Ric Ocasek

American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer (1944–2019)

Ric Ocasek

Ocasek in 1984

Background information
Birth name| Richard Theodore Otcasek
Born| (1944-03-23)March 23, 1944
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Origin| Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died| September 15, 2019(2019-09-15) (aged 75)
New York City, U.S.
Genres|

* Rock
* new wave
* power pop

Occupations|

* Musician
* singer
* songwriter
* record producer

Instruments|

* Vocals
* guitar
* keyboards

Years active| 1963–2019
Labels|

* Elektra
* Geffen
* Reprise
* Columbia

Formerly of| The Cars
Spouses|

* Constance Campbell

(m. 1963; div. 1971)​

* Suzanne Otcasek

(m. 1971; div. 1988)​

* Paulina Porizkova

(m. 1989)​

Website| ricocasek.com

Musical artist

Richard Theodore Otcasek[1] (March 23, 1944 – September 15, 2019), known as Ric Ocasek (/oʊˈkæsɪk/ oh-CASS-ik[2]), was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was the primary vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and frontman for the American new wave band the Cars. In addition to his work with the Cars, Ocasek recorded seven solo albums, and his song "Emotion in Motion" was a top 20 hit in the United States in 1986.

Ocasek also worked as a record producer for artists such as Motion City Soundtrack,[3] Suicide,[4] Bad Brains,[5] Weezer,[6] Nada Surf,[7] Guided by Voices[8] and No Doubt.[9] In 2018, Ocasek was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Cars.[10]

## Early life

[edit]

Ocasek was born in Baltimore on March 23, 1944.[a][12] His paternal side was of Czech descent,[13][14][15] and he grew up Catholic.[16] When he was 16 years old, his father moved the family back to the Otcasek hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, where his father worked as a systems analyst with NASA at the Lewis Research Center.[17] Ocasek graduated from Maple Heights High School in 1963.[18][19] He briefly attended Antioch College and Bowling Green State University, but dropped out to pursue a career in music.[20][21]

Ocasek met future Cars bassist Benjamin Orr in Cleveland in 1965 after Ocasek saw Orr performing with his band the Grasshoppers on the Big 5 Show, a local musical variety program.[22] He reconnected with Orr a few years later in Columbus, Ohio, and the two began performing in and booking bands together. They formed a band called ID Nirvana in 1968 and performed in and around Ohio State University.[23]

## Career

[edit]

### Early career

[edit]

Ocasek performing live at Lollapalooza in 2011

After performing in various bands in Columbus and Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ocasek and Orr relocated to Boston in the early 1970s. There they formed a Crosby, Stills and Nash-style folk rock band called Milkwood. They released one album, How's the Weather, on Paramount Records in early 1973 but it failed to chart. Future Cars keyboardist Greg Hawkes played on Milkwood's album. After Milkwood, Ocasek formed the group Richard and the Rabbits, which included Orr and Hawkes. Ocasek and Orr also performed as an acoustic duo during this period. Some of the songs they played became the early Cars songs. Later, Ocasek and Orr teamed up with guitarist Elliot Easton in the band Cap'n Swing. Cap'n Swing soon came to the attention of WBCN disc jockey Maxanne Sartori, who began playing songs from their demo tape on her show. After Cap'n Swing was rejected by several record labels, Ocasek got rid of the bass player and drummer and decided to form a band that better fit his style of writing. Orr took over on bass and David Robinson, best known for his career with the Modern Lovers, became the drummer. Hawkes returned to play keyboards and the band became "the Cars" in late 1976.[24]

### The Cars

[edit]

Main article: The Cars

Ocasek in a 1980 Cars publicity photo

Ocasek was a founding member of the Cars, recording numerous hit songs from 1978 to 1988. He played rhythm guitar and sang lead vocals for a majority of songs (bassist Benjamin Orr was lead vocalist on the remaining tracks). Ocasek was the oldest member of the band. After splitting writing duty with Orr in the 1970s, Ocasek became the principal songwriter of the band, and wrote nearly all of the Cars' material, sharing credit on only a few songs with bandmate Greg Hawkes as co-writer. In 2010, Ocasek reunited with the surviving original members of the Cars to record their first album in 24 years. The album, entitled Move Like This, was released on May 10, 2011.[25] Not long after the album's release and its supporting tour, however, the Cars resumed their hiatus, and reunited once again in April 2018 for a performance at the ceremony of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[26]

