Just now reading about this, wow ...very sad.

Via Rolling Stone magazine: Ric Okasek

Ric Ocasek, the idiosyncratic singer and guitarist for the Cars and hit-making album producer, has died. He was 75.

At approximately 3 p.m. ET, police officers responded to a 911 call at 140 E. 19th Street, a rep for the New York Police Department told Rolling Stone. Officers discovered Ocasek unconscious and unresponsive. He was later pronounced dead at the scene. No cause of death has been revealed. A rep for the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Beginning with the Cars self-titled debut in 1978, Ocasek established himself as a stoic frontman with a sense of humor and melodrama on songs like “My Best Friend’s Girl,” “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight,” and “Good Times Roll.” As one of the group’s lead vocalists, alongside bassist Benjamin Orr, he sang “Shake It Up” and “You Might Think.” After the band broke up in 1988, Ocasek recorded as a solo artist and worked as a producer, helping sculpt blockbuster hits like Weezer’s Blue Album and Green Album and cult favorites like Bad Brains’ Rock for Light.
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Loved many of The Cars' quirky/poppy/new-wavey tunes back in the day, (especially from the first few albums), and saw them live at the L.A. Forum around '85.

RIP Ric Ocasek

EDIT: Browsing through youtube...standout track from 1979... Candy-O ...my first year in High school...memories flowing....

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2019-09-16 10:57 by bv.

Awful news...
RIP RIC

Eerie coincidence ... This morning I just happened to watch the Cars video for "It's Magic" on YouTube after hearing the song used in a tv commercial and having it in my head

Wow, I heard Just What I Needed at an outdoor cafe earlier today, and thought to myself how good the Cars were. Weird how things like that happen.

RIP, Ric.

Sad news.
He apparently had an up and down year in 2018..
Elected to The Hall of Fame, and a long term marriage ended in divorce.


Really was into The Cars debut album (hard to find someone who wasn't) in '78/79.
Great talent. RIP

I didn't think he was that old considering that the Cars burst on the scene in 1978. RIP.

Eddie Money, Ric Ocasek, quite a week.

Seems like they're dropping like flies

a sad week for the nice guys of rock

RIP!

Ric Ocasek - Emotion In Motion

Very sad news. I was surprised that he was 75. So many hit songs in the late 70s and early 80s. One of my favourite singles was off their greatest hits album in 86 Tonight She Comes.

RIP Ric.

Sad and surprising news. RIP Ric

Rip... Liked that debut album a lot...He produced some great records also..

Just found the Variety article and headed here. I absolutely wore-out the cassette for the self-titled debut. Glad I saw em twice. Like Rocky mentioned, not a good week.

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Rocky Dijon
Eddie Money, Ric Ocasek, quite a week.

not to mention Daniel Johnston

Drive is all time favorite. RIP

video: [www.youtube.com]

RIP


"Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Ric Ocasek, lead singer of the rock band The Cars, died Sunday in New York at age 75.

Police said they received a call around 4 p.m. for an unconscious male at a townhouse on East 19th Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Law enforcement sources confirmed the deceased was Ocasek.

Ocasek and his band were inducted into the Rock Hall in 2018. The institution described the band as "hook-savvy with the perfect combo of new wave and classic rock."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-09-16 04:48 by MisterDDDD.

That's a shame. Hard to believe he was 75. He sung lead on a few of the Cars songs but the lead singer was bass player Benjamin Orr, who died much to young of cancer. Life's insane, I`m moving in stereo...

Yes, great great song.
RIP.

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crholmstrom
Drive is all time favorite. RIP

video: [www.youtube.com]

***
I'm just a Bad Boy Boogie

…. YEAH it'll always be Drive ….
Me and Wild Cat Baby use ta sing it everytime we parted ….



ROCKMAN

Horrible news!!!

Wow. Sad, I KNEW he was older than it was made out to be. When you looked at The Cars in pictures he LOOKED well older than the others, but gee, 75yo? Bloody sad. Some classic tunes from The Cars are on my playlists...Drive as others have said, is a Stone Cold Classic. He had a great ear for the hook.

RIP Ric.

Rod

That one rattled me.

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MileHigh
I didn't think he was that old considering that the Cars burst on the scene in 1978. RIP.

I know, right? He was 34 when the Cars released their first album. Extremely unusual for an unknown rock musician to suddenly come out of nowhere and hit it big at that age. In fact, I've never even heard of such a thing.

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bitusa2012
Wow. Sad, I KNEW he was older than it was made out to be. When you looked at The Cars in pictures he LOOKED well older than the others, but gee, 75yo?

There's a real disconnect when you look at the video of their 2018 Rock Hall performance and the drummer has a long white beard while Ric's still sporting that full head of shiny black hair. But Ric's face betrayed his age.

RIP Ric. This news was a jolt. He was always so cool and the music fabulous.

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crholmstrom

Drive is all time favorite.

Yep. Written by Ric Ocasek, but sung by bassist Benjamin Orr -- Wikipedia .

RIP Ric - thanks for this & the other Tracks ....

I'm very surprised at this tragic news. I just can't believe it.Thought he was younger. I have a double greatest hits and outts by Cars I will play today in memory of such a great band. Ric, RIP you will not be forgotten. Thanks for the nice memories.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-09-16 16:32 by babyblue.

OMG, this is horrible news.

Ric's music, both with the Cars and solo, has meant so much to me over the years. So clever and interesting and catchy and gentle and fun and upbeat, yet shimmering with mystery and sadness.

I am gutted.

One day many years ago I went up to Ric as he was leaving a concert, shook his hand, and told him how much his music has mattered to me. He was so warm and nice. Although he probably forgot about it in 5 minutes, I felt a genuine connection between myself and him, these two tall and gangly dudes.

Everyone knows the first Cars album is a stone-cold classic, but as I've written in other posts, there is a lot from later Cars albums that is equally good. My personal favorite is [www.youtube.com]

His solo stuff was largely overlooked, but Beatitude and This Side of Paradise are both excellent.

Onstage and in music videos he was a master of minimalism. Which is not everyone's cup of tea to be sure, but I really admired his super-cool persona.

RIP Ric and thank you for all the times you got me through the darkness.

Drew

RIP Ric - I thought he was much younger.

Too bad they died young Eddie and Rick*Sorry for that !-BUT their music was shit (BOTH)--they represented what I HATED/HATE about music-they helped RUIN "popular" music-they are responsible for how shitty music became-I started bands in opposition to what these people represented-they were/are the OPPOSITE of what I stood and stand for musically and culturally--then and now--

Greg Prevost from The Chesterfield Kings

Thats Right !



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-09-16 18:07 by steffiestones.