The Cars
| The Cars | |
|---|---|
 Ric Ocasek, 2009 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Rock , pop , new wave |
| founding | 1976, 2010 |
| resolution | 1988, 2019 |
| Website | http://www.thecars.org |
| Last occupation | |
| Elliot Easton (1976–1988, since 2010) | |
| Greg Hawkes (1976–1988, since 2010) | |
| David Robinson (1976–1988, since 2010) | |
| former members | |
| Ric Ocasek (1976–1988, 2010–2019) † 2019 | |
Vocals, bass
|
Benjamin Orr (1976–1988; † 2000) |
The Cars were an American new wave , pop and rock band that had their greatest successes between 1978 and 1985.
Band history
Beginnings and successes
The band The Cars was founded in Boston in 1976 . In 1977 the members signed a record deal with Elektra Records .
The core of the band was the composer and singer Ric Ocasek and the bassist Benjamin Orr , who also took over the lead vocals for some songs (including Just What I Needed Let's Go and Drive ). There were also guitarist Elliot Easton and drummer David Robinson, who had previously played in Jonathan Richman's band "The Modern Lovers", and keyboardist Greg Hawkes.
The Cars built a bridge between the guitar pop and punk of the 1970s ( David Bowie , Iggy Pop ) and the sound of the 1980s, which was determined by keyboards and synthesizers . Hawkes' arrangements determined the sound of the band, and Easton was allowed to contribute a catchy guitar solo on almost all single releases. From 1981 the band produced largely chart-oriented mainstream pop.
Her first album The Cars reached number 18 in the American album charts in 1978; the singles Just What I Needed , My Best Friend's Girl and Good Times Roll reached the middle of the single charts. The second studio album Candy-O reached number 3 a year later. In the next few years, the band was able to achieve further top ten positions in the single charts, also thanks to the massive support of the music channel MTV, which was founded in 1981 .
In 1984 the band reached their commercial peak with their album Heartbeat City and the five singles, four of which reached the top 20. The most successful titles were Drive (3rd place in the USA) and You Might Think (7th place). Like all albums before, Heartbeat City also went platinum in the USA.
On July 13, 1985, The Cars performed at the Live Aid concert at the John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia.
Dissolution and follow-up projects
After the album Door to Door (1987) was less commercially successful and only achieved gold status in the USA, the band broke up in 1988. Orr and Ocasek started moderately successful solo careers, with Ric Ocasek also making a name for himself as a producer, for example of Weezer , Bad Religion and Romeo Void .
Elliot Easton played for Creedence Clearwater Revisited from 1995 .
Benjamin Orr died of pancreatic cancer in 2000.
In 2006 the former Cars musicians Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes founded a new formation called "The New Cars" together with Todd Rundgren (as singer and guitarist), bassist Kasim Sulton and drummer Prairie Prince . A live album entitled It's Alive was released, which was recorded during the new group's US tour and included old songs with a new sound as well as three new studio tracks.
Reunion and final dissolution
In 2010, the Cars announced their reunion - with the exception of the late Benjamin Orr in the original line-up. The single Sad Song was released in March 2011, and a studio album entitled Move Like This was released on May 6, 2011 . This was followed by a tour of eleven cities, which began on May 10 in Seattle and ended on May 26, 2011 at the House of Blues in Boston , on which the band played new material from the current album as well as old hits.
In December 2017, The Cars were honored with the induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . The official event took place on April 14, 2018; at this the band appeared together once more. Ric Ocasek died in September 2019.
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1978 | The Cars | - | - |
UK29  (15 weeks)UK |
US18th  × 6
(139 weeks)US |
First published: June 6, 1978
Producer: Roy Thomas Baker |
| 1979 | Candy-O | - | - |
UK30 (6 weeks) UK |
US3 × 4
(62 weeks)US |
First published: June 12, 1979
Producer: Roy Thomas Baker |
| 1980 | panorama | - | - | - |
US5 (28 weeks)US |
First published: August 15, 1980
Producer: Roy Thomas Baker |
| 1981 | Shake it up | - | - | - |
US9 × 2
(41 weeks)US |
First published: November 9, 1981
Producer: Roy Thomas Baker |
| 1984 | Heartbeat City |
DE15 (18 weeks) DE |
CH20 (5 weeks) CH |
UK25th  (30 weeks)UK |
US3 × 4
(69 weeks)US |
First published: March 13, 1984
Producer: Robert John "Mutt" Lange , The Cars |
| 1987 | Door to door |
DE57 (2 weeks) DE |
CH20 (3 weeks) CH |
UK72 (2 weeks) UK |
US26th (23 weeks)US |