#### Production

[edit]

During his time with the Cars, Ocasek developed a reputation as a producer, and took this role for many up-and-coming bands of differing genres including Bad Brains' Rock for Light and Guided by Voices' Do the Collapse. His other production credits include Weezer's Blue Album and Green Album (both multi-platinum), Suicide,[25] Romeo Void, Hole,[25] Bebe Buell,[27] No Doubt,[25] Nada Surf, American folk-punk band Black 47, Bad Religion, Johnny Bravo, D Generation, the Wannadies, Possum Dixon, Martin Rev, Jonathan Richman, and the 2006 album by the Pink Spiders titled Teenage Graffiti. He also produced a portion of the third Motion City Soundtrack album, Even If It Kills Me. In 2014, Ocasek produced Everything Will Be Alright in the End, the ninth studio album by Weezer and his third collaboration with the band, and For All My Sisters, the sixth album by the Cribs,[28] which was the final album he produced.

### Solo career

[edit]

Ocasek released his first solo album in January 1983, Beatitude, which features a more minimal and sparse interpretation of the Cars' new wave rock sound. On some tracks Ocasek played all of the instruments.[29] Greg Hawkes also played on the album, as did Fuzzbee Morse from Richard and the Rabbits.[30] A more synthesizer-heavy follow-up, This Side of Paradise, was released in 1986; this featured Greg Hawkes, Elliot Easton and Benjamin Orr.[29] A No. 15 hit single, "Emotion in Motion", accompanied the album.[31] In a 1986 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Ocasek said he did not write songs deliberately with the Cars in mind, and he chose to save his "moodier" material for his solo albums: "I slant my solo albums so that they have a few songs that the Cars really couldn't do. Weirder songs. More poetic."[29]

The Cars disbanded in 1988, and Ocasek disappeared from the public eye for a couple of years. He resurfaced in 1990 with his own album, Fireball Zone. One track, "Rockaway", enjoyed a brief stay on the charts, but his solo albums realized disappointing sales, especially compared to his success with the Cars. He subsequently released other solo works during the decade, including 1993's Quick Change World, 1996's Getchertiktz (a collaboration with Suicide's Alan Vega and Canadian poet Gillian McCain comprising only Beat poetry set to music, sound effects, etc.), and 1997's Billy Corgan-produced Troublizing (which Ocasek supported with a very brief tour, his first since leaving the Cars). In 2005, Ocasek released another album, Nexterday, to little fanfare, but it received positive reviews.[32]

## In other media

[edit]

Ocasek wrote a book of poetry in 1993 titled Negative Theatre. It was at one time expected to be incorporated into an album and multimedia incarnation of the same name, but those plans were dropped abruptly. For many years Ocasek had a hobby of making drawings, photo collages, and mixed-media art works which, in 2009, were shown at a gallery in Columbus, Ohio, as an exhibition called "Teahead Scraps".[33]

Ocasek had a cameo role as a beatnik painter in the John Waters film Hairspray (1988),[34] and had a small part in the movie Made in Heaven (1987)[35] in which he played a mechanic.

Ocasek stated in a 2005 interview in Rockline that he hated touring and was unlikely to do so again. He also stated he would not be reuniting with the Cars again, but gave the okay to his former bandmates to do so, with Todd Rundgren replacing him on vocals, using the name the New Cars.[36][37]

On April 17, 2006, Ocasek appeared on The Colbert Report and volunteered to put Todd Rundgren "on notice". He appeared again on the July 26, 2006, episode to cheers from the audience as he volunteered to lead a commando mission to "rescue" Stephen Jr., the baby eagle at the San Francisco Zoo named after Stephen Colbert. He also appeared again on April 18, 2007, in order to support his wife during her appearance on the show, after remarks that she found Colbert "extremely attractive". He has been mentioned many times in other episodes as well. The Cars, with Ocasek, appeared on The Colbert Report on August 9, 2011, to promote their new album, Move Like This.[38]

In 2012, Ocasek released Lyrics and Prose, a complete collection of lyrics from his solo and Cars' albums. The book also contains prose and poetry never set to music, as well as previously unpublished photographs and artwork.[39]

