The Cars: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame video presentation, 2018
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
- The Cars were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 14, 2018, in Cleveland, Ohio. Here is the video presentation that played prior to them taking the stage. Seeing Ben on the big screen, being cheered by thousands of people, nearly made me take flight right there in Cleveland Public Hall. Of course, I wouldn't have gotten very far before I hit my head, since I was sitting up in the rafters! Haha!
This video is likely being uploaded as a supplement for an article I wrote about The Cars. Because the purpose is to non-commercially educate and offer a critical assessment, it is being uploaded under the terms of Fair Use. No copyright infringement intended.
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Rock on! ~ Donna
Dear Ben ... Its so wrong he wasnt there ...Cleveland Rocks!
god bless Benjamin Orr! By far the most under-rated vocalist of all time!
I remember when The Cars came out in the summer of 1978. Initially, I thought one guy sang all the songs. Kind of ridiculous when you think about it now, but I wasn't the only one. I thought the vocals in "Just What I Needed" and "Moving In Stereo" were outstanding. When I heard "I'm In Touch With Your World" and "Let The Good Times Roll" I thought the singer was just singing kinda weird to fit the mood of the song. Ben obviously had the killer voice and Rick made the best of his voice using humor and the mood of the song to cover up his deficincies. The fact that Ben sang half the songs took a lot of the pressure and criticism off of Rick's voice. However, there are some songs I wished Ben would have sung because he could take a song to another level. Miss you Ben.
I saw an Eliot Easton interview where he said when it came time to decide who would sing which songs, Ric who’d say something to the effect of,”I’ll take this one, but this one needs a good singer. You take it Ben”😂
Yo tambien lo extraño! Era tan cool !! Quien llevara a casa a paulina? Benjamin..😢
Rick always said he gave the best songs to Ben, because they needed a really good voice..
So cool when they're gonna talk about Ben and you hear the people scream, this brings tears in my eyes.
Benjamin Orzechowski ❤❤❤
NEVER forgotten. ❤️❤️🍾🍾🌹🌹❤️❤️
From Parma
This all went by way too quick. This life time is ever so short. When THE CARS 1st hit the airwaves, we thought we all had forever as we blasted this awesome band out of our speakers, riding "crusin ' " around the streets in our " Hot Rods." ...ALL and each, a thing if the past.....We were lucky, blessed, fortunate to grow up during this time. The world, and it's people was a much better place Pre-2000. Oh, to turn back time. Just for a day even. Life was not without its issues, but it was indeed a much better place. BEN AND RIC....THE CARS- changed the face of music and MTV videos. You are sorely missed. Ben, when you felt the crowds dwindling as you got older, please know from heaven, people world over are still listening, still tuning in, still loyal fans. You were truly amazing. Benjamin Orr. One of a kind. Gone way way to soon.
The music of today is one of the reasons the world is worse. There was so much feel good music back in the 50s to 80's which made people more happy-go-lucky, but then in the 90's when grunge came along it got angrier, and then vapid pop music like boy bands and reality show 'singers', and worst of all, rap came along and that culture has seaped into society, the youth of today are growing up on that crap and have never experience a good ballad or love song, or singer/songwriters like we had in the 70's, or smooth 'cruisin' music. Today it's all about beats, crappy rapping, or vapid empty pop music.
Se lo extaña..benjamin...niño hermoso
I love how the crowd cheered when Ben was discussed, what a star he was! Sadly missed.
Yes ...my eyes full of tears
I’m sure he made his hometown of Cleveland very proud that night. RIP Benjamin ❤❤
I smiled and cried at the same time. I miss Benjamin so much. 💛
Ben Orr by far the better singer of The Cars. Wish he sang more of the songs. Ric was just ok.
Agreed 👍
Yes, Ric was just ok as a singer. But he wrote the songs...
The Cars is the legacy that many bands would love to be just like them but they couldn't..sophisticate, educated and their mind set was to create music with harmony and awsome beat that even band nowadays can't be imitated and much less to imitate about their personal lives with no public scandals, excess of drugs, foul language in lyrics and disrespect t women . Their talented music will last for many but many generations.
I love Elliot Easton…. I learned a play that solo from BestFriends Girl with my band, and let me tell you this, you have to play it precise . You have to come right out of the gate with it, one flub and it’s over. It packs so much into three chords and at the same time a lesson in simple music theory ….Elliot never really got the wide credit until all these years later .His playing served the song and took it to another level, as all The members of the Cars did. Ric’s songs as brilliant as they are were so simple, and that band just put the sparkle on them. The sum of all parts.
