The Cars are an American
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
bandRock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
that emerged from the early
New Wave musicNew Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist
Ric OcasekRic Ocasek is an American musician and music producer. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band, The Cars....
, lead singer and bassist
Benjamin OrrBenjamin Orr was an American rock musician best known as the bassist and vocalist for the Boston based rock band, The Cars....
, guitarist
Elliot EastonElliot Easton plays lead guitar and sings backing vocals for The Cars. His guitar solos are integral part of the band's hit singles. He studied music at the Berklee College of Music...
, keyboardist
Greg HawkesGreg Hawkes is a musician best known as the keyboardist for the Rock band The Cars.Hawkes, a native of Fulton, Maryland, attended Atholton High School where he played in a band called Teeth. He then attended Berklee College of Music for two years, majoring in composition and flute...
and drummer
David RobinsonDavid Robinson is an American rock drummer. He has performed with many rock bands including The Modern Lovers, DMZ and The Cars.He attended Woburn Memorial High School....
. The band originated in Boston, Massachusetts, and were signed to
Elektra RecordsElektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
by
George DalyGeorge Daly is a music executive, songwriter, musician, video and music producer and technology inventor, who originally worked as an A&R music executive...
, then A&R head, 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. The Cars started fresh with their debut album
The CarsThe Cars is the self-titled debut album by the American rock band The Cars released in 1978. With the popular tracks "Just What I Needed" and "My Best Friend's Girl" getting heavy airplay on AOR radio stations, the album sold one million copies by the end of the year and steadily climbed the...
which went on to go platinum in late 1978. The Cars' debut album was called a "genuine rock masterpiece" by Allmusic. Probably the most successful and well known song from the album, "
Just What I Needed-Cover versions:*Big Daddy - Big Daddy*Caleigh Peters – Sky High soundtrack*Sister Hazel – Lift*Poison – Poison'd*Bang Tango – Untied and live!*The Insyderz – Fight Of My Life and Paradise CD Single*Replicants – Replicants...
", started as a demo in 1977. The song was sent as a mix tape to a local DJ in the Boston area, who played the song in heavy rotation. This soon caught the attention of other DJs, which led to the signing of the band by
Elektra RecordsElektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
in 1977. The Cars have mentioned this numerous times including in their "last" interview in June 2000.
The band broke up in 1988, and Ocasek had always discouraged talk of a reunion since then, telling one interviewer in 1997 "I'm saying never and you can count on that." Bassist
Benjamin OrrBenjamin Orr was an American rock musician best known as the bassist and vocalist for the Boston based rock band, The Cars....
died in 2000 from pancreatic cancer. In 2005, Easton and Hawkes joined with
Todd RundgrenTodd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
to form a spin-off band,
The New CarsThe New Cars was a band formed in 2005 with two of the original members of the 1970s/1980s new wave band The Cars. The band was composed of Todd Rundgren, drummer Prairie Prince, Kasim Sulton, and original Cars members Greg Hawkes and Elliot Easton...
, which performed classic Cars and Rundgren songs alongside new material. The surviving original members reunited in 2010 to record a new album, titled
Move Like This, which was released May 10, 2011, and a tour to start on the same day.
Early years (1973–1975)
Before The Cars, the members of the band began coming together in several early forms. Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr met in
Columbus, OhioColumbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, where they began performing as a duo,
coveringIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
rock and rollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
classics as well as performing their own material. 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 MusicBerklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
, and the three, along with lead guitarist Jas Goodkind, formed a folk band called Milkwood. They released an album titled
How's the Weather on the Paramount label in 1973 that failed to chart.
After Milkwood, Ocasek and Orr formed the group Richard and the Rabbits, whose name was suggested by
Jonathan RichmanJonathan Michael Richman is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970 he founded The Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key, generally acoustic backing...
. They were a local club band for a while. Soon after, Hawkes temporarily left Ocasek and Orr and joined up with groups including
OrphanAn orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
, a soft-rock band, and
Martin Mull and His Fabulous FurnitureMartin Mull is an American actor who has starred in his own television sitcom and acted in prominent films. He is also a comedian, painter, and recording artist...