## Personal life

[edit]

Ocasek and Cars co-founder Benjamin Orr were close friends who became estranged when the band broke up. The two reconciled prior to Orr's death in 2000. Their friendship was commemorated in the song "Silver", which Ocasek wrote in memory of Orr.[12][40][41]

Ocasek was married three times. His first wife Constance divorced him in Ohio in 1971. In the same year he married Suzanne Otcasek, who uses the original spelling of Ocasek's name. They were married for 17 years.[42] During filming of the music video for the Cars' song "Drive" in 1984, Ocasek met 19-year-old Czech-born[43] supermodel[44] Paulina Porizkova, while he was still married to Suzanne. Ocasek and Suzanne divorced in 1988. He and Porizkova were married on August 23, 1989[45] on Saint-Barthélemy island. In May 2018, Porizkova announced she and Ocasek had separated a year earlier.[46]

Ocasek had six sons, two from each of his three marriages. His eldest son, Christopher (b. 1964), is a singer who formed the rock group Glamour Camp, which released one album in 1989, and appeared as a solo artist on the soundtrack to the film Pretty Woman (1990).[47] His other children include Adam (b. 1970),[47] Eron (b. 1973),[47] Derek (b. 1981),[42][47][48] Jonathan Raven (b. 1993),[49] and Oliver (b. 1998).[50]

## Death

[edit]

Ocasek was found dead on September 15, 2019, by his estranged wife, Paulina Porizkova, at his New York City townhouse, which they still shared[51] following their separation in 2017.[46] He had been recovering from surgery.[51][52][53] The Chief Medical Examiner office reported that Ocasek died from natural causes. He suffered from both hypertensive heart and coronary artery disease.[54]

Ocasek is buried at Nine Partners Cemetery in Millbrook, New York.[55]

Porizkova and Ocasek were still in the process of their divorce at the time of his death, but he had disinherited her in a new will, alleging that before his recent surgery she had abandoned him. This required a surrogate court judge rule on the veracity of the abandonment claims before the remaining estate could be divided. He also disinherited two of his six sons (Chris and Adam).[56]

In 2021, the dispute between Ocasek's estate and Porizkova was settled; Porizkova said she was granted a third of his estate, commenting "They gave me what is mine under New York state law, and we're done." While Porizkova would not tell Vanity Fair the precise terms of the settlement, she denied reports that Ocasek was "only worth $5 million" at the time of his death.[57]

### Misrepresentation of age

[edit]

Upon Ocasek's death, his age was widely misreported as 70, not 75. In a 1979 interview with Rolling Stone soon after the Cars became popular, he claimed to be 29 rather than his true age of 34, and a false birth year of 1949 was subsequently listed in artist biographies from sources including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Spotify. His New York City voter registration—which was available as public records but was based on voter-provided information that the New York City Board of Elections did not routinely verify—also listed a March 23, 1949, birth date. According to The New York Times, Ocasek never corrected his age and birth year in later interviews or press releases, but a preponderance of other government records and his self-acknowledged 1963 high school graduation date indicate that he was born in 1944.[58] Additionally, the 1950 United States census indicates that a six-year-old Richard T Otcasek was living in Baltimore, Maryland, with his parents.[59]

## Discography

[edit]

### Solo albums

[edit]

* Beatitude (1982) – US #28[60]
* This Side of Paradise (1986) – US#31[60] AUS #24[61]
* Fireball Zone (1991)
* Quick Change World (1993)
* Negative Theater (1993) (Europe only)
* Troublizing (1997)
* Nexterday (2005)

### Spoken word albums

[edit]

* Getchertiktz with Alan Vega and Gillian McCain (1996)

### With the Cars

[edit]

Main article: The Cars discography

* The Cars (1978)
* Candy-O (1979)
* Panorama (1980)
* Shake It Up (1981)
* Heartbeat City (1984)
* Door to Door (1987)
* Move Like This (2011)

### Solo singles

[edit]