I started listening to The Cars in 78 ,and haven't stopped!✔✔✔ Benjamin Orr has been a great influence as far as his Bass playing and amazing vocals at the same time !✔ He inspired me to be the best Bassist and Vocalist simultaneously!✔✔✔ I've been playing for 4 to 5 decades now ,and The Cars are still one of my All Time Favorite Bands !✔✔✔
RIP Benjamin Orr and Ric Ocasek .....
Can we just talk about how gorgeous David's hair is!!! LOL.
At the end of the day these were five VERY talented musicians being led by an unbelievable song writer.
True genius....RIP Ric and Ben..thanks for the great memories ☮️🙏
Fantastic video. Elliott Easton was always The Cars hidden gem.
Yeah, he was great. Fine guitarist
You guys were the first rock and roll band I ever listened to and 1976 I was in the sixth grade until forever you guys rock I love you brought a lot of fabulous music to the part of my life I will never forget the cars God bless all you members you're brilliant ⭐💪🌹🇺🇸
The Cars are my all time favorite band, and always will be. They have a sound that was new, original and undeniably theirs. Their sound was a combination of all the members, Ric Ocasek, may have taken most of the credit but he would have never been able to pull it off himself. RIP Benjamin Orr and Ric Ocasek, you left a Rock-n-Roll legacy.
Just fabulous. Couldn’t help noticing Ric saying “I” formed the band. Whatever. Also wondering if that would have been his sound bite if Ben was there. Still such a great night for them.
Ocasek had a HUGE ego. Without the others he would have been just some strange looking dude playing in a bar in the corner.
much deserved. SUch a great underrated band. Their first 3 albums were so good. They really influenced my childhood and pre teen years.
Sooo.. "Ric and Ben have been playing together since they were 18" BUT Ric put the band together to play his songs. Ric (I'm sure with Ben's input) put together a great group but the Cars wouldn't be without ANY of the group. Each contributed to the music. I think Joe Milliken, author of Let's Go Benjamin Orr and the Cars, said it best when he recalled the music video for Magic and Ric was walking on water. Ric was always the "star" of the videos which was an interesting choice because had they used Ben more they may have sold more albums to the ladies. Ric's voice is interesting but Ben's voice is mesmerizing and he's very easy on the eyes.
It's not unlike The Police. Ric and Sting might be the main songwriters in terms of being prolific, the initiators of good ideas. But the music of The Cars and The Police is different from what Rick and Sting did as solo artists. The signature sound of each band involved the creativity and talent of all the individuals in each group. In terms of The Cars, Ben wasn't just an extraordinary singer, his bass playing was essential to the band's sound.
I totally agree with you. Sure they ALL, each and everyone contributed and he wouldn’t have had no band I’m sure without either of them especially Benjamin❤️❤️🍾🍾🌹🌹❤️❤️
I could watch this a million times. They were like lightning in a bottle.
It’s amazing how underrated Elliot Easton is
He was a master of the mini-solo. When his ripping solos became less of a focal point of the band after Panorama, the band became less interesting (for me at least).
@@joeski734 I was commenting earlier on My Best Friends Girl… you play it note for note and if you screw up at any point you simply crash…it’s that good 😊
Has to be my favorite band of all time. Ive decided and it took me a half a century to finalize but The Cars are the creme de la creme.
OMG! What an awesome presentation for one of the greatest bands of all time! THANK YOU DONNA...🙏🙏🙏
Benjamin Orr and Ric Ocasek-- the two best vocalists of the 80s period !
Ric??? 😂😂😂😂
Ric no era un gran vocalista. Ben en cambio, era perfecto.
The cars! Best band ever
The Cars rocked ,
I was 17 yrs old going up north in the big station wagon
Mercury Marquis ? with the wood paneling
we sang that album every weekend in the car
Great artists
The Cars without Ben is like Van Hallen without Anthony!
Long live the Cars, RIP brothers Ben & Ric. Thx for all the great music.
Thank you so much for posting this, have found myself "revisiting" the great music of The Cars. It instantly transports me back to my younger self when it was all about the music.
it was great music, everyone in the band wanted to contribute, which is why the songs are such classics, no filler
Crazy how amazing they really were ❤❤❤
It's Ironic that Ric Ocasek was like Pete Townsend of this Band . Ric Wrote / Engineered / Composed the Songs , and was a Great Musician overall . I mean he was the Mastermind and Rock of The Cars Band for sure . He had a Different Guitar for every Song he played . But let's face it , he was not a Model by any stretch 😂 It was Shocking at the time in the 80s that Top 80s Model Paulina Poriskova Married him really . But he was never Ben Orr on Vocals either . Ben Orr had that Adrogenous David Coverdale Kind of Visual Appeal with a Killer Sexual Vocal Style . Ben Orr carried The Cars to World Fame . Nobody would ever want to hear Ric singing "Drive" . The Keyboard Player Hawkes played Keyboards , Synth , and played Saxaphone ? Wow . What would that Band have done without him ?