, a musical comedy act in which Mull 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 the band Cap'n Swing. Cap'n Swing also featured drummer Kevin Robichaud and a jazzy 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. Kevin Robichaud was replaced by
David RobinsonDavid Robinson is an American rock drummer. He has performed with many rock bands including The Modern Lovers, DMZ and The Cars.He attended Woburn Memorial High School....
. 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
DMZDMZ was a first-wave American punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, strongly influenced by 1960s garage rock. In early 1976, Jeff Conolly stole the lead vocalist position in the nascent band by out-performing their singer at one of the band's practices...
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 (1976–1984)
The band spent the winter of 1976–77 playing throughout New England, developing the songs that would become their debut album. They shortly thereafter caught the attention of Maxanne Sartori, a local DJ on the Boston radio station WBCN, who began playing their demo of "
Just What I Needed-Cover versions:*Big Daddy - Big Daddy*Caleigh Peters – Sky High soundtrack*Sister Hazel – Lift*Poison – Poison'd*Bang Tango – Untied and live!*The Insyderz – Fight Of My Life and Paradise CD Single*Replicants – Replicants...
". By virtue of that airplay, the band was signed to
Elektra RecordsElektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
. "Just What I Needed" would turn out to be the first single from the band’s debut album,
The CarsThe Cars is the self-titled debut album by the American rock band The Cars released in 1978. With the popular tracks "Just What I Needed" and "My Best Friend's Girl" getting heavy airplay on AOR radio stations, the album sold one million copies by the end of the year and steadily climbed the...
, released in 1978 and reaching #18 on the
Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. "
My Best Friend's Girl"My Best Friend's Girl" is a song by American rock band The Cars from their 1978 self-titled debut album on Elektra Records. Written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Roy Thomas Baker, the song was released as the album's second single. It peaked at number 35 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart, and reached...
" and "
Good Times Roll"Good Times Roll" is a song by American rock band The Cars. It is the first track from their 1978 debut album The Cars, produced by Roy Thomas Baker...
" soon followed, charting on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The band commissioned famed
PlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
artist
Alberto VargasAlberto Vargas was a noted Peruvian painter of pin-up girls. He is often considered one of the most famous of the pin-up artists...
to design the sexy illustration for the cover of their second album,
Candy-OCandy-O is the second studio album by the American rock band The Cars, released in 1979.- Cover art :The album cover was painted by artist Alberto Vargas, known for his paintings of pin-up girls that appeared in Esquire and Playboy magazines in the 1940s and 1960s...
, released in 1979. Hits from that album included "
Let's Go"Let's Go" was the first single from The Cars' album Candy-O released in 1979. It was written by Ric Ocasek and features lead vocals by Cars bassist Ben Orr. The single peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the U.S., but the song was an even bigger success elsewhere...
", "
It's All I Can Do"It's All I Can Do" is a song by the American rock band The Cars. It is the third track from their 1979 album Candy-O. It was written by the band's lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, and features the bassist, Benjamin Orr, on vocals...
" and "Dangerous Type."
A more experimental album,
Panorama, was released in 1980, charting only one Top 40 hit with "Touch and Go".
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
described the album as "an out-and-out drag". In 1981, the Cars purchased Intermedia Studios in Boston, renaming it Syncro Sound. The only Cars album recorded there was
Shake It Up. It was their first album to spawn a top 10 single with the title track, and included another hit "Since You’re Gone". Following their 1982 tour, the Cars took a short break and went to work on solo projects, with Ocasek and Hawkes both releasing debut albums (
BeatitudeBeatitude is the debut album released by Ric Ocasek, lead singer and principal songwriter of The Cars. It was released by Geffen Records in 1982, and featured an appearance by Greg Hawkes on keyboards.-Track listing:...
and
Niagara FallsNiagara Falls is the first solo album released by Greg Hawkes, best known as an original member of The Cars. It was released in 1983 by Passport Records. Hawkes plays all instruments , with programmed drums and multiple layers of keyboard parts, as well as rhythm guitar. It was recorded at...
, respectively).
