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When The Cars played the Cleveland Agora club in early July 1978, they were just a Boston-based baby band with a just-released first album, trying to establish a toehold somewhere outside New England. Showing a tight well-rehearsed band from Day One, here’s The Cars embryonic version of “Just What I Needed”.
The Cars’ co-founder singer/songwriter the late Ric Ocasek goes under the hood with keyboard player Greg Hawkes for the 45th anniversary of their 1978 debut.
The Cars’ “Shake It Up” was their first album to contain a Top Ten Billboard hit in the title song, so 1981’s “Shake It Up”, with its peak at #9 on Billboard album sales chart as well as #34 for the entire year, was seen by many as a return to high performance by the Boston band. Keyboard player Greg Hawkes joins me In the Studio with archival interview by Cars bandleader the late Ric Ocasek on “Shake It Up” fortieth anniversary.
The late Cars chief mechanic Ric Ocasek plus keyboardist Greg Hawkes tune up the story of 1979’s “Candy O” In the Studio.
The Cars “Heartbeat City” interview In the Studio with the late Ric Ocasek & Greg Hawkes.
The band Boston had by August 1978 sold seven million copies on its way to becoming the top-selling debut (now over 17 million ), and the follow-up “Don’t Look Back” was being rush released to North American rock radio stations. Boston, led by my guest here in this classic rock interview, guitarist/composer Tom Scholz
In memoriam : the echoes In the Studio of Neil Peart of Rush, Walter Becker of Steely Dan, Ric Ocasek of The Cars, Paul Barrere of Little Feat, plus David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Chris Squire & Alan White of YES, Chris Cornell. Part two.
It’s the all-important 1981 “Don’t Stop” EP by Billy Idol. In the last spasms of the London Punk Rock scene circa 1980, Generation X and their front man Billy Broad had the career arc of a bottle rocket, briefly filling English dance floors with the celebratory single “Dancing with Myself”and a cover of “Mony Mony”. But Punk Rock’s purpose of being a disruptive force to reset all the tumblers of popular music was practically fulfilled by then, and had no second act, so Billy Idol needed a new start. Billy Idol is my guest In the Studio.
“The way you change Music is by changing the music,” David Bowie told me, without any hint of irony whatsoever, as we discussed 1976’s Station to Station. Songs include “Golden Years”,”Stay” ,”TVC 1-5″ ( Bowie said that the unused tune for the Man…Earth soundtrack was about a girl and her relationship with her television),”Wild is the Wind” , and the title song, often cited by post-punk bands including The Cars, Talking Heads, and Gary Numan as a major influence.
Ozzy Osbourne’s biggest seller in about fifteen years, 1995’s “Ozzmosis” ironically was released after he had announced a very high profile retirement. “Me without a band is like I’m walking around naked or something. ” Ozzy is a funny, charming, surprisingly insightful guest with me In the Studio.
So hear about the emperor’s new clothes with Ozzy Osbourne on “Ozzmosis”.