Ric Ocasek Dead for Unknown Reasons. The Cars Frontman Found Dead in His Manhattan Apartment

Ric Ocasek, the frontman and founder of The Cars, was found dead in his Manhattan apartment. He was seventy-five years old, and the cause of death is still under investigation, but New York City police said his body showed no signs of violence. Ocasek and his friend Benjamin Orr formed the new wave rock band in Boston in the mid-1970s. Blending rock guitar with synthesizer-driven pop, The Cars achieved success with "Just What I Needed," "My Best Friend's Girl," "Good Times Roll," and 1984's "Drive" (which was performed at Live Aid in 1985 as background to footage of the Ethiopian famine), according to the BBC. After the band broke up in the late 1980s, Ocasek launched a solo career and worked as a producer for artists including Weezer, Bad Religion, and No Doubt. After Orr died of pancreatic cancer in 2000, a band reunion seemed impossible. But in 2011, the remaining members of The CARS (Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes, and David Robinson along with Ocasek) reunited to release a final album ('Move Like This'). In 2018, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.