Ben Orr, the Cars bassist who sang the new wave band's biggest hit, "Drive," succumbed to inoperable pancreatic cancer at his Atlanta home on Tuesday, October 3. He was 45. According to the Cars' keyboardist Greg Hawkes, Orr died peacefully,
surrounded by the members of his band Big People and fiancée Julie Snider.
"Ben kept rocking," Big People guitarist Jeff Carlisi told MTV. "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 it's over.'"
Orr was first diagnosed with the disease in May, but carried on performing with Big People almost to the end, playing his last gig on September 27 in Alaska.
Ric Ocasek was described to MTV News Online by a spokesperson as "very devastated by the loss of a close friend."
As a teenager, Orr - born Benjamin Orzechowski - led the house band on the Cleveland TV show Upbeat. He met guitarist/vocalist Ric Ocasek in Cleveland and the two quickly formed a songwriting partnership. By 1972 they were residing in Cambridge, Mass., and performing as Milkwood, a folk group who released an album in 1972 on Paramount.
After a second stab at stardom in the band Cap'n Swing, Ocasek, Orr, and guitarist Elliot Easton formed the Cars in 1976 with Hawkes and drummer Dave Robinson. Orr sang lead on their first top 40 single, "Just What I Needed," and stayed with the Cars through to their 1987 breakup, by which time they had notched up top 10 hits like "Shake It Up" and "You Might Think."
Orr released a solo album, The Lace, in 1986, and went to No. 24 with his single "Stay the Night." He recently reunited with the former members of the Cars for a series of interviews that will appear on the forthcoming Rhino DVD The Cars Live. Rhino will donate a portion of the proceeds from sales of The Cars Live to the National Pancreas Foundation.
Big People intend to pay tribute to their leader with a concert at Atlanta's Tabernacle on Friday, October 6. A second memorial concert is planned to take place in Cleveland. Condolences can be sent to the following address:
Crossover Entertainment Group
2020 Howell Mill Road
Suite C
Atlanta, Ga. 30318
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