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The band's members were Ric Ocasek (born Richard Otcasek), the band's principal songwriter, rhythm guitarist, and part-time lead singer; Benjamin Orr (born Benjamin Orzechowski), bassist and part-time lead singer; Elliot Easton , lead guitar and backing vocals; David Robinson, drums and backing vocals; and Greg Hawkes , keyboards, saxophoneoctave lower than an Alto Sax. The saxophone or sax is a musical instrument of the woodwind family, usually made of brass and with a distinctive loop bringing the bell upwards. It was invented by Adolphe Sax in the mid- 1840s. The saxophone is most common, guitar, and backing vocals. The nucleus of the group was composed of guitarists Ocasek and Orr.
The Cars successfully bridged the gap between the guitar-oriented rock of the 1970s and the synth-oriented pop of the early 1980s. While Elliot Easton could do the occasional guitar solo, The Cars' sound was defined much more by Greg Hawkes' synthesizers and the huge harmonies of Easton, Robinson, and Hawkes behind Orr's and Ocasek's lead vocals.
The bands hits dominated the charts for over nine years; their most successful albums were 1978Events January January 1 The Copyright Act of 1976 takes effect, making sweeping changes to United States copyright law. January 1 Air India's Boeing 747 explodes near Bombay 213 dead. January 4 Referendum in Chile supports policies of Augusto Pinochet.'s The Cars, which featured one of the most popular New Wave songs of all time in "Just What I Needed," and 1984This page is about the year 1984. For other uses of 1984, see 1984 (disambiguation). 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday (link shows calendar). Events January January 1 Brunei becomes a fully independent state January 1 AT&T is broken up into 22 indepe's Heartbeat CityHeartbeat City is the fifth studio album by American new wave band The Cars, released in 1984. see 1984 in music). Track listing #"Hello Again" (Ocasek) 3:47 #"Looking for Love" (Ocasek) 3:52 #"Magic" (Ocasek) 3:57 #"Drive" (Ocasek) 3:55 #"Stranger Eyes", which included four Top 20 singles: "Magic," "Drive," "Heartbeat City," and "You Might Think," which also won the MTV Video of the Year Award (see 1984 in musicSee also 1983 in music, other events of 1984, 1985 in music, 1980s in music and the list of 'years in music' Events January 28 singer Michael Jackson's hair catches fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. February 14 Elton John marries studio engin).
After the resulting period of superstardom, the Cars released their last album Door to DoorDoor to Door is the sixth and final studio album by American new wave band The Cars, released in 1987. see 1987 in music). Track listing #"Leave or Stay" (Ocasek) 2:55 #"You Are the Girl" (Ocasek) 3:52 #"Double Trouble" (Ocasek) 4:14 #"Fine Line" (Ocasek) in 19871987 is a common year starting on Thursday. Events January January 1 Nunavut's capital changes it name to Iqaluit from Frobisher Bay. January 3 Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. January 4 An Amtrak train, but it failed to approach the success of their previous albums. The Cars announced the group's break-up in February 19881988 is a leap year starting on Friday (click on link for calendar). Events January January 2 Georgia celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 9 Connecticut celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 26 Australia celebrates its bicentennial day. ( 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.