Monday, September 10, 2007

The Music of THE CARS


The Cars were an American rock band, fronted by Ric Ocasek, that emerged from the early punk scene in the late 1970s. Other members of the band were bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson. They hailed from Boston, Massachusetts and were signed to Elektra Records in 1977.

History
The Cars were are 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's synthesizers and the harmonies of Easton, Robinson, and Hawkes. Lead vocals were split, with Ric Ocasek taking about 60% and Benjamin Orr taking the remaining 40%. While Ocasek was the sole lyricist and main songwriter for the band, Orr would act as frontman in live appearances.

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 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 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.

Listen to their songs.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dorks. The photo you're using for The Cars is actually The New Cars -- the touring band fronted by, who knows why, Todd Rundgren, featuring Prairie Prince on drums. Hawkes and Easton are the only original Cars in the band. Change yer photo.

Bud Weiser, WTIT said...

I'm with anonymous. How could someone make this mistake and not correct it? I found the page because I needed a photo of the New Cars. Great photo. Stupid match to a non-inspiring bit.