Ric Ocasek, guitarist and frontman of The Cars, has died
The influential new-wave musician was 75.
Image: Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic
Ric Ocasek, the lead singer and guitarist of new-wave band The Cars, has died. He was 75.
The musician was found unconscious in his New York City townhouse on Sunday afternoon, reported NBC 5. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and his identity was later confirmed by the authorities. The cause of death is still unknown.
Ocasek was born on 23 March 1949 in Baltimore, and moved to Cleveland as a teen. There, he collaborated with Benjamin Orr on several bands before forming The Cars in Boston in 1976, together with Elliot Easton (guitars), Greg Hawkes (keys) and David Robinson (drums).
The Cars would end up a seminal band in the new-wave and post-punk scenes; they were even inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2018. They released six studio albums until their breakup in 1988, but reformed in the 2010 to record their last LP, Move Like This. It was their first album without Orr, who passed away in 2000.
Besides fronting The Cars, Ocasek also worked as a producer alongside Suicide, Bad Brains, Weezer and Guided By Voices.
Watch The Cars perform My Best Friend’s Girl at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony: