Ric Ocasek of The Cars Dies at 70
Ric Ocasek, singer for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Cars, has died at the age of 70.
NBC New York reports that local police pronounced Ocasek dead in a New York City townhouse after receiving a phone call about “an unconscious male” at approximately 4 PM. The townhouse belonged to Ocasek and Paulina Porizkova, who were married for 28 years but announced their separation back in 2018.
The New York Post is reporting that he appeared to have died from natural causes.
No statement from Ocasek’s family or any representation has been released at this time.
Ocasek was The Cars’ primary songwriter, with their discography being made up of seven studio albums. Five of those albums have been certified Platinum. Of those Platinum albums, four have received multi-Platinum status including the band’s 1978 self-titled debut (6x Platinum), 1979’s Candy-O (4x Platinum), 1981’s Shake It Up (2x Platinum) and 1984’s Heartbeat City (4x Platinum.)
The Cars netted 18 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 in their history. They include:
-“Drive” (peaked at #3)
-“Shake It Up” (#4)
-“Tonight She Comes” (#7)
-“You Might Think” (#7)
-“Magic” (#12)
-“Let’s Go” (#14)
-“You Are The Girl” (#17)
-“Hello Again” (#20)
-“Just What I Needed” (#27)
-“I’m Not The One” (#32)
-“Why Can’t I Have You” (#33)
-“My Best Friend’s Girl” (#35)
-“Touch and Go” (#37)
-“It’s All I Can Do” (#41)
-“Good Times Roll” (#41)
-“Since You’re Gone” (#41)
-“Coming Up You” (#74)
-“Strap Me In” (#85)
Ocasek also had a rather prolific career as a producer working with a wide variety of artists including Bad Brains, No Doubt, Bad Religion, Nada Surf and Romeo Void. Ocasek’s notably produced two albums for Weezer, including their 1994 self-titled debut album (The Blue Album) and their 2001 self-titled album (The Green Album.)
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