The Cars
The Cars were an American New Wave band, fronted by Ric Ocasek, that emerged from the early punk scene in the late 1970s. Other members of the band were bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson. They hailed from Boston, Massachusetts and were signed to Elektra Records in 1977.
The Cars were at the forefront in merging 1970s guitar-oriented rock with the new synth-oriented pop that was then becoming popular and which would flower in the early 1980s. Most of the singles included an Elliot Easton guitar solo, with the sound filled out by Greg Hawkes’s synthesizers and the harmonies of Easton, Robinson, and Hawkes. Lead vocals were split, with Ric Ocasek taking about 60% and Benjamin Orr taking the remaining 40%. While Ocasek was the sole lyricist and main songwriter for the band, Orr would act as frontman in live appearances.