Title  | Release  | Peak chart positions  | Album

|
|
|

[31] | US Rock
[62] | US AC
[63] | US Dance
[64] | AUS
[61][65] | CAN | NZ
[66]
"Something to Grab For"  | 1983  | 47  | 5  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | Beatitude
"Jimmy Jimmy"  | —  | 25  | —  | 60  | —  | —  | —
"Connect Up to Me"  | —  | —  | —  | 37  | —  | —  | —
"Emotion in Motion"  | 1986  | 15  | 1  | 8  | —  | 8  | 18  | 35  | This Side of Paradise
"True to You"  | 75  | 9  | —  | —  | 100  | —  | —
"Rockaway"  | 1991  | —  | 11  | —  | —  | 139  | 46  | —  | Fireball Zone
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

### Guest appearances

[edit]

Title

| Release  | Album

|
|

"Steal the Night"  | 1983  | The King of Comedy
"I Still Want You"  | 1987  | Made in Heaven
"Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah"  | 1991  | Simply Mad About the Mouse
"Crash"  | 1994  | Speed

### Production credits

[edit]

* Suicide – Suicide: Alan Vega and Martin Rev (1980)[67]
* Ric Ocasek – Beatitude (1982)
* Romeo Void – Benefactor (1982)[68]
* Bad Brains – Rock for Light (1983)[69]
* Alan Vega – Saturn Strip (1983)[70]
* The Cars – Heartbeat City (1984)[71]
* Lloyd Cole and the Commotions – Rattlesnakes (1984; Remixed three songs for U.S. release)[72]
* Ric Ocasek – This Side of Paradise (1986)
* The Cars – Door to Door (1987)[73]
* Patty Smyth – "I Run Right Back" from Caddyshack II (1988)
* Suicide – A Way of Life (1988)[74]
* Ric Ocasek – Fireball Zone (1991)
* Suicide – Why Be Blue (1992)[75]
* Ric Ocasek – Quick Change World (1993)
* Ric Ocasek – Negative Theater (1993)
* Black 47 – Fire of Freedom (1993)[76]
* Alan Vega – New Raceion (1993)[77]
* Weezer – Weezer (Blue Album) (1994)[78]
* Bad Brains – God of Love (1995)[79]
* Bad Religion – The Gray Race (1996)[80]
* Nada Surf – High/Low (1996)[81]
* Ric Ocasek – Troublizing (1997)
* D Generation – No Lunch (1998)[82]
* Jonathan Richman – I'm So Confused (1998)[83]
* Possum Dixon – New Sheets (1998)[84]
* Guided by Voices – Do the Collapse (1999)[85]
* The Wannadies – Yeah (1999)[86]
* Weezer – Weezer (Green Album) (2001)[87]
* No Doubt – Rock Steady (2001; tracks "Don't Let Me Down" and "Platinum Blonde Life")[88]
* Le Tigre – This Island (2004)[89]
* Ric Ocasek – Nexterday (2005)
* Brazilian Girls – Talk to La Bomb (2006; track "Last Call")[90]
* The Pink Spiders – Teenage Graffiti (2006)[91]
* Motion City Soundtrack – Even If It Kills Me (2007; Five tracks)[92]
* Shwayze – Let It Beat (2009; track "Crazy for You")[93]
* Weezer – Everything Will Be Alright in the End (2014)[94]
* The Cribs – For All My Sisters (2015)[95]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Upon Ocasek's death, his age was widely misreported as 70, not 75. In a 1979 interview with Rolling Stone soon after the Cars became popular, he claimed to be 29 rather than his true age of 34, and a false birth year of 1949 was subsequently listed in artist biographies from sources including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Spotify. His New York City voter registration—which was available as public records but was based on voter-provided information that the New York City Board of Elections did not routinely verify—also listed a March 23, 1949, birth date. According to The New York Times, Ocasek never corrected his age and birth year in later interviews or press releases; however, the Times found he had stated his true high school graduation date of 1963, when he would have been unusually young at 14, but no indication was found that this had been the case. The 1950 Census also mentions he was 6 years old at the time. This together with a preponderance of other government records indicate that his true birth year was 1944.[11]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Ric Ocasek, rock star and the Cars frontman, has died". CBS News.
2. ^ "The Untold Truth Of The Cars". YouTube. September 18, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
3. ^ "Motion City Soundtrack – Even If It Kills Me". Discogs. 2007.
4. ^ "Suicide – Suicide: Alan Vega - Martin Rev". Discogs. 1980.
5. ^ "Bad Brains – Rock For Light". Discogs. 1983.
6. ^ "Weezer – Weezer". Discogs. 1994.
7. ^ "Nada Surf - High/Low". Discogs. 1996.
8. ^ "Guided By Voices – Do The Collapse". Discogs. 1999.
9. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Rock Steady Review". AllMusic.
10. ^ Greene, Andy (December 13, 2017). "The Cars' Ric Ocasek on the Hall of Fame: 'It's a Good Cap to the Bottle'". Rolling Stone.
11. ^ Coleman, Nancy (September 17, 2019). "Was Ric Ocasek Actually 75?". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
12. ^ a b Browne, David (October 18, 2019). "The Mystery of Ric Ocasek: 'He Tried for Happiness, But Underneath Was a Lot of Pain'". Rolling Stone.
13. ^ "Cars Finally in Driver's Seat". Anderson Independent-Mail. Anderson, SC. August 23, 1984. p. 19. Retrieved September 23, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ "Ric Ocasek z kapely The Cars má české kořeny" [Ric Ocasek from the band The Cars has Czech roots]. Týden.cz. March 23, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
15. ^ Harazim, Aleš (September 21, 2019). "Ric Ocasek - Frontman The Cars, kteří v osmdesátých letech zářili na MTV, měl české kořeny i manželku". iReport.cz. Retrieved September 23, 2023. "Ric Ocasek ... měl české kořeny. ... prarodiče pocházeli z Československa. Ric Ocasek ovšem své české kořeny nikdy moc nezkoumal a nezajímaly ho. (Ric Ocasek ... had Czech roots. ... his grandparents came from Czechoslovakia. However, Ric Ocasek never really researched his Czech roots and was not interested in them.)"
16. ^ Fricke, David (March 21, 1982). "Workaholic Ric Ocasek Freaks Out at Vacationtime". Omaha World-Herald. Nebraska. p. E8.
17. ^ Cartwright, Garth (September 16, 2019). "Ric Ocasek obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
18. ^ Pareles, Jon (January 25, 1979). "Power Steering". Rolling Stone. New York: Straight Arrow Publishers Inc. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
19. ^ Greene, Andy (December 13, 2017). "The Cars' Ric Ocasek on the Hall of Fame: 'It's a Good Cap to the Bottle'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 23, 2018. "That was in Cleveland, Ohio, since I used to live there.... I graduated from [Maple Heights]  [sic] High School in 1963."
20. ^ Pond, Steve (July 19, 1984). "Drive, he said". Rolling Stone. New York.
21. ^ Ladd, Susan (July 13, 1984). "Leader of the Cars Knows How to Crank Out Video Hits". Greensboro News & Record. North Carolina. p. B1.
22. ^ Scott, Jane (November 14, 1986). "In the Driver's Seat". The Plain Dealer. p. Friday 42.
23. ^ Scott, Jane (August 7, 1984). "Cars Are Roaring Back". The Plain Dealer. p. 5C.
24. ^ Milano, Brett. Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology. Rhino.
25. ^ a b c d Spitz, Marc (May 5, 2011). "Q&A: Ric Ocasek of the Cars". Vanity Fair.
26. ^ Smith, Troy L. (March 20, 2018). "The Cars confirm performance at 2018 Rock Hall Ceremony". Cleveland.com. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
27. ^ "Covers Girl - Bebe Buell". bebebuell.org. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
28. ^ "The Cribs reveal Ric Ocasek of The Cars will produce their new album". NME.
29. ^ a b c Van Matre, Lynn (October 24, 1986). "Cars' Front Man Taking Stardom At His Own Speed". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
30. ^ "Cars". Trouser Press.
31. ^ a b "Ric Ocasek Chart History > Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
32. ^ "Nexterday - Ric Ocasek - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
33. ^ Whiteman, Doug (March 29, 2009). "The Cars' Ocasek shakes up career with art debut". Associated Press.
34. ^ "Hairspray (1988) - Cast, Credits & Awards". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012.
35. ^ "Made in Heaven (1987) Acting Credits". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
36. ^ Sokol, Tony (September 16, 2019). "Ric Ocasek, Lead Singer for the Cars, Dies at NYC Home". Den of Geek. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
37. ^ DeLuca, Dan (September 16, 2019). "Remembering Ric Ocasek and Eddie Money: Two 'perfect' rockers whose work withstood the ages". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
38. ^ Hart, Josh (August 10, 2011). "Video: The Cars Perform on the Colbert Report". Guitar World. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
39. ^ "Ric Ocasek on Lyrics and Prose". The Leonard Lopate Show. WNYC. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
40. ^ Taylor, Luke. "The Cars' co-founder and frontman Ric Ocasek has died". KCMP. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
41. ^ Fricke, David (September 30, 2005). "Ric Ocasek Rocks CBGB". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
42. ^ a b Goldstein, Toby (1985). Frozen Fire: The Story of the Cars. Chicago: Contemporary Books. p. 14\. ISBN 0-8092-5257-0.
43. ^ Chamoff, Lisa. "Supermodel Paulina Porizkova, Musician Ric Ocasek List Gramercy Townhouse For $15.25M". Forbes. Archived from the original on January 17, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
44. ^ "Ric Ocasek of The Cars: His life in pictures". USA Today. September 15, 2019.
45. ^ Smith, Laura C. (August 18, 1995). "Ric Ocasek gets married". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
46. ^ a b Haas, Mariah (May 3, 2018). "The Cars' Ric Ocasek and Wife Paulina Porizkova Announce Split After 28 Years of Marriage". People. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
47. ^ a b c d Carey, Stacey (September 16, 2019). "The Cars Rocker Ric Ocasek Leaves Behind Six Children From Three Previous Wives". inquisitr.com. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
