The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, it consisted of Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes (keyboards), Ric Ocasek, Benjamin Orr, and David Robinson (drums). Ocasek and Orr shared lead vocals, and Ocasek was the band's principal songwriter.
Weezer is the third studio album and second self-titled album by American rock band Weezer. It was released on May 15, 2001, by Geffen Records. It serves as the second Weezer album produced by Ric Ocasek, who produced their debut album, and the only Weezer album to feature bassist Mikey Welsh, who replaced Matt Sharp.
CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters CBGB were for Country, BlueGrass, and Blues, Kristal's original vision, yet CBGB soon became a famed venue of punk rock and new wave bands like the Ramones, Television, Patti Smith Group, Blondie, and Talking Heads. From the early 1980s onward, CBGB was known for hardcore punk.
"Stacy's Mom" is a song by American rock band Fountains of Wayne. It is the third track on their third studio album, Welcome Interstate Managers, and was released to radio as the album's first single on May 19, 2003, through S-Curve Records and Virgin Records. "Stacy's Mom" was written by bassist Adam Schlesinger and vocalist Chris Collingwood, both of whom produced the song alongside Mike Denneen. Its subject matter was inspired by a friend of Schlesinger's when he was young who was attracted to Schlesinger's grandmother. It is a power pop song with which the group hoped to emulate the sound of American rock band the Cars.
Richard Theodore Otcasek, known as Ric Ocasek, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He was the primary co-lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and frontman for the rock band the Cars. In addition to his work with the Cars, Ocasek recorded seven solo albums, and his song "Emotion in Motion" was a top 20 hit in the United States in 1986. Ocasek also worked as a record producer for artists such as Motion City Soundtrack, Suicide, Bad Brains, Weezer, Nada Surf, Guided by Voices, and No Doubt. In 2018, Ocasek was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Cars.
Kulilay Amit, better known by her stage name A-Mei, is a Taiwanese Puyuma singer and record producer. In 1996, she made her singing debut and released her album, Sisters. Her albums Truth (2001), Amit (2009), and Faces of Paranoia (2014) each won her a Golden Melody Award for Best Mandarin Female Singer and made her one of the singers who won the category the most times. Having sold more than 50 million records, she has achieved success in the Mandarin-speaking world, and she is often referred to as the "Queen of Mandopop".
Benjamin Orzechowski, known professionally as Benjamin Orr, was an American musician best known as the bassist, co-founder, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band the Cars. He sang lead vocals on several of their best known songs, including "Just What I Needed", "Let's Go" and "Drive". He also had a moderate solo hit with "Stay the Night."
Steve Stevens is an American guitarist and songwriter. He is best known as Billy Idol's guitarist and songwriting collaborator, and for his lead guitar work on the theme to Top Gun – "Top Gun Anthem" – for which he won a Grammy in 1987: Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Stevens has played for Michael Jackson, Ric Ocasek, Robert Palmer, and many others. Stevens was in Vince Neil's band from 1992 to 1994, touring and recording on his album Exposed. In 1995, Stevens and Idol were briefly members of the group Neurotic Outsiders. Stevens was a founding member of the supergroup Bozzio Levin Stevens, which released Black Light Syndrome in 1997 and Situation Dangerous in 2000. He brought Spanish flamenco guitar stylings to the song "Pistolero" (1999) for the trance group Juno Reactor. During 2012–2016, Stevens appeared with Kings of Chaos. His "Steve Stevens" group headlined the closing performance at the Musikmesse in Frankfurt, Germany, in April 2016. He is also a television personality on the E! show Married to Rock, alongside his wife, Josie Stevens.
Alan Bermowitz, known professionally as Alan Vega, was an American vocalist and visual artist, primarily known for his work with the electronic protopunk duo Suicide.
