What Makes The Cars Timeless? | POP FIX | Professor of Rock

The Cars were different from the guitar-oriented rock bands of the late 70s, because they incorporated many different styles to make their music stand out- especially their use of synthesizers to blend with art rock & rockabilly influences. With the incredible vocal duo of Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr, as well as original members, Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes, and David Robinson, the Cars were one of the first true power pop rock bands, and helped usher in the New Wave synth era of the the late 70s and early & mid 80s.

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The five original members of The Cars were under-rated musicians that thankfully got their due, when they were inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. Let’s be clear they should have been first ballot shoo in.Their performance at the Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony was their last live performance as The Cars.

The Cars formed in Boston in 1976, and songs from their self-produced demos began to get significant airplay on Boston radio stations. They signed with Elektra in 1977, and were initially labeled as a New Wave band by the industry.

The Cars were different from the guitar-oriented rock bands of the late 70s, because they incorporated many different styles to make their music stand out- especially their use of synthesizers to blend with art rock & rockabilly influences. They were one of the first true power pop rock bands, and helped usher in the New Wave synth era of the the early & mid 80s.

I’m going to highlight my 5er by The Cars, but before I do that,I want to single out each of the 5 original band members of The Cars, and recognize their enormous talent:

*Benjamin Orr: Co-lead vocalist and bass guitarist. When the Cars played “just What I needed" on The Midnight Special in 1978 He is the epitome of cool. With this Non Chalant, like a midwestern Bowie, Orr could wail so effortlessly he was just so rad.

*Elliot Easton: Lead guitarist. Easton should be mentioned in a conversation about the best rock guitarists of all time.

*Greg Hawkes- Keyboardist. Greg was another invaluable part of The Cars sound. He was a pioneer of technology and sequencing. Hawkes had a signature style, that included the ‘Prophet 5 sync’ that was very prevalent on The Cars songs “Hello Again” and “Let’s Go”.

*David Robinson- Drummer. Besides his superb percussion work, David designed the album covers for The Cars, and after his semi-retirement from the music business after the band’s breakup, David became an accomplished entrepreneur, who makes and sells his own jewelry, among other ventures.

Here is my 5er by The Cars:

*#5 “Drive”- This was a gem of a departure by The Cars. A song Ocasek wrote about a down-trodden ex-lover who is self-destructing. “Drive” was the highest charting song by The Cars- rising to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984. It went to #1 at Adult Contemporary in the U.S., as well as Canada, and was a Top 5 smash throughout Europe, including the UK, Germany, and Ireland.
Benjamin Orr sang lead on “Drive”. I believe it was his 2nd best vocal performance, subtle and hypnotic. Sad and so affecting

*#4- “Moving in Stereo”- Co written by Hawkes and Ocasek. The song has the cadence of an creepy dream sequence from a psychodrama. It was intended to draw parallels of a stereo recording and real life- in essence, “moving in stereo” through life. “Moving in Stereo” has one of the most memorable song placements in a movie ever- the pool scene in the classic ’82 comedy Fast Times

#3- “My Best Friends Girl”- From the beginning guitar and hand claps, this song is impossible not to immediately participate in as a listener., Written by ric Ocasek He said of the song: ”Nothing in that song happened to me personally.


#2- “Just What I Needed”- The breakout hit for The Cars and the first single from their epic debut album. The song was composed by Ric Ocasek while he was living in the basement of a commune in Newton, Massachusetts. The opening guitar and drum exchange in the intro of the song was inspired by the 1968 bubble gum pop tune “Yummy Yummy Yummy”.


#1- “Let’s GO- It’s unfair how perfect this song is. From the second this song starts and you hear that distinct Wa wa wa keyboard, it’s gonna be a good day. I can’t tell you how many times this comes on when i’m diving and i almost run off the road because when it get to the end of the chorus, I have to do the hand claps. the claps followed the shouted "Let's go!", is derived from the 1962 song "Let's Go (Pony)" by the Routers.