Left us on this day (Oct. 3) in 2000: Benjamin Orr (pancreatic cancer, age 53), best remembered as the founding bassist & co-lead singer of popular Boston new wave band, The Cars; formed by Ben with Ric Ocasek in 1976 (they had played together in other bands since 1970, including folk-rock group Milkwood, who released the obscure 1972 album Hows the Weather), their string of multi-platinum albums & hit singles helped define ’80s pop music; Ben sang lead on such hit singles as Just What I Needed (1978 US #27 & UK #17), Let’s Go (1979 US #15 & Canada #5) & Drive (1984 US #3 & UK #4) - Drive was famously used at the 1985 Live Aid concert as the backdrop to a montage of clips depicting the Ethiopian famine; he recorded his solo debut The Lace in 1986 (scoring a moderate hit with the single Stay The Night); following the 1987 album Door To Door, The Cars announced their breakup in 1988 & Ben continued to record (unreleased) & perform live in various incarnations (including his own band, ORR, as well as tribute/cover bands The Voices of Classic Rock & Big People) up until just a few months before his passing…
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 20:36:30 +0000
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