The Cars
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{{otheruses4|the rock band|the Disney/Pixar movie|Cars (film)|The band's debut album|The Cars (album)}}
{{unreferenced|date=June 2008}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| Name = The Cars
| Img =
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| Img_size =
| Landscape =
| Background = group_or_band
| Origin = [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], [[United States|USA]]
| Genre = [[Rock music|Rock]], [[New wave music|New Wave]], [[Pop rock]], [[Power pop]]
| Years_active = 1976–1988
| Label = [[Elektra Records|Elektra]], [[Rhino Entertainment|Rhino]], [[Warner Music Group|Warner]]
| Associated_acts = [[The New Cars]]
| Past_members = [[Ric Ocasek]]<br>[[Benjamin Orr]]<br>[[Greg Hawkes]]<br>[[Elliot Easton]]<br>[[David Robinson (musician)|David Robinson]]
}}
'''The Cars''' were an [[United States|American]] [[Rock music|rock]] band that emerged from the early [[New Wave music]] scene in the late 1970s. Members of the band were [[singer]] and [[rhythm guitarist]] [[Ric Ocasek]], singer and [[bassist]] [[Benjamin Orr]], [[guitarist]] [[Elliot Easton]], [[keyboardist]] [[Greg Hawkes]] and [[drummer]] [[David Robinson (musician)|David Robinson]]. They band originated 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|Greg Hawkes's]] synthesizers and the harmonies of Orr, Easton, Hawkes, and Robinson. Lead vocals were split, with [[Ric Ocasek]] taking about 60% and [[Benjamin Orr]] taking the remaining 40%.{{fact|date=June 2008}} The song "[[Drive (The Cars 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.{{fact|date=June 2008}}
The band broke up in 1988, and Orr's death in 2000 dashed any hopes for a full reunion. Easton and Hawkes joined with [[Todd Rundgren]] in 2005 to form a spin-off band, [[The New Cars]], which performs classic Cars (and Rundgren) songs alongside new material on tour.
==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 College of Music|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|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 Cap'n Swing. 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 (musician)|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 (band)|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 1976–77 playing all over New England, developing, honing, and ultimately perfecting the songs that would become their debut album. The band caught the attention of Maxanne Sartori, a local DJ on [[WBCN-FM]] who began playing their demo of "[[Just What I Needed]]". By virtue of that airplay, the band was signed to [[Elektra Records]]. "[[Just What I Needed]]" would turn out to be the first single from the band’s debut album, ''[[The Cars (album)|The Cars]]'', released in 1978 and reaching #18 on the Billboard Top LP's & Tapes chart. "My Best Friend’s Girl" and "Good Times Roll" soon followed, charting on the Billboard Hot 100. 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".
A more experimental album, ''[[Panorama (Cars album)|Panorama]]'', was released in 1980, charting only one Top 40 hit with "Touch and Go". [[Rolling Stone]] described the album as "an out-and-out drag". In 1981, the Cars built their own studio in Boston, Syncro Sound. The only Cars album recorded there was ''[[Shake It Up]]''. It was their first album to score a Top 10 hit with the title track, and had another hit in "Since You’re Gone". Following their 1982 tour, 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 (Ric Ocasek album)|Beatitude]]'' and ''[[Niagara Falls (album)|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 [[MTV Video Music Award for Best Video of the Year|Video of the Year]] at the first [[MTV Awards|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 (The Cars song)|Drive]]", gained particular notability when it was used in a video of the [[Ethiopia]]n famine prepared by the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] and introduced by [[David Bowie]] at the 1985 [[Live Aid]] concert at [[Wembley Stadium (1924)|Wembley Stadium]] in [[London]]. [[Image:TheCarsLiveAid.JPG|thumb|left|The Cars performing at [[Live Aid]].]]
===Break-up and solo careers===
After the resulting period of superstardom and another hit single, "Tonight She Comes", a #7 hit on the [[Billboard Hot 100]], from their ''[[Greatest Hits (The Cars album)|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 (Benjamin Orr album)|The Lace]]'', respectively), while Ric Ocasek released his second solo album, ''[[This Side of Paradise (Ric Ocasek album)|This Side of Paradise]]''. In 1987, the Cars released their last album, ''[[Door to Door (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 ''[[Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology]]'', 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]]''.
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.
Recently, the band's [[The Cars (album)|first album]] was released for the popular video game, ''[[Rock Band (video game)|Rock Band]]''.
==Band members==
===Former members===
*[[Ric Ocasek]] - rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals
*[[Benjamin Orr]] - bass, lead and backing vocals
*[[Elliot Easton]] - lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals
*[[Greg Hawkes]] - keyboards, synthesizer, percussion, saxophone, tenor saxophone, backing vocals
*[[David Robinson (musician)|David Robinson]] - drums, percussion, backing vocals
==Discography==
{{main|The Cars discography}}
*''[[The Cars (album)|The Cars]]'' (1978)
*''[[Candy-O]]'' (1979)
*''[[Panorama (The Cars album)|Panorama]]'' (1980)
*''[[Shake It Up]]'' (1981)
*''[[Heartbeat City]]'' (1984)
*''[[Door to Door (album)|Door to Door]]'' (1987)
==External links==
*{{MySpace|thecarsunlocked|The Cars}}
* [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thecars/biography The Cars biography]
{{The Cars}}
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[[Category:The Cars|*]]
[[Category:New Wave groups|Cars, The]]
[[Category:American rock music groups|Cars, The]]
[[Category:Power pop groups|Cars, The]]
[[Category:Boston musical groups|Cars, The]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1976|Cars, The]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1988|Cars, The]]
[[Category:1970s music groups|Cars, The]]
[[Category:1980s music groups|Cars, The]]
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