The Cars Were One Of The Greatest Bands Of All Time

2012-01-23T20:38:00.000-08:00

In 1976 The Cars were formed and quickly were the most successful band to break out on the music scene. They consisted of Ric Ocasek, Ben Orr, Elliott Easton, Dave Robinson, and Greg Hawkes.

Ric Ocasek And Ben Orr met in Cleveland, and had been collaborators several years before putting the band together. Early in 1977 the band sent a demo tape to WBCN, an influential radio station in Boston. A DJ, Maxanne Sartori, loved the song and heavily played it. That was all the band needed. The song quickly became the most requested and the band was on its way.

By the end of 1977 the Cars signed with Elektra records, and rolled out their debut album in 1978 "The Cars" with hit singles "Just what I needed", "My Best Friends Girl", and "Good times Roll". In 1978 their second album "Candy-O" featured hits "It's All I can Do" and "Dangerous Type".

In 1980 the band released a different type album, "Panorama", with the only top 40 chart song "Touch and Go". This album was not as well received as their previous ones. In 1981 they released their 4th Album "Shake It Up", which quickly went platinum, with the title track being the groups first Top Ten single.

In 1983, the band recorded their 5th album "Heartbeat City" which was released in early 1984. The top 40 singles from this album were "You Might Think", "Magic", "Drive" and "Hello Again". The album went triple platinum in the summer of 1985. At the end of the same year The Cars released Their Greatest Hits album which featured two new songs "Tonight She Comes" and "I'm Not The One."

The band went on a break for much of 1985 and 1986 at which time Ric Ocasek and Ben Orr recorded solo albums. Ocasek did "This Side Of Paradise" and Orr did "The Lace." During 1987 the band released their seventh album "Door To Door", which featured only one good hit "You Are The Girl." Rumors swirled that the band was on the verge of breaking up.

Indeed in February of 1988 The Cars announced that they had indeed broken up. All of the members pursued solo careers, with only Ocasek releasing albums regularly. Ocasek also became a much sought after music producer in the 90's. Sadly on October 3rd of 2000, Ben Orr last his battle with pancreatic cancer. The rest of the band is still around and pursuing different lives and ventures.

Ric Ocasek solo Albums include: "Beatitude" (1982) "This Side Of Paradise" (1986) "Fireball Zone" (1990) "Quick Change" (1993) "Nexterday" (2005)

Ben Orr's only solo album was "The Lace" (1986)

Elliott Easton's only solo album was "Change No Change" (1985)

David Robinson released no solo albums

Greg Hawkes released an all instrumental album called "Niagara Falls" in 1983. He has also contributed to many other projects over the years.

The Cars.....One Of The Most Innovative Bands Of All Time

The Cars Were One Of The Greatest Bands Of All Time