The Cars

In late 2004, The Cars hit song "Just What I Needed" was played in Circuit City television ads. Cortez had another Top Ten hit in 1962 with "Rinky Dink". In the late 1990s, rumors circulated of a Cars reunion, but Orr's death of pancreatic cancer on October 3, 2000 put an end to them. More than forty-five years later, the record is still frequently played on the radio and a favorite "download" on the Internet. The Cars announced the group's break-up in February 1988 (1988 in music). 1 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 charts. After the resulting period of superstardom, the Cars released their last album Door to Door in 1987, but it failed to approach the success of their previous albums. The 45rpm single went to No.

The bands hits dominated the charts for over nine years; their most successful albums were 1978's The Cars, which featured one of the most popular New Wave songs of all time in "Just What I Needed," and 1984's Heartbeat City, which included four Top 20 singles: "Magic," "Drive," "Heartbeat City," and "You Might Think," which also won the MTV Video of the Year Award (see 1984 in music). His instrumental, "The Happy Organ" was the first pop/rock hit to feature the organ as lead instrument. While Elliot Easton could do the occasional guitar solo, The Cars' sound was defined much more by Greg Hawkes' synthesizers and the huge harmonies of Easton, Robinson, and Hawkes behind Orr's and Ocasek's lead vocals. Clowney made his first record in 1956 under his own name but it was not until three years later when he scored a major success using the stage name Dave "Baby" Cortez. The Cars successfully bridged the gap between the guitar-oriented rock of the 1970s and the synth-oriented pop of the early 1980s. Dave "Baby" Cortez (born David Cortez Clowney on August 13, 1938 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American pop music and R&B pianist and organist. The nucleus of the group was composed of guitarists Ocasek and Orr.

The band's members were Ric Ocasek (born Richard Otcasek), the band's principal songwriter, rhythm guitarist, and part-time lead singer; Benjamin Orr (born Benjamin Orzechowski), bassist and part-time lead singer; Elliot Easton, lead guitar and backing vocals; David Robinson, drums and backing vocals; and Greg Hawkes, keyboards, saxophone, guitar, and backing vocals. They hailed from Boston, Massachusetts and were signed to Elektra Records in 1977 (1977 in music). The Cars were an American New Wave band, one of the most popular to emerge out of the early punk scene in the late 1970s. Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology (Rhino Records, 1995).

Door to Door (Elektra, 1987). Greatest Hits (Elektra, 1985). Heartbeat City (Elektra, 1984). Shake It Up (Elektra, 1981).

Panorama (Elektra, 1980). Candy-O (Elektra, 1979). The Cars (Elektra Records, 1978).