First published: August 11, 1987
Producer: Ric Ocasek |
| 2011 | Move Like This | - | - | - |
US7 (7 weeks) US |
First published: May 10, 2011
Producers: Jacknife Lee, The Cars |
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
Compilations
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1985 | Greatest hits | - | - |
UK27 (19 weeks)UK |
US12 × 6
(39 weeks)US |
First published: October 1985
|
| 2002 | The Complete Greatest Hits (US) The Definitive (EU) |
- | - | - |
US32 (... weeks) US |
First published: February 2002
|
More compilations
- 1995: The Cars Anthology: Just What I Needed (2 CDs)
- 2001: Shake It Up and Other Hits
- 2002: The Very Best of the Cars
- 2005: The Essentials
- 2006: The Cars Unlocked: The Live Performances (CD + DVD)
- 2006: Rhino Hi-Five: The Cars (5 mp3 files; release: October 6th)
- 2008: Classic Tracks
- 2010: Original Album Series (box with 5 CDs)
- 2016: Moving in Stereo: The Best of the Cars (CD or 2 LPs; release: May 6th)
- 2016: The Elektra Years 1978–1987 (box with 6 LPs; release: June 7th)
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
 AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1978 | Just What I Needed The Cars |
- | - | - |
UK17 (10 weeks) UK |
US27 (17 weeks) US |
First published: May 29, 1978
Author: Ric Ocasek |
| My Best Friend's Girl The Cars |
- | - | - |
UK3 (10 weeks) UK |
US35 (15 weeks) US |
First published: October 10, 1978
Author: Ric Ocasek |
|
| 1979 | Good Times Roll The Cars |
- | - | - | - |
US41 (10 weeks) US |
First published: February 20, 1979
Author: Ric Ocasek |
| Let's Go Candy-O |
- | - | - |
UK51 (4 weeks) UK |
US14 (15 weeks) US |
First published: June 12, 1979
Author: Ric Ocasek |
|
| It's All I Can Do Candy-O |
- | - | - | - |
US41 (10 weeks) US |
First published: September 25, 1979
Author: Ric Ocasek |
|
| 1980 | Touch and Go Panorama |
- | - | - | - |
US37 (11 weeks) US |
First published: August 25, 1980
Author: Ric Ocasek |
| 1981 | Shake It Up Shake It Up |
- | - | - | - |
US4 (22 weeks) US |
First published: November 9, 1981
Author: Ric Ocasek |
| 1982 | Since You're Gone Shake It Up |
- | - | - |
UK37 (4 weeks) UK |
US41 (9 weeks) US |
First published: March 8, 1982
Author: Ric Ocasek |
| 1984 | You Might Think Heartbeat City |
- | - | - |
UK88 (5 weeks) UK |
US7 (17 weeks) US |
First published: February 1984
Author: Ric Ocasek |
| Magic Heartbeat City |
- | - | - | - |
US12 (17 weeks) US |
First published: May 7, 1984
Author: Ric Ocasek |
|
|
Drive Heartbeat City |
DE4 (16 weeks) DE |
AT8 (10 weeks) AT |
CH3 (12 weeks) CH |
UK4th (27 weeks)UK |
US3 (19 weeks) US |
First published: July 23, 1984
Author: Ric Ocasek |
|
| Hello Again Heartbeat City |
DE27 (8 weeks) DE |
AT21 (6 weeks) AT |
CH17 (6 weeks) CH |
- |
US20 (15 weeks) US |
First published: October 15, 1984
Author: Ric Ocasek |
|
| 1985 | Why Can't I Have You Heartbeat City |
- | - | - | - |
US33 (17 weeks) US |
First published: January 7, 1985
Author: Ric Ocasek |
| Heartbeat City Heartbeat City |
- | - | - |
UK78 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: February 1985
Author: Ric Ocasek |
|
| Tonight She Comes Greatest Hits |
- | - | - |
UK79 (4 weeks) UK |
US7 (17 weeks) US |
First published: October 14, 1985
Author: Ric Ocasek |
|
| 1986 | I'm Not the One Greatest Hits |
- | - | - | - |
US32 (11 weeks) US |
First published: January 13, 1986
Author: Ric Ocasek |
| 1987 | You Are the Girl Door to Door |
- | - | - | - |
US17 (14 weeks) US |
First published: August 10, 1987
Author: Ric Ocasek |
| Strap Me In Door to Door |
- | - | - | - |
US85 (4 weeks) US |
First published: October 19, 1987
Author: Ric Ocasek |
|
| 1988 | Coming Up You Door to Door |
- | - | - | - |
US74 (5 weeks) US |
First published: January 1988
Author: Ric Ocasek |
More singles
- 1979: Double Life (release: December 11th)
- 1980: Don't Tell Me No (release: November 10th)
- 1981: Gimme Some Slack (released January 5th)
- 1982: Victim of Love (release: June)
- 2011: Sad Song (release: April 16)
statistics
Chart evaluation
|
|
Awards for music sales
|
Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.
| Country / Region |
silver |
gold |
platinum
|
Sales | swell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources) |
|||||
 Canada (MC)
|
- | - |
4 × platinum4th
|
400,000 | musiccanada.com |
 New Zealand (RMNZ)
|
- |
gold1
|
3 × platinum3
|
52,500 | nztop40.co.nz |
|
United States (RIAA)
|
- |
gold1
|
23 × platinum23
|
23,500,000 | riaa.com |
|
United Kingdom (BPI)
|
silver1
|
3 × gold3
|
- | 760,000 | bpi.co.uk |
| All in all |
silver1
|
5 × gold5
|
30 × platinum30th
|
||
swell
- ↑ Your official Rock Hall class of 2018 roster. Hall of Fame website, accessed December 14, 2017
- ↑ a b c Chart sources: Singles Albums DE UK US albums
Web links
- Official website
- The Cars at Allmusic (English)
- The Cars at Discogs (English)