48. ^ Fricke, David (June 9, 2011). "The Return of the Cars". Rolling Stone. pp. 50–53.
49. ^ Brozan, Nadine (November 17, 1993). "Chronicle". The New York Times. p. B4. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
50. ^ Lovece, Frank. "Ric Ocasek, Paulina Porizkova split after 28 years of marriage". Newsday. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
51. ^ a b Pareles, Jon (September 16, 2019). "Ric Ocasek, New Wave Rock Visionary and the Cars Co-Founder, Dies at 75". The New York Times. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
52. ^ "Ric Ocasek, Lead Singer of The Cars, Dead in New York at 75". NBC New York. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
53. ^ Serota, Maggie (September 16, 2019). "Ric Ocasek Was Recovering From Surgery When He Suddenly Died". Spin. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
54. ^ "Cause of death determined for the Cars singer Ric Ocasek". PIX 11 New York. September 16, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
55. ^ "Famous Graves: Ric Ocasek Lead Singer and Songwriter of The Cars". YouTube. February 7, 2022.
56. ^ Mayoras, Danielle and Andy. "An Estate Fight May Be Coming Over Ric Ocasek's Estate". Forbes. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
57. ^ "Paulina Porizkova Settles Her Dispute With Late Husband Ric Ocasek's Estate". Vanity Fair. October 25, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
58. ^ Coleman, Nancy (September 17, 2019). "Was Ric Ocasek Actually 75?". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
59. ^ "FamilySearch - 1950 US census". FamilySearch.
60. ^ a b "Ric Ocasek Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
61. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 221\. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
62. ^ "Ric Ocasek Chart History > Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
63. ^ "Ric Ocasek Chart History > Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
64. ^ "Ric Ocasek Chart History > Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
65. ^ "Bubbling Down Under Week Commencing 29 July 1991". Retrieved July 29, 2022.
66. ^ "charts.org.nz > Ric Ocasek in New Zealand Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
67. ^ "Suicide: Alan Vega/Martin Rev – Suicide". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
68. ^ "Benefactor – Romeo Void | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
69. ^ "Rock for Light – Bad Brains | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
70. ^ "Saturn Strip – Alan Vega | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
71. ^ "Heartbeat City – The Cars | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
72. ^ "Rattlesnakes – Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, Lloyd Cole | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
73. ^ "Door to Door – The Cars | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
74. ^ "A Way of Life – Suicide | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
75. ^ "Why Be Blue? – Suicide | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
76. ^ "Fire of Freedom – Black 47 | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
77. ^ "New Raceion – Alan Vega | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
78. ^ "Weezer [Blue Album] – Weezer | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
79. ^ "God of Love – Bad Brains | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
80. ^ "The Gray Race – Bad Religion | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
81. ^ "High/Low – Nada Surf | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
82. ^ "No Lunch – D Generation | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
83. ^ "I'm So Confused – Jonathan Richman | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
84. ^ "New Sheets – Possum Dixon | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
85. ^ "Do the Collapse – Guided by Voices | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
86. ^ "Yeah – The Wannadies | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
87. ^ "Weezer [Green Album] – Weezer | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
88. ^ "No Doubt Feels 'Rock Steady'". Billboard. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
89. ^ "This Island – Le Tigre | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
90. ^ "Talk to La Bomb – Brazilian Girls | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
91. ^ "Teenage Graffiti – The Pink Spiders | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
92. ^ "Even If It Kills Me – Motion City Soundtrack | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
93. ^ "Let It Beat – Shwayze | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
94. ^ "Everything Will Be Alright in the End – Weezer | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
95. ^ "For All My Sisters – The Cribs | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2019.

