Benjamin Orr (September 8, 1947 – October 3, 2000) was the bass guitar player and one of the vocalists for New Wave band The Cars.
Orr was born Benjamin Orzechowski in Lakewood, Ohio, to Russian and Czechoslovakian parents.[3] He grew up in Cleveland, and dropped out of high school to pursue music full time in a local band, The Grasshoppers. Unlike many other musicians' families, his parents were both singers and actively supported his musical endeavors. He became proficient in several instruments including the guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, and drums. However, his talents in The Cars were mostly in playing the bass and lead vocals for many of their most popular hits, including "Just What I Needed", "Let's Go", and "Drive". Orr's backing vocals were also a Cars' signature.
By the mid 1970s Orr was working in a Boston night club band, Cap'n Swing, with other members including future Cars frontman Ric Ocasek and guitarist Elliot Easton. When the group broke up in 1975, the three of them joined up with keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson to form The Cars by 1976.
As a key member of The Cars, Orr's biggest success came with the song "Drive" where he was featured on lead vocals and had a prominent part in the accompanying music video. The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
After several top hits and multi-platinum albums with The Cars, he released his only solo project The Lace in 1986. He co-wrote all music and lyrics, and the album had one Top 40 hit, "Stay the Night". A second single "Too Hot to Stop" was also released. The album had a very familiar rhythm and feel of The Cars but was also free of Ocasek's frequently cryptic lyrics. The album cover for The Lace was shot by then manager Jean Renard and featured Ben Orr on the front and his co-writer Diane Page on the back. The video for "Stay the Night", co-directed by Renard went on to number one on both MTV and VH1.
Orr continued to work with The Cars for one more album before their subsequent break-up in 1988, after which he and the other members pursued solo work. From 1998 onwards he led three bands, including 'Orr', 'The Voices of Classic Rock', and 'Big People'.
In April 2000 he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and subsequently hospitalized [1], yet continued to perform in concerts with his all-star band, Big People, at summer music festivals and state fairs. He reunited with all the former members of The Cars only once in Atlanta, Georgia for an interview that was used in a Rhino Records video and DVD of a German concert performed in 1978, The Cars Live.
His final appearance was on September 27, 2000 in a Big People concert in Alaska. He died six days later at his home in Atlanta, on Tuesday night, October 3, 2000 at the age of 53, surrounded by his fiancee Julie Snider, manager Billy Johnson and Big People band members Jeff Carlisi, Derek St. Holmes and Rob Wilson [2]. The bands Orr and Big People still perform his classic Cars hits.
Benjamin Orr also played with Ric Ocasek as a duo, called Milkwood, which released one album, which is now regarded by Cars fans as a collectible.
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