Synopsis
The Cars were an American rock group that emerged from the new wave scene in the late '70s. The band was formed during 1976 in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., with vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter Ric Ocasek; bassist and singer Benjamin Orr; lead guitarist Elliot Easton; keyboardist Greg Hawkes; and drummer David Robinson.
The Cars were at the forefront in merging '70s guitar-oriented rock with the new synthesizer-oriented pop that was then becoming popular, flourishing during the early '80s. Robert Palmer, music critic for The New York Times and Rolling Stone magazine, described the Cars' musical style by saying: "they've taken some important but disparate contemporary trends—punk minimalism, the labyrinthine synthesizer and guitar textures of art rock, the '50s rockabilly revival and the melodious terseness of power pop, mixing them into a personal and appealing blend."
The Cars were named "Best New Artist" in the Rolling Stone Readers' Poll of 1978 then won "Video of the Year" for "You Might Think" at the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. Their eponymous debut L.P., The Cars, sold 6 million copies, appearing on the Billboard 200 album chart for 139 weeks, the group having sold over 23 million albums in the US.