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Ric Ocasek.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ric Ocasek.

* Official website
* Ric Ocasek—Find a Grave
* Ric Ocasek VH1 artist page Archived October 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
* Ric Ocasek AOL artist page
* Ric Ocasek Billboard artist page
* Ric Ocasek Allmusic artist page
* Ric Ocasek at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

The Cars

* Elliot Easton
* Greg Hawkes
* Ric Ocasek
* Benjamin Orr
* David Robinson

Studio albums|

* The Cars
* Candy-O
* Panorama
* Shake It Up
* Heartbeat City
* Door to Door
* Move Like This

Compilation albums|

* Greatest Hits
* Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology
* Shake It Up & Other Hits
* Complete Greatest Hits
* The Essentials
* The Cars Unlocked: The Live Performances
* The Elektra Years 1978–1987

Singles|

* "Just What I Needed"
* "My Best Friend's Girl"
* "Good Times Roll"
* "Let's Go"
* "It's All I Can Do"
* "Double Life"
* "Touch and Go"
* "Don't Tell Me No"
* "Gimme Some Slack"
* "Shake It Up"
* "Since You're Gone"
* "Victim of Love"
* "Think It Over"
* "You Might Think"
* "Magic"
* "Drive"
* "Hello Again"
* "Why Can't I Have You"
* "Heartbeat City"
* "Tonight She Comes"
* "I'm Not the One"
* "You Are the Girl"
* "Strap Me In"
* "Coming Up You"
* "Sad Song"

Other songs|

* "I'm in Touch with Your World"
* "Don't Cha Stop"
* "You're All I've Got Tonight"
* "Bye Bye Love"
* "Moving in Stereo"
* "All Mixed Up"
* "Candy-O"
* "Night Spots"
* "Dangerous Type"
* "Panorama"
* "Cruiser"
* "Blue Tip"

Concert tours|

* Road Rage Tour
* North American Tour Spring 2011

Related articles|

* Discography
* Songs
* Substitution Mass Confusion: A Tribute to The Cars
* BrainDead
* Glamour Camp

The New Cars|

* Todd Rundgren
* Kasim Sulton
* Atom Ellis
* Prairie Prince
* It's Alive!
* Utopia

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Ric Ocasek

Studio albums|

* Beatitude
* This Side of Paradise
* Fireball Zone
* Quick Change World
* Negative Theater
* Troublizing
* Nexterday

Singles|

* "Emotion in Motion"

Related articles|

* The Cars
* The New Cars
* Todd Rundgren
* Paulina Porizkova

* v
* t
* e

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Class of 2018

Performers|

* Bon Jovi
* Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan, Hugh McDonald, Richie Sambora, Alec John Such, Tico Torres
* The Cars
* Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes, David Robinson, Ric Ocasek, Benjamin Orr
* Dire Straits
* Alan Clark, Guy Fletcher, John Illsley, David Knopfler, Mark Knopfler, Pick Withers
* The Moody Blues
* Graeme Edge, Justin Hayward, Denny Laine, John Lodge, Mike Pinder, Ray Thomas
* Nina Simone

Early influences|

* Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Singles|

* Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats – "Rocket 88" (1951)
* Link Wray – "Rumble" (1958)
* Chubby Checker – "The Twist" (1960)
* The Kingsmen – "Louie Louie" (1963)
* Procol Harum – "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (1967)
* Steppenwolf – "Born to Be Wild" (1968)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Italy
* Czech Republic
* Spain
* Netherlands
* Poland

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

*[m.]: married
*[div.]: divorced
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template