Ric Ocasek, the vocalist of new wave band The Cars was found dead on Sunday at a Manhattan townhouse in New York City, New York.
According to the New York Police department, they received a call at around 4:00 p.m. about an unconscious male at a townhouse in Manhattan. The man, which was pronounced dead at the scene, was identified as Ric Ocasek. Reports indicated that there were no signs of foul play but the cause of death is still unconfirmed.
Ocasek was born Richard Theodore Otcasek on March 23, 1944 in Baltimore, Maryland but his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he met Benjamin Orr, The Cars' bassist, in high school. They would perform at the local bar and club circuit.
The duo then moved to Boston, Massachusetts, and founded The Cars in 1976 with Elliot Easton on guitar, Greg Hawkes on keyboards and David Robinson on drums. The band would integrate rock music from influences like Lou Reed and David Bowie with modern new wave melody.
New York Times music critic Robert Palmer in a 1978 write-up about the band said ""The stylistic synthesis the band has effected so brilliantly should be around for a long time. They have taken some important but disparate contemporary trends -- punk minimalism, the labyrinthine synthesizer and guitar textures of art rock, the 50's rockabilly revival and the melodious terseness of power pop -- and mixed them into personal and annealing blend."
After The Cars disbanded in the late 1980s, Ocasek began solo work and also served as record executive and producer for several bands, including Weezer and No Doubt. After news of his death broke, Weezer tweeted "The weezer family is devastated by the loss of our friend and mentor Ric Ocasek, who passed away Sunday. We will miss him forever, & will forever cherish the precious times we got to work and hang out with him. Rest in Peace & rock on Ric, we love you."
