Sponsored by BigAppleJazz.com    New York City and All That's Jazz   FULLER UP HOME GRIM REAPER PAGE CAUSES OF DEATH SEARCH BY NAME GET IN TOUCH SHAMEFUL DISCLAIMER    Fuller Up The Dead Musician Directory    Benjamin Orzechowski  Benjamin Orr October 3, 2000 Age 53  Pancreatic cancer    OBITUARY  BIOGRAPHY   LINKS  Buy or Hear the Music         Gordon's Pick: Cars Deluxe Edition

OBITUARY 

Born: September 8, 1947     The Cars' Benjamin Orr Dead At  53 Cars                                               Benjamin Orr, singer and bassist with new wave                                            hitmakers the Cars, succumbed to cancer at his                                            home in Atlanta on Tuesday night. He was 53.                                             As previously reported by MTV News, Orr, born                                            Benjamin Orzechowski on September 8, 1947,                                            had been hospitalized last May with what turned                                            out to be inoperable pancreatic cancer (see                                            "The Cars' Benjamin Orr Hospitalized").                                             According to former Cars keyboardist Greg                                            Hawkes, Orr was surrounded by his friends when                                            he passed away just before midnight (ET).                                            Orr co-founded the Cars with Ric Ocasek in                                            Boston in 1976 and sang lead on many of the                                            band's most recognizable songs, including                                            "Drive" and "Just What I Needed." The Cars                                            disbanded in 1988. Orr also released a solo                                            album in 1986 called "The Lace."                                             A management spokesperson for Ocasek spoke                                            on behalf of the singer-guitarist, telling MTV                                            News, "He's very devastated by the loss of a                                            close friend."                                            The singer had been playing with his new band,                                            Big People, right up until late September,                                            including a final show in Alaska on September                                            27. His Big People bandmates, Jeff Carlisi                                            (formerly of .38 Special), Derek St. Holmes (Ted                                            Nugent), and Rob Wilson, along with Orr's                                            manager, Billy Johnson, and Orr's fiancee, Julie                                            Snider, were with him in Atlanta when he died.                                            "Ben kept rocking," bandmate Carlisi told MTV News. "From                                            the time he was diagnosed, he told us he wanted to keep                                            playing until the end. He said, 'If I fall down one day and can't                                            get up, you'll know its over."                                            The group will now turn a                                            planned March of Dimes benefit                                            concert scheduled for this Friday at the                                            Tabernacle in Atlanta into a memorial                                            performance. According to Orr's manager,                                            another event is being planned to take place in                                            Orr's hometown of Cleveland.                                            Orr had reunited with his former Cars bandmates                                            -- Ocasek, Hawkes, Elliot Easton and David                                            Robinson -- this past summer for an interview to                                            be included on a new DVD documentary, "The                                            Cars Live," scheduled for release through Rhino                                            Home Video on November 1. Rhino will now be                                            donating a portion of the profits to the National                                            Pancreas Foundation.                                             Tributes to Benjamin Orr and cards to friends                                            and family will be accepted by Crossover                                            Entertainment Group, 2020 Howell Mill Road,                                            Suite C, Atlanta, GA, 30318.                                            Donations to the Benjamin Orr Memorial Fund                                            can be sent to at Box 600590, Newtonville, MA,                                            02460.                                              MTV-- Sorelle Saidman, with additional reporting                                                                  by Kara Manning           Cars Co-Founder Benjamin Orr Dies Of Cancer                       Benjamin Orr, co-founder of the Cars, died of pancreatic cancer Tuesday                        (Oct. 3) at his home in Atlanta. He was 53.                        The Cars were one of the most successful New Wave American bands                       to emerge in the late '70s. The bassist/vocalist founded the group in                       Boston in 1976 with Ric Ocasek, with whom he had collaborated for several                       years prior to the group's formation. Orr shared lead vocals                       with Ocasek and sang lead on some of the Cars' most                       popular songs: "My Best Friend's Girl," "Just What I Needed,"                       "Drive," "Let's Go," and "Candy-O."                        The band was on hiatus for much of 1985 and 1986, during                       which time Orr recorded a solo album, The Lace (1986). His                       solo single, "Stay the Night," hit No. 24 on the singles charts                       in 1987. The Cars broke up in February 1988.                        Orr had been playing with a new group, Big People, which                       included Jeff Carlisi (formerly of .38 Special), Derek St.                       Holmes (Ted Nugent), and Rob Wilson. The group performed                       last May at Atlanta's Music Midtown festival and was                       scheduled to Perform Friday (Oct. 6) at The Tabernacle in                       Atlanta.                        Wanting to keep it private, Orr's family has asked Rhino                       Records, which has been reissuing some of the Cars' Elektra                       albums, not to make any comment.                                            AllStar News -- Jane Cohen and Bob Grossweiner   NY TIMES             Benjamin Orr, Rock Musician Who Was a Founder of the Cars, Dies at 53              By NEIL STRAUSS            Benjamin Orr, a bassist, vocalist and founding member of the rock            group the Cars, died on Tuesday in his home in Atlanta. He was 53.            The cause was pancreatic cancer, said Billy Johnson, who manages Big            People, an Atlanta band for which Mr. Orr played bass.            Born Benjamin Orzechowski in Cleveland, Mr. Orr dropped out of high            school to lead a regional rock band, the Grasshoppers, and perform on a            television music show, "Upbeat." A local fixture, Mr. Orr was known for            his long hair, his good looks and his ability to fill any role in a rock band,            from vocalist to guitarist to drummer. The Grasshoppers broke up when            members were drafted during the Vietnam War.            The formation of the Cars was a long, slow metamorphosis. In the late            60's, Mr. Orr met a college dropout named Ric Ocasek at a party in            Ohio. They formed a duo and moved to Manhattan, Woodstock and            finally Boston in search of opportunities to make music. In Boston, they            met the keyboardist Greg Hawkes and released a folk-rock album as            Milkwood.            After becoming fixtures in local bars and cafes under various names and            line-ups, they added Elliott Easton on guitar and became a rock band            called Cap'n Swing. The final element materialized when they met David            Robinson, a former drummer with the Boston band the Modern Lovers.            Mr. Robinson renamed the band the Cars and helped the members            cement their sleek pop-art and futurism-influenced look and style.             In 1978, the band released its first album, "The Cars," on Elektra            Records. Mixing new-wave detachment, preening synthesizers, catchy            pop hooks and an arch take on classic boy-girl and teeny-bop themes,            "The Cars" landed three songs in the top 50: "Good Times Roll," "Just            What I Needed" and "My Best Friend's Girl." For the next nine years,            the band sustained its success (thanks in part to adapting quickly to the            emerging medium of rock videos). Its nonstop string of hits peaked in            1984 with its highest-charting song, the ballad "Drive," achingly sung by            Mr. Orr.            As the group was beginning to break up, Mr. Orr released a solo album,            "The Lace," in 1986, which resulted in a top 40 hit, "Stay the Night."             Most recently, he played in a rock veteran amalgam called Big People            with Pat Travers, Jeff Carlisi of .38 Special, Derek St. Holmes of Ted            Nugent's band and Liberty DeVito of Billy Joel's band. The band was to            perform in Atlanta tonight; its manager said the show would go on, with a            tribute to Mr. Orr.

