The Cars' Ric Ocasek Dead at 75

Photo by Adanne Osefoh

BY Josiah HughesPublished Sep 16, 2019

Songwriter and record producer Ric Ocasek, best known as frontman for the seminal new wave group the Cars, has passed away. He was 75 years old.

According to NBC, New York police received a call around 4 p.m. EDT today to check on an unconscious male at a townhouse on East 19th Street. The man was confirmed to be Ocasek and pronounced dead on the scene.

According to police, there was no sign of foul play, and the medical examiner is set to determine a cause of death.

The Cars had 13 Top 40 singles in their lengthy career, including "Good Times Roll," "Just What I Needed" and "My Best Friend's Girl."

Outside of his work with the Cars, Ocasek was an accomplished record producer. He made albums with Bad Brains, Guided By Voices, No Doubt and most famously Weezer, producing their breakthrough debut Blue, their third album Green and the more recent Everything Will Be Alright in the End.

The Cars were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. That same year, Ocasek separated from his longtime wife Paulina Porizkova after 28 years of marriage.





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