Ric Ocasek
Born in Baltimore on March 23, 1944, this owlish singer-songwriter-guitarist had a well-documented impact on the Boston, national and international scenes as the driving force behind The Cars. After dropping out of Ohio’s Bowling Green State University, Ocasek (born Richard Otcasek) fell in with Cleveland-born multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Orr (born Ben Orzechowski) and the pair formed bands in Cleveland and New York City in the early ‘70s before settling in Boston.
The two put together a folk trio named Milkwood, recording an album on Paramount Records in 1973, and eventually evolved into Cap’n Swing, gaining some prominence in the Boston area before packing it in and co-forming The Cars in 1976. As much as Cap’n Swing was beloved locally, it only set the table for the massive and lasting success of The Cars beginning with the release of their debut album in 1978.
Most laudably, Ocasek used his new-found fame and clout to aid and abet the Boston music scene, producing and playing on releases by The New Models and Peter Dayton as well as national efforts from San Francisco’s Romeo Void, Alan Vega, Martin Rev ‘of Suicide) and Bebe Buell. His 1982 solo album, Beatitude, reached #28 in the Billboard 200 and incorporated musicians from the Boston area. The Cars purchased Intermedia Sound Studios on Newbury Street (converting it into the state-of- the-art Syncro Sound) and many of the area’s leading artists recorded there.
Ocasek’s second solo outing, 1986’s This Side of Paradise, appeared between Cars releases and spawned the #15 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Emotion in Motion,” which proved to be his commercial high-water mark as a solo artist; his five later solo albums (each released in the wake of The Cars’ demise) produced diminishing commercial results. Ocasek transitioned to the producer’s chair with great success, however, fostering platinum efforts from Weezer and working with noteworthy groups including Hole, No Doubt and Guided by Voices. Ocasek died at age 75 in September 2019 in New York City and was buried at Nine Partners Cemetery in Millbrook, New York.
(by Carter Alan)
Carter Alan is a former WBCN deejay now heard on WZLX-FM in Boston. He’s the author of Radio Free Boston: The Rise and Fall of WBCN (University Press of New England, 2013).