The Cars re-united and released their most successful album,
Heartbeat CityHeartbeat City is the fifth studio album by American rock band The Cars, released in 1984.Heartbeat City contains a total of five American Top 40 singles, two of which were Top 10 as well, reaching #3 and #7, respectively...
, in 1984. The first single, "
You Might Think"You Might Think" is a single by The Cars from their fifth studio album, Heartbeat City, which came out in 1984. The track was written by Ric Ocasek, and produced by Mutt Lange and The Cars. Ocasek sang lead vocals....
", helped The Cars win Video of the Year at the first MTV Video Music Awards. Other hit singles from the album included "
Magic"Magic" is a song by The Cars from their fifth studio album, Heartbeat City, released in 1984. It was released as a single and reached No. 12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart. The track was written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Robert "Mutt" Lange and The Cars...
", "
Hello Again"Hello Again" is a song performed by the rock band The Cars, released in 1984 as the fourth single from the album Heartbeat City. It was the fourth Top 20 hit from the album, reaching number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also reached number 8 on the Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart and...
", and "Why Can’t I Have You". Their most successful single, "
Drive"Drive" is a 1984 song by The Cars, the third single from the band's Heartbeat City album and their biggest international hit. It was written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange with the band. Lead vocals were by Cars bassist Benjamin Orr....
", gained particular notability when it was used in a video of the
EthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n famine prepared by the
Canadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
and introduced by
David BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
at the 1985
Live AidLive Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
concert at Wembley Stadium in London (The Cars themselves performed in the Philadelphia Live Aid concert).
Greatest Hits, Door to Door and break-up (1985–1988)
After the resulting period of superstardom and another hit single, "
Tonight She Comes"Tonight She Comes" is a 1985 song by The Cars, from their Greatest Hits album. It was released as a single in October 1985, reaching number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in January, 1986...
", a #7 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and a #1 hit on the
Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart (their last #1), from their
Greatest HitsGreatest Hits is a six-time platinum-selling compilation album by the new wave band The Cars. It was released in October 1985 on Elektra Records.-Track listing:All songs written by Ric Ocasek.# "Just What I Needed" – 3:43...
, the Cars took time off again to pursue solo projects. Easton and Orr released their debut albums (
Change No ChangeChange No Change, is the only solo album released by Elliot Easton of The Cars. It was originally released in 1985 by Elektra Records, re-released in 1995 by Rhino Records, and most recently, by Wounded Bird in 2006....
and
The LaceThe Lace is the debut solo record by The Cars' member Benjamin Orr. It features his only solo hit, the song "Stay the Night" which reached the top 40 in 1987...
, respectively), while Ocasek released his second solo album,
This Side of ParadiseThis Side of Paradise is the second solo studio album released by Ric Ocasek, lead singer and songwriter of The Cars. It was released in 1986 by Geffen Records. Though it was a solo album, other members of The Cars played significant roles. Greg Hawkes plays keyboards and bass throughout the entire...
. In 1987, the Cars released their sixth album,
Door to Door. It contained their last major international hit, "
You Are the Girl"You Are the Girl" is a 1987 song by The Cars, from their album Door to Door. It was released as a single in August 1987, reaching number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100....
", but the album failed to approach the success of their previous albums. They announced the group's breakup in February 1988.
Post break-up and solo careers (1989–2009)
In the late 1990s, rumors circulated of a Cars reunion, with no results. However, in 1995 Rhino Records released a 2-CD set
Just What I Needed: The Cars AnthologyJust What I Needed: The Cars Anthology is a career compilation from the 80s New Wave rock group The Cars...
, containing all the group's hits mixed with rarities (demos, non-album b-sides). They followed up with the releases of
The Cars: Deluxe Edition (1999), their debut album in 2-CD format, and
Complete Greatest Hits. Benjamin Orr died in 2000 of
pancreatic cancerPancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
, though not before he would appear with his former bandmates one last time for an interview to be shown in a documentary about the group.
Ocasek continues to perform as a solo artist, having released over seven studio albums. Robinson retired from music and spent most of his time working in his restaurant. In 2005, Easton and Hawkes combined their talents with
Todd RundgrenTodd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
,
Prairie PrincePrairie Prince is a rock drummer. He was a member of The Tubes and a founding member of Journey...