 

 

BIOGRAPHY

Former Cars bassist/singer Ben Orr,                                 who was born Benjamin Orzechowski in Cleveland,                                 Ohio. Famous for their witty pop songs and innovative                                 videos, the Cars won the hearts of new wave fans until                                 their breakup in the late 1980s.                                   Orr had been working with Cars frontman Ric Ocasek for                                 nearly a decade, collaborating on various musical outings                                 and session work, before founding the band in Boston in                                 1976. They met keyboardist Greg Hawkes during a stint                                 with Milkwood, brought in Elliot Easton on guitar and David                                 Robinson was hired as drummer.                                  The Cars began making demos in Ocasek's basement,                                 including an early cut of "Just What I Needed," which went                                 on to become a hit on Boston's WBCN. With their 1978                                 self-titled debut, the Cars scored nationwide success with                                 that single and another, "My Best Friend's Girl," in which                                 Ocasek and Orr shared vocal credits. The album went                                 platinum, and sold for so long that the release of its                                 follow-up, Candy-O was delayed. The latter album also                                 sold extremely well, charting with "Let's Go" and "It's All I                                 Can Do." Even when their third album, Panorama, hit                                 stores, The Cars was still on the charts.                                  Ocasek continued doing production work for musicians                                 such as Suicide's Alan Vega, Bebe Buell and the New                                 Models. The mid-1980s were also good to the Cars,                                 leading them to score a string of hits such as "Shake It                                 Up," "You Might Think," "Magic," "Hello Again" and the                                 tender ballad "Drive," another song which included Orr on                                 vocals. The latter trio of tunes hailed from one of the                                 band's most successful albums, 1984's Heartbeat City.                                 By the end of the 1980s, personal strife began splitting up                                 the bandmates. Their last two hits were "Tonight She                                 Comes" and "You are the Girl," the latter of which charted                                 in 1987. Ocasek went on to produce a number of great                                 albums, including Weezer's debut, and has a new album                                 on the way; Orr had a hit in 1987 with "Stay The Night"                                 and released a solo album, The Lace, in 1986.                                                                  -- Beth Winegarner

 

LINKS

Sponsored by Big Apple Jazz Tours: The music fans' favorite way to see NYC