Read the news in bed, got out of bed and went downstairs to rock out to a couple of Cars albums on vinyl, very, very loudly.
His (and Benjamin Orr’s) was the voice of my 80s. I’m glad I’ve got those albums.
My two favorite bands of all time are the Beatles and the Cars.
I discovered the Cars my freshman year in college when I was hospitalized with a serious illness and a girl I knew gave me a mix tape of the Cars to cheer me up. That was over 30 years ago…
RIP, Ric.
Yeah, I see a lot of conflicting data on that.
His oldest child was born in 1964, so more likely he was 75. That child, Christopher Otcasek (the “T” is silent and that’s the actual spelling of his name) had a brief career, and if you heard that band’s music, you’d know why. :o
Let the good times roll…in heaven. RIP.
Oh, and it’s hard.
So hard to take.
There’s no escape,
Without a scape.
But you kept it going
Til the sun fell down.
You kept it…going.
wow the 80s bands are dying out now …
.next it will be the surviving rappers/ hip-hop pioneers I mean ice-ts almost 60 himself …cube and dres in their 50s …
Exactly. I’ve come to terms with figures popular in the 70s dying off. But Ric Ocasek just feels way too early.
I’m seriously bummed now… 
Brings back memories of being 8 or 9 years old, hearing this guy on the radio with an odd voice, singing about his “best French girlfriend”…
(I was already a Stones fan by then, but it wasn’t until MTV appeared in ‘81 that I realized the guy was a dead ringer for Bill Wyman).
Not to mention the fact that even though the list included Paul McCartney, it left off Ringo, the oldest of the Beatles, who is 79.
Those first two albums may be the ones I listened to more than any other. Their third and fourth albums were also fantastic, IMO. I saw him once walking down the street in The Village. So cool.
Slightly off topic, but I was watching a live performance of theirs and Ben Orr (RIP) looks just like Rutger Hauer (RIP).
Damn, the Cars were one of few 80s bands I actually liked. I wore out a cassette of their first album – so many classic tunes. RIP Ric.
Not to hijack the thread but I hadn’t heard about Daniel Johnston’s passing. Weird, I was just looking at his Wikipedia page a few weeks ago. I didn’t know much about him, but the last time I saw Wilco a few years back, they played his “True Love Will Find You In The End” as their final encore. I was remembering the song, found a video of it on YouTube, then went to his Wiki page to read more about him. What an interesting character. RIP Daniel.
Ouch. 
I have to say I’ve been burned out on The Cars for a long time now, but as a teenager in the 80s, I loved Drive. (Yeah, I know Orr sang it). I thought Ric was cute, too.
They have it this morning. Probably had to put together an obit.
It’s one of the tough things when you start getting to a certain age, when all those people you listened to or admired start dying off. I went to see Mark Knopfler on Friday night and am glad I finally got to hear him play in person. He’s now 70, but seems to be chugging along. Perhaps he’ll be one of those who gets to enjoy retirement.
The Cars were one of the first “cool” bands that I liked (unlike other bands I liked from that era that I’m a little embarrassed about now). I remember endlessly rewinding to listen to that opening guitar lick on Nightspots. Paulina became my favorite model before I knew what models were.
RIP, Ric.
This past Friday night I was looking at a two-hour commute home, so I decided to listen to something I hadn’t for a long time: The Cars. They had a lot of excellent music, still great to hear.
Edited to add: way back when I wore out their song “Magic” from playing it so much.
Sad to see this. I’m a fan of the Cars, but also a lot of his solo work. I also think it should be noted that he produced some great albums including the Weezer Blue album.
RIP
As a fully fledged MeToo supporter, I just want to make one thing clear.
The video You Might Think is not, I repeat, NOT creepy.
Thank you.
Moving in Stereo and All Mixed Up
Speaking of videos…the woman in “Drive” (Riks supermodel wife?) does a fantastic job.