Rick Ocasek, real name Richard Otcasek, was an American singer-songwriter who will stay mainly in the musical history of the 80s for having been the leader so charismatic of the group 'The Cars'.
He really started his artistic career in the early 1970s with a group called 'Milkwood', with whom he released a single album "How's the weather" in 1973, an album that unfortunately went somewhat unnoticed ...
He was later found in a new group called 'Richard And The Rabbits', then in 'Cap'n Swing'. Then finally within a new group called...'The Cars' from the year 1976.
A group that will quickly become one of the flagship groups of the end of the 20th century, notably achieving an impressive number of successes between 1978 and 1988.
In parallel, the artist will begin his solo career from the year 1982 with the release of a first album "Beatitude", album which will not go unnoticed and which will produce no less than 3 titles classified with the singles "Something to grab for", "Jimmy Jimmy" and "Connect up to me".
New album "This side of paradise" four years later in 1986, album with global impact and from which will be extracted his biggest solo success single side with the title "Emotion in motion".
An incredible adventure that will come to a halt at the end of the 1980s with the dissolution of the Cars on the one hand. Then with the release of personal albums thereafter which will only experience a very limited level of success ...
An adventure that will end definitively on September 15, 2019, when the artist will die at the age of 75 from high blood pressure, a chronic disease to which was added coronary artery disease.
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others ...) :
I can't wait 1982
Something to grab for 1983
Jimmy Jimmy 1983
Connect up to me 1983
Keep on laughin' 1986
Emotion in motion 1986
True to you 1986
Coming for you 1986
Rockaway 1991
The way you look 1991
All we need is love 1991
Don't let go 1993
Feeling's got to stay 1993
The next right moment 1997
Come on 2015
Carousel 2015
Clips :
1982 ... while he is still in the extraordinary adventure 'The Cars', the singer decides to start his solo career in parallel. With this first title of more than certain quality ...
1983 ... a solo career that begins to take off with this title. First major success in a personal capacity and which shows above all that the singer can quite exist without the Cars ...
1983 ... a BIG year 1983 with an impressive succession of high caliber titles. Everything succeeds for the artist in an insolent way at the beginning of the 1980s, as much with others as in solo ...
1983 ... and 3 ! Three titles just for this year 1983 and the 3 will be classified. Of course, we are not talking about global success, but their influence in the USA will be more than enough to make the artist happy ...
1986 ... difficult all the same to be present on all fronts at the same time and he will not do anything solo until this year 1986. But it was to better recharge his batteries and this return will not go unnoticed , far from there !
1986 ... and that, for having re-energized, he re-energized himself. So much so that he will land here the biggest success of his entire solo career and at the same time obtain his one and only planetary mega hit. MAS-TER-FUL !
1986 ... difficult for this title to compete with the previous steamroller but the level of success achieved is far from ridiculous, to say the least. Great vintage for the singer this year 1986 !
1986 ... each title released in this year 1986 is inspired, it is clear. Even if they will not all know the fame they should have had, they at least deserve to appear in this article, that's clear !
1991 ... five years will separate this title from the previous title. The 'Cars' adventure is this time over and there is only the solo part left to continue the adventure. But even on the solo side, the adventure will come to an end with this last major hit ...
1991 ... he will continue to believe in it but it is rather the general public who will no longer follow. Too bad because he still has things to offer, that's clear ...
1991 ... even if he disappeared from the Charts, his talent did not disappear. So we are not going to deprive ourselves of listening to what he continues to produce
1993 ... he will have crossed the decade of the 70s, then the decade of the 80s and here he is still standing in this decade of the 90s. Nothing, and no one, seems able to stop him and we understand why ...
1993 ... especially that he is good in all areas, the proof once again with this title. But that is a constant with him and has been since his beginnings. No wonder then ...
1997 ... an end of the 90s which saw him lose in inspiration, a fact not to be overlooked. So it could be that we are getting closer to the end, the real one ...
2015 ... we thought the case folded but here he is back 18 years after the previous title. A desire to believe in it over and over again which commands respect once again ...
2015 ... but all adventures, even the brightest, come to an end. This time, he has indeed come to the end of the road and is about to bow out for good. But what a career !
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Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :