Take Five: Classics from The Cars

The Cars were at the forefront of the American new wave movement. Debuting in 1978, the Boston-based group combined the best qualities of power pop, stripped-down rock and intelligent use of synthesizers for a winning style that earned the band more than a dozen Top 40 hits and five multi-Platinum albums in the U.S. as well as significant chart success abroad. The band broke up in 1988, but reunited twice: once in 2011 for a reunion album (the well-received Move Like This) and tour, and again briefly in 2018 for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Neither of those reunions included bassist/vocalist Benjamin Orr, who died in 2000.

The Cars’ legacy is well established and enduring ; while leader Ric Ocasek died in 2019, recent news comes that a cache of songs written but never completed will now form the basis of a new Cars release; that project is slated to include the three surviving members of the group: lead guitarist Elliot Easton, drummer David Robinson and keyboardist Greg Hawkes. In honor of the 40 year anniversary of the release of The Cars Greatest Hits, here are five standout tracks (and hit singles) from the band.

“Just What I Needed” from The Cars (1978)
The Cars roared out of the gate with their self-titled debut album. Released in June ‘78, The Cars spawned no less than five hits, reaching No. 18 on Billboard’s album chart and eventually earning the 6x Platinum designation. Sung by Ben Orr and an exemplar of the band’s style, “Just What I Needed” is a taut, catchy single that established the band’s signature sound.

“Let’s Go” from Candy-O (1979)
The Cars deftly dodged to so-called “sophomore slump” with their second album, Candy-O. The 1979 album yielded three songs, two of which charted. The album’s centerpiece is the propulsive “Let’s Go.” Like “Just What I Needed” – and many Cars hits – the song was written by Ocasek but featured lead vocals from Orr. “Let’s Go” hit No. 14 on Billboard’s chart.

“Touch and Go” from Panorama (1980)
1980’s Panorama featured a darker sound, and the album was met with more muted commercial success than its predecessors. But in The Cars’ world muted success still meant a Platinum record and a Top 40 single in “Touch and Go,” composed and sung by Ric Ocasek. The record’s two other singles failed to chart, but bigger success was just around the corner.

“Shake it Up” from Shake It Up (1981)
Shake it Up was a major breakthrough. Without altering their style in any significant way, The Cars placed four of the album’s five singles on the charts. “Cruiser,” “Since You’re Gone” and “Victim of Love” all landed on the US Rock singles chart, but the album’s peppy title track soared to the No. 2 spot on that chart, and the No. 4 place on the Billboard 200. Shake it Up went double Platinum, too.

“Drive” from Heartbeat City (1984)
The momentum continued with The Cars’ fifth LP, 1984’s Heartbeat City. The album eventually went 4x Platinum, with a staggering seven singles released from its ten tracks. The Benjamin Orr-sung ballad “Drive” showed a different side of the band’s musical character, and ended up being The Cars’ most commercially successful song worldwide. “Drive” went Top Ten in more than a dozen countries.