Frontman And Founding Member Of The Cars Ric Ocasek Dies Aged 75
Monday, 16 September 2019
Written by Laura Johnson
Ric Ocasek has died aged 75.
The Cars frontman and co-founder was found unresponsive at his home in New York on September 15, though an official cause of death has not been confirmed.
Ocasek formed the band in Boston in 1976 with lead guitarist Elliot Easton, bassist and singer Benjamin Orr, drummer David Robinson and keyboardist Greg Hawkes. They were instrumental in the creation of the new wave movement and released six albums with the original line up before splitting in 1988.
Orr died from cancer in 2000 and despite all members' previous insistence to the contrary, the remaining line up reunited in 2010 to record a new studio album together, 2011's 'Move Like This'.
Ocasek spent his time away from the Cars making solo material and pursuing a career behind the mixing board in the studio with other bands, producing some huge names, including Weezer, No Doubt, Bad Religion and the Cribs.
In 2018 the Cars were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and again reformed to play at the induction ceremony. It would be their final performance with Ocasek.
Since the news of his passing there has been a number of tributes from fellow musicians shared online, including posts from Brandon Flowers of the Killers and Weezer.
Feeling grateful for Ric. Had the opportunity to send him this email a couple years back. My first king. Thank you, thank you, thank you. pic.twitter.com/h4u8CXDhRg
The weezer family is devastated by the loss of our friend and mentor Ric Ocasek, who passed away Sunday. We will miss him forever, & will forever cherish the precious times we got to work and hang out with him. Rest in Peace & rock on Ric, we love you. #RIPRicOcasek#karlscornerpic.twitter.com/JcTXevr6V8
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
