both enormous hits then and ubiquitous earworms now, Ocasek wrote all of them. He also went on to release seven solo albums after The Cars disbanded, from 1982 through 2005,
When The Cars were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year, Brandon Flowers of The Killers described them succinctly, perfectly: “a slick machine with a 340 V8 under the hood that ran on synergy, experimentation and a redefined cool. They had it all: the looks, the hooks, Beat romance lyrics, killer choruses.”
Ocasek’s voice—part deadpan, part droll sex appeal—is irreplaceable (just listen to how he sings “you kept it going ’til the sun fell down…you kept it…going” on “You Might Think”).
Everyone from The Killers to Weezer to Beck have paid tribute to Ocasek on social media. RIP to a real one.
The Fat Angel Sings 