THE CARS

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The Cars was a popular American New Wave band, fronted by Ric Ocasek, that emerged out of the early punk scene in the late 1970s. They hailed from Boston, Massachusetts and were signed to Elektra Records in 1977 (1977 in music).  The Cars were at the forefront in merging 1970's guitar-oriented rock with the new synth-oriented pop then becoming popular, and which would flower in the early 1980s. While most of the singles included an Elliot Easton guitar solo, The Cars' sound was defined much more by Greg Hawkes' synthesizers and the huge harmonies of Easton, David Robinson, and Hawkes. The band's hits dominated the charts for over nine years; their most successful albums were 1978's The Cars, which featured the hit "Just What I Needed," 1979's Candy-O, which featured the hit "Let's Go", and 1984's Heartbeat City, which included four Top 20 singles: "Magic", "Drive", "Hello Again" and "You Might Think", which also won the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year (see 1984 in music). "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. Another extremely popular song from the Cars (but often not attributed to them) is "Moving in Stereo". It became infamous for its use during the Phoebe Cates pool scene in the 1982 movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

After the resulting period of superstardom and another hit single ("Tonight She Comes", a new song from their first Greatest Hits album), the Cars released their last album Door to Door in 1987, but it failed to approach the success of their previous albums. The Cars announced the group's break-up in February 1988 (1988 in music). In the late 1990s, rumors circulated of a Cars reunion, but Orr's death of pancreatic cancer on October 3, 2000 put an end to them for a time.

The New Cars

In 2005, rumors began circulating that Easton and Hawkes would be teaming with Todd Rundgren in a new Cars lineup. As preposterous as the rumor seemed, it turned out to be true, with the revamped lineup calling itself The New Cars. Two regular Rundgren collaborators, bassist Kasim Sulton and drummer Prairie Prince, are replacing Orr and Robinson in the new lineup.

The band's first single, "Not Tonight", released on March 20, 2006, sounds uncannily like the original group.

According to a March 14, 2006 press release announcing The New Cars, a greatest hits collection, The New Cars: It's Alive, will be released May 9 on Eleven Seven Music. The album will include classic Cars songs recorded live plus never-before-released studio tracks.

A summer tour with Blondie kicks off May 12 in Mississippi.

Rundgren has referred to the project as "an opportunity ... for me to pay my bills, play to a larger audience, work with musicians I know and like, and ideally have some fun for a year." Ocasek

I love the cars. I like the solo ric ocasek does in "just what I needed," it's one of my favorite guitar solos ever.

  The Cars are a favorite of mine and their music marked my time in that other decade...

  Tight rhythms, savvy lyrics and the subtle humor in Ric Ocasek's vocals make albums I can enjoy and not skip a single song...

  Speaking of guitar solos, my Cars faves are found on "My Best Friend's Girl" and "Shake It Up"..

  I still miss Benjamin Orr...

 

i'm all shopping for cars albums now. i hope y'all are happy.

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I dig The Cars.  My favourite tune is "Let's Go".  I've made DJ-Friendly mixes of that, "Shake It Up" and "Magic".  I just found the 12" version of "Hello Again" so I'm stoked.  :D

i'm all shopping for cars albums now. i hope y'all are happy.


  I'm sure, while you were shopping, you found the Rhino remaster of the debut album...I've recently purchased it and it's worh every cent.  Disc two is demos and unissued songs...

  It's fun to hear the Cars when they were young and hungry...

  I'm sure, while you were shopping, you found the Rhino remaster of the debut album...I've recently purchased it and it's worh every cent.  Disc two is demos and unissued songs...

  It's fun to hear the Cars when they were young and hungry...
i did NOT see that! hot tip. and i love rhino. i'ma pick that up.

i did NOT see that! hot tip. and i love rhino. i'ma pick that up.


  No word yet if Rhino plans on giving the other Cars albums the royal treatment, but it sure would be nice...

  Anyway, as usual, keep grooving... ;)

I love the Cars, their first 2 albums came out in '78 &'79 and '79 was my senior year of highschool. Alot of memories there.  8) 

Yeah, they're a great band, especially the more arena rocky/pop songs like "Magic". Although they kinda had the same general sound throughout their career. Ric Ocasek did most of the vocals (the hiccupy style, lol) but I always loved Ben Orr's songs, such as "It's Not the Night" "Drive", "Just What I Needed" and "Go Away".

I kinda think they were one of the first true "80s bands" too.