(The Tubes, Utopia), and
Kasim SultonKasim Sulton is an American bass guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free," Utopia's only top 40 hit in the United States...
(Utopia, Meat Loaf) in a revamped lineup,
The New CarsThe New Cars was a band formed in 2005 with two of the original members of the 1970s/1980s new wave band The Cars. The band was composed of Todd Rundgren, drummer Prairie Prince, Kasim Sulton, and original Cars members Greg Hawkes and Elliot Easton...
, to perform classic Cars songs along with selections from Rundgren's solo work and some new original material. Sometime in the mid 1990s, Orr recorded tracks with guitarist John Kalishes for an unreleased follow-up to The Lace. From 1998 until his death in October 2000, he performed with three bands, including his own band "ORR", The
Voices of Classic RockVoices of Classic Rock is a rock music ensemble featuring singers and musicians from classic rock groups popular in the 1970s and 1980s.Voices of Classic Rock was formed in 1998....
, and Big People.
In 2008, the band's
first albumThe Cars is the self-titled debut album by the American rock band The Cars released in 1978. With the popular tracks "Just What I Needed" and "My Best Friend's Girl" getting heavy airplay on AOR radio stations, the album sold one million copies by the end of the year and steadily climbed the...
was released for the video game
Rock Band.
Reunion and Move Like This (2010–present)
In 2010, the founding members of The Cars suggested a reunion when Ric Ocasek, Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes and David Robinson placed a photo of the four members together in Millbrook Sound Studios, Millbrook, NY on their Facebook page. On October 13, they also posted a snippet of a new song, "
Blue Tip", on their Facebook page. A picture of
Jacknife LeeGarret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including The Cars, U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, AFI, The Hives, Weezer, Vega4 and Editors.-Biography:...
in the studio was posted on the group's Facebook page hinting that he is producing the new Cars album.
In October
Billboard reported that a new album which may be supported by a tour is being recorded at veteran engineer Paul Orofino's studio in
Millbrook, New YorkMillbrook is a village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. It is often said to be a "low-key version of the Hamptons" and one of the wealthiest towns in New York State. Millbrook's estimated town population was 1,551 in 2008. Millbrook is located in the Hudson Valley, an hour and thirty...
. A music clip of a new song, called "Sad Song", was added to the band's Facebook page on December 7, 2010; another clip of a song called "Free" was shared on their Facebook page on January 1, 2011. The official debut video for "Blue Tip" was released February 17, 2011. The video was directed by Roberto Serrini and Eron Otcasek from The Lab NYC and features the four members of the band, and NYC based street artist Joe Iurato. According to
Rolling Stone, the surviving Cars mutually agreed there would be no replacing the late Benjamin Orr, so Ocasek, Easton and Hawkes handle all guitar and bass playing.
The new album, titled
Move Like This-Best Buy edition:This enhanced CD also has videos for "Sad Song" and "Blue Tip.""Rocket USA" is a cover of a 1977 song by the American band Suicide, from their self-titled debut.-Personnel:The Cars*Ric Ocasek – lead and background vocals, guitars, keyboards...
, was released on May 10 by
Hear MusicHear Music, also known as StarCon is the brand name of Starbucks' retail music concept and record label. Hear Music began as a catalog company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1990 before being purchased by Starbucks in 1999.-Concept:...
/
Concord Music GroupConcord Music Group is a record company owned by Village Roadshow formed in 2004 by the merger of Concord Records and Fantasy Records. In 2005, the company acquired the classics and jazz label Telarc International. On December 18, 2006, Concord announced the re-launch of the soul label Stax;...
, debuting at #7 on Billboard's album charts. The album's first single, "
Sad Song"Sad Song" is the lead single by the American rock band The Cars from their 2011 studio album Move Like This. A brief clip of the song was released in December 2010; the full song was released to radio on March 1, 2011.-Details:...
", was released to radio stations March 1. In April 2011, The Cars announced
a ten-city tour of the United States and CanadaThe Cars North American Tour Spring 2011 is a set of eleven concerts in the United States and Canada featuring the newly-reunited American band The Cars. Announced in April 2011 prior to the release of the band's album Move Like This, the concerts feature material from Move Like This and from the...
to start in May 2011.