Greg, Eliot, David, Ric, Ben.
Greg is often overlooked. You could tell he loved what he was doing and really put his heart into it. Really had a great sound.
Does anyone else think Rick sounds like Mr Rodgers when he spoke? Genius songwriter, great band of course.
I don't care what anybody says the cars are the coolest band ever got together perform live made awesome music videos to me I like cars there were my favorite bands of all-time I don't care I'm in my thirties but I still rocked them out until this day even though I was born late 80s I'm still going to like represent the cars, there'll will never another band at the cars. Miss you guys, Live on THE CARS.
The Cars are the greatest. Greg is a diamond!
I agree with most of these comments but I noticed that David Robinson is seldom mentioned. Listen to him in Let’s Go. Great drummer who like Easton never seems to get his due credit. Great era of music in the mid 70s to early 80s. Van Halen, The Police, Springsteen breakout , Foreigner, U2 to name a few but The Cars were the ones that really rocked my world. Saw them live in the front row at Saratoga. Studio is were they really excelled. Miss that band
Oh he is fantastic on those drums. He’s all part of that unique sound of the Cars.
Love them! Such amazing talent and music. RIP Ben and Ric!
A fan since I was 5. Of their piers, they were completely different and relatable.
Once of my favorite groups of all time.
Loveeeee loveeeee loveeeeed the cars!!!!! Best band ever ever ever!!!!👍👍😁😘😘😘🎶🎸🎶Loved Benjamin My favorite rockstar⭐⭐⭐
Wow .. and his simplistic word painting's formed such an impression on me. All the member's influenced me so much. Obviously Greg and Ric , but Elliot's humor and melodic vibe 9 the "Laugh on down the dance floor" moment in Shake it Up as I always thought of in the solo with the different octaves - same series in sequence played ? And Dave had a strait forward yet almost backward fill in there - and of course now more than ever hearing some of these great isolated tracks from our friend ELECTRIC ANGEL ROCK AND ROLLER ? Really hear the playing Ben brought into the song as well as his singing... just such a talented band and there will never be another Cars. Thank you Donna!
Dear Donna, this video is such a beautiful gift to all fans of The Cars. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. Greetings from Lake Constance in Germany.
They are so unique and ahead of tbeir time
I loved the Cars way back. It was the 1st band that made electronic-y music sound warm
to me. Bummer I never saw them live.
just came across this video
again
nothing out there like it
I LOVE THE CARS ..They had so class , fine band with five gentleman, polite men and marvelous musicians ..l love them..Rip Beautiful Benjamin Orr Rip Rick Ocasek kisses to heaven from Argentina ❤❤❤❤❤
Good noise with good lyrics
Excelent!! 👏 👏👏 From Lima Peru 🇵🇪
Bittersweet!! Thank you!
Best induction video!!
You might think i'm crazy... the cars.... my favorite song
All my friends love you back in the 1980 and now ❤️❤️🧡🧡🥰🥰📀🤟😃💝😋😋🔥🔥
Didn’t know this existed. I thought it was just the speech by Brandon Flowers then the guys’ acceptance speeches. Thank for sharing, Donna!!
It was played on the big screens at the start of their induction and we all jumped to our feet cheering. It was incredible... just incredible.
Thank you, Donna, for posting this. It was awesome. Filled me with mixed emotions.
Loved them still do🎉
This was awesome! Thanks so much for finding and posting this 😍
Been looking for this for ages. Thanks!
Best debut album ever!
Such a distinctive innovative sound, smooth as butter these guys.
For rock music,
The past, the present and the future coalesced all at once as a band known as the cars.
I wish they had used more other videos of Ben , not mainly Drive. All know it. Let's go and JWIN absolutely superb choice. Of course Ric said :I formed the band....no!!!!Ben was co- founder.
Yeah, they both played in Columbus, Ohio together before moving to Boston. It was in Boston where Ric formed the band we know as the Cars. Thus, his quote is correct, dear. ;-)
I think Ric was in a band and invited Benjamin to join when he heard him sing.
The Cars Rock...
Wowza these guys are entrepreneurs and Trail Blazers and masters of harmony!!!!!!!
Gotta love The Cars !
Very nice words from brandon and it was not over the top. It was spot on.
80'S... My génération...
I'like...the
cars
Think you guys
LOVE YOU THE CARS THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING AND REST IN HEAVEN BEN AND RIC KEEP ROCKING 🤘🏽🤘🏽.
Best American rock/pop band - by far.
Yeah ..unique band ❤
Just Awesome. What a band. Amazing presentation. Ric has a lovely smile! Thank you.
