Bear in mind that Mick Jagger was pretty much the same age as Ocasek and yet he and the Stones were already considered dinosaurs when The Cars were breaking out. Who knew back in 1978 that the Rolling Stones were still in their early period!
Anyway, The Cars have always been one of my favorite bands. I came of age during their short run. I was just hitting puberty when their debut album came out and I got married the year of their last record ("Door to Door"). In between was high school and four years in the Marine Corps.
They only put out five proper albums but each of them could have been another band's Greatest Hits album. Pretty much everything they put out was catchy and radio-friendly. There was a time during 1978 when you could turn the dial on any FM radio dial and come across a Cars song playing. That first album was that good. Every track could have been a hit. Their follow up "Candy-O" was almost as good, marred only by that experimental "shooby-doo" track. That track did not age well. But most everything else did - the music of The Cars sounds just as fresh today as it did back then.
After the Cars, Ocasek put out some really good solo stuff that's worth checking out. I would put his "This Side of Paradise" up there with any Cars album.
Ocasek then went on to work with a lot of other bands and projects including most notably Weezer (of "Buddy Holly" fame).
They were a wonderful group. I can’t believe he’s gone.
Saw the Cars in Buffalo late 70’s I’m guessing. Had some fine music.
“Catchy and radio friendly” is what I think too. They also played well on MTV (remember that? I don’t think anyone watches it any more).
I wasn’t much of a Stones fan until 20 or more years after they started. By then they had accumulated a huge library of music and now I crank up most of their tunes when I hear them on my classic rock radio station. Surprisingly, I seldom hear Beatles tunes any more...but I’ve only been listening to music when I’m on the road...which isn’t very often these days.