Genres
The Cars have used genres that spanned through all of
RockRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and
PopPop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
music, including
new waveNew Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
,
pop rockPop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
, proto-punk,
garage rockGarage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
, and
bubblegum popBubblegum pop is a genre of pop music with an upbeat sound contrived and marketed to appeal to pre-teens and teenagers, produced in an assembly-line process, driven by producers, often using unknown singers.Bubblegum's classic period ran from 1967 to 1972...
. They have also used
rockabillyRockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
in songs such as
My Best Friend's Girl"My Best Friend's Girl" is a song by American rock band The Cars from their 1978 self-titled debut album on Elektra Records. Written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Roy Thomas Baker, the song was released as the album's second single. It peaked at number 35 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart, and reached...
. Robert Palmer, music critic for
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, described The Cars' musical style by saying: "they have taken some important but disparate contemporary trends—
punkPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
minimalism, the labyrinthine synthesizer and guitar textures of
art rockArt rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, with influences from art, avant-garde, and classical music. The first usage of the term, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. Influenced by the work of The Beatles, most notably their Sgt...
, the '50s
rockabillyRockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
revival and the melodious terseness of
power popPower pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
—and mixed them into a personal and appealing blend." They have also had
Hard rockHard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
-oriented songs including
You're All I've Got Tonight"You're All I've Got Tonight" is a song by the American rock band the Cars, from their debut album, The Cars. Like "Bye Bye Love" and "Moving in Stereo", two other songs from the album, it continues to receive airplay on classic rock stations today despite never having been released as a...
.
Current members
- Ric Ocasek
Ric Ocasek is an American musician and music producer. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band, The Cars....
– rhythm guitar, lead and background vocals, synthesizer (1976–1988, 2010–present)
- Elliot Easton
Elliot Easton plays lead guitar and sings backing vocals for The Cars. His guitar solos are integral part of the band's hit singles. He studied music at the Berklee College of Music...
– lead guitar, background vocals (1976–1988, 2010–present)
- Greg Hawkes
Greg Hawkes is a musician best known as the keyboardist for the Rock band The Cars.Hawkes, a native of Fulton, Maryland, attended Atholton High School where he played in a band called Teeth. He then attended Berklee College of Music for two years, majoring in composition and flute...
– keyboards, synthesizer, percussion, saxophone, bass, background vocals (1976–1988, 2010–present)
- David Robinson
David Robinson is an American rock drummer. He has performed with many rock bands including The Modern Lovers, DMZ and The Cars.He attended Woburn Memorial High School....
– drums, percussion, background vocals (1976–1988, 2010–present)
Former member
- Benjamin Orr
Benjamin Orr was an American rock musician best known as the bassist and vocalist for the Boston based rock band, The Cars....
– bass guitar, lead and background vocals (1976–1988, died in 2000)
Discography
- The Cars
The Cars is the self-titled debut album by the American rock band The Cars released in 1978. With the popular tracks "Just What I Needed" and "My Best Friend's Girl" getting heavy airplay on AOR radio stations, the album sold one million copies by the end of the year and steadily climbed the...
(1978)
- Candy-O
Candy-O is the second studio album by the American rock band The Cars, released in 1979.- Cover art :The album cover was painted by artist Alberto Vargas, known for his paintings of pin-up girls that appeared in Esquire and Playboy magazines in the 1940s and 1960s...
(1979)
- Panorama (1980)
- Shake It Up (1981)
- Heartbeat City
Heartbeat City is the fifth studio album by American rock band The Cars, released in 1984.Heartbeat City contains a total of five American Top 40 singles, two of which were Top 10 as well, reaching #3 and #7, respectively...
(1984)
- Door to Door (1987)
- Move Like This
-Best Buy edition:This enhanced CD also has videos for "Sad Song" and "Blue Tip.""Rocket USA" is a cover of a 1977 song by the American band Suicide, from their self-titled debut.-Personnel:The Cars*Ric Ocasek – lead and background vocals, guitars, keyboards...
(2011)
External links