Justo y merecido !!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you
thank you Donna for sharing😍
An awesome band...forever and ever, the Cars🎸🎤😎🤪🥰😜🍻🍻
Love this
❤❤❤.the cars!!!!!
2:33 Wow!!!!!!
Yes ..beautiful Ben
the cars sendo no hall of fame rock n roll
It's pathetic rock stars are getting put into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when they're like in their 70s but rap stars are getting put in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their thirties and forties how pathetic disgusting and a joke
So this is one year before Ric died!
❤️🏁❤️🏁❤️
I'm curious why during Ric Ocasek's speech he mentioned Greg Hawkes, Benjamin Orr and David Robinson as the sound of the band but he omitted Elliot Easton. what's the story?
Wish I knew. I'd say nerves, but the fact that he rudely talked in the background during EE's speech is hard to ignore.
Probably nerves ... Ben was gone 18yrs. Their first album was turning 40. Things weren't good between him and his family. Ric and his 2 son's didn't talk. Him and Paulina were "separated" and he may have already started having health issues that ultimately led to his demise.
As far as talking thru EE.
EE sometimes needs to make it "quick" Elliot is constantly talking. He was up there almost 9mins rambling and he forgets there are now 3 others (Ben made 4) but even in their last interview Elliot did most of the talking.
I think the quickest acceptance was Dave.
Glad to see Bens son in audience.
I was definitely Glad to see Paulina there and she looked so genuinely happy and excited. Who would have ever of thought ?
Yes I realize it was Ric who asked to separate. But I think Ric was depressed and in a bad way. Probably starting that "cycle" was being on that R&R Stage holding that award and Ben wasn't there. Ric knew that award would have meant the world to his buddy and he missed out on it.
RIP Ben and Ric !
Keep on Rocking !!
@@ny4weezie Ric did seem pretty nervous with the way he kept scratching/touching his nose. He probably forgot - you can see during his speech there was a gap when he was naming the band members and seemed to lose his train of thought after naming the other 3.
And yes Ric talked in the background during the speeches to Brandon Flowers - so did David Robinson when Ric was talking too - happens a lot at the RRHOF. And you are correct, EE tends to go on and on.
@@ny4weezie I think by this time Paulina already had a boyfriend. I think she had left the marriage
@@tajtandoori9076 never saw that she had boyfriend anywhere until 2021.
from what I've seen and read repeatedly.
They separated in 2018. They had 2 homes. She was in one and he the other. She did stay with him after separation and still showed for public events.
He filed for divorce.
He also left her and his 2 kids from "2nd" wife out of will. He claimed "abandonment" from Paulina in separation/divorce papers. Paulina was wife #3 and he had 6 kids altogether. (2 kids ea marriage)
She felt he abandoned her. He felt abandoned by her.
I also thought I read she found him in the morning and went to wake him for coffee. She waited hours to call in hopes to spend time and get his kids there. Yet they claim he died 4:15pm
So only ones who know the answer to any of this is them and their inner circle.
We lost Ric a year ago today
But ironically- RO ends up working with Bad Brains- my ALL TIME favorite live band. Such a weird combo. My very first band and my very most punkest band..
"I write all the songs". And that was the problem Ric.
Ben was by far the better vocalist... wish he sang the majority instead of Ric....
Totally agree 💯
🥁🕺🎸
БОЖЕСТВЕННЫЙ ГОЛОС БЕНА БУДУТ СЛУШАТЬ ВЕКАМИ! 👌👌🇸🇮🇸🇮НЕДООЦЕНИЛИ БЕНА ЛЕГЕНДА ТАЛАНТ! 👌👌🇸🇮
ВСЕ ТАЛАНТЫ! 🤞🔥🔥🔥2023г.
I like the cars and I followed a career from the beginning to the end. But when it comes to the rock ‘n’ roll Hall of Fame, I have no respect for it at all. It is a joke. It is nothing more than something egotistically for certain individuals who wished they could be Rockstars, but instead turned out to be a businessman, who wanted to capitalize on everything I could without any kind of talent.
Ric sounds like Mr Rogers.
Hear David Byrnes influence
I guess Ric defined the cars good music and lyrics rip
"Good noise with good lyrics..." No shi.t, Sherlock!!
Donna, where did you sit at this R&RHOF induction show ?
I was in the middle on the upper level toward the way back, across from the stage (not on the sides). Practically the rafters! Haha!
Are you kidding Greg’s the clown of the band gotta laughter wren I see him
The only thing they seemed to be with those ridiculous hairstyles, especially the keyboard player, the only thing that looked better was Benjamin Orr.
Absolutely. He was Co-founder. It wasn’t all Ric. RIP Benjamin ❤❤
rik.... overrated
So much