Ric Ocasek
Nee: Richard Otcasek
Band: the Cars, solo artist
Position: singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer
Died: Sept. 15
Cause of death: heart disease, emphysema
Age: 75
Distinctions: He co-founded the Cars with Benjamin Orr in 1978. They released seven albums from '78-2011 and had hits with "Drive" (No. 3, 1984), "Shake It Up" (No. 4, 1981), "You Might Think" (No. 7, 1984), "Tonight She Comes" (No. 7, 1985), "Magic" (No. 12, 1984), "Let's Go" (No. 14, 1979), "You Are the Girl" (No. 17, 1987), "Hello Again" (No. 20, 1984), "Just What I Needed" (No. 27, 1978), "My Best Friend's Girl" (No. 35, 1978), "Good Times Roll" (No. 41, 1979) and "It's All I Can Do" (No. 41, 1979). The Cars received six Grammy nominations, but never won. They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. Ocasek also released seven solo albums from 1982-2005, had a hit with "Emotion in Motion" (No. 15, 1986) and produced albums for Weezer, Bad Brains, Guided by Voices and others.