Rooney is the primary musical project of singer-songwriter Robert Schwartzman, evolving from its origin as an American rock band formed by high school friends in Los Angeles. Before Schwartzman decided to continue with the project and take it in a different direction, the band's most enduring line-up consisted of Schwartzman, Louie Stephens, Taylor Locke, Matthew Winter and Ned Brower. The band is named after Ed Rooney, the principal in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Notorious MSG is a performing trio of Asian American rappers founded in 2002 in Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City. Their songs are parodies of gangster rap mixed with Asian American culture, featuring lyrics about gangster lifestyles and Chinese food and boasting innuendos regarding women. Their group name is a parody of Brooklyn rapper The Notorious B.I.G., with "MSG" referring to monosodium glutamate, a sodium additive commonly used in East Asian cuisines.
"Just What I Needed" is a song by American rock band The Cars from their self-titled debut album (1978). The song, which first achieved radio success as a demo, took inspiration from the Ohio Express and the Velvet Underground. The song is sung by bass player Benjamin Orr and was written by Ric Ocasek.
"Drive" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their fifth studio album, Heartbeat City (1984). It was released on July 23, 1984, as the album's third single. Written by Ric Ocasek, the track was sung by bassist Benjamin Orr and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange with the band. Upon its release, "Drive" became the Cars' highest-charting single in most territories. In the United States, it peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Adult Contemporary chart. It reached number five in the United Kingdom, number four in West Germany, number six in Canada and number three in Ireland.
"You Might Think" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their fifth studio album, Heartbeat City (1984). The track was written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Mutt Lange and the Cars, with Ocasek also providing the lead vocals.
This Side of Paradise is the second solo studio album released by Ric Ocasek, lead singer and songwriter of the Cars. It was released in 1986 by Geffen Records. Though it was a solo album, other members of the Cars played significant roles. Greg Hawkes plays keyboards and bass throughout the album, and also co-wrote "Hello Darkness". Benjamin Orr is on backing vocals for three songs. Along with Hawkes and Orr, the track "True To You" also features Elliot Easton on guitar. Both production and drumming were by Chris Hughes. Hughes was the recent producer of Tears for Fears most popular two albums. Steve Stevens from Billy Idol's band plays guitar on over half of the album.
Even if It Kills Me is the third studio album by American rock band Motion City Soundtrack. Produced by Ric Ocasek, Adam Schlesinger and Eli Janney, the album was released on September 18, 2007, in the United States by Epitaph Records. Motion City Soundtrack, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, made a breakthrough with their second album, Commit This to Memory, garnering praise and independent buzz upon its 2005 release. Following the release, the band toured relentlessly over the next two years, during which time frontman Justin Pierre struggled with alcohol and substance abuse. These addictions were infused into the writing process of Even If Kills Me, which was recorded in early 2007 Stratosphere Studios in Chelsea and the legendary Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village.
"Good Times Roll" is a song by American rock band The Cars released as the first track from their 1978 debut album The Cars. Written by Ric Ocasek as a sarcastic comment on rock's idea of good times, the song features layered harmonies courtesy of producer Roy Thomas Baker.
"My Best Friend's Girl" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their 1978 self-titled debut album on Elektra Records, released on June 6 of that year. Written by Ocasek as a song about something that "probably ... happened to a lot of people," the track found radio success as a demo in 1977.
"You Are the Girl" is a 1987 song by the Cars, from their album Door to Door. It was released as a single in August 1987, reaching number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached number 2 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and number 12 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was the Cars' 13th and final Top 40 hit.
Move Like This is the seventh and final studio album by American rock band the Cars, released on May 10, 2011. The album was their first since 1987's Door to Door, and the only one without bassist and vocalist Benjamin Orr, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2000. The album reached the top ten of the Billboard 200 and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart; a single from the album, "Sad Song", reached number 33 on the Billboard Rock Songs chart. Following the release of the album, the band launched an 11-city tour of North America. Move Like This was Ric Ocasek's last studio appearance before his death in September 2019.
