Elliot Easton performs with the Cars Saturday night at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
The Cars—a genre-bending quintet that sold millions of albums during their heyday, the late
Elliot Easton performs with the Cars Saturday night at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
The Cars—a genre-bending quintet that sold millions of albums during their heyday, the late Seventies through the Eighties—were among the honorees at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cleveland this past Saturday night.
All five original members—singer/guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes, drummer David Robinson and late bassist Benjamin Orr—were included in the induction. Orr—who sang some of band's best-loved songs, including “Just What I Needed”) died at age 53 in 2000.
“New Wave, Post Punk, Power Pop—tonight, they’re all riding together into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," said the Killers' Brandon Flowers, who introduced the band. "On the back of what is now established as one of the greatest debut albums ever made, the Cars were named 'Best New Artist' in the 1978 Rolling Stone Readers Poll. Forty years later, they still sound like a new band to me.”
As if out to prove Flowers correct, the Cars—whose lineup was bolstered by Weezer bassist Scott Shriner for the occasion—then ran through a handful of hits, including “You Might Think,” “My Best Friend’s Girl,” “Moving in Stereo” and “Just What I Needed.”
You can check out “Just What I Needed” above. Below, you'll find "My Best Friend's Girl," "You Might Think" and the band's lengthy but heartfelt "thank you" speech.
The Cars have been eligible to join the Hall since 2004; they were previously nominated in 2016 and 2017.