Ric Ocasek was lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist for The Cars. They were a fantastic, pioneering band and, IMHO, one of rocks greatest.
From Wikipedia:
The Cars’ music has been described as new wave and power pop, and is influenced by proto-punk, garage rock, and bubblegum pop. They have also used rockabilly in songs such as “My Best Friend’s Girl”. Robert Palmer, music critic for The New York Times and Rolling Stone, described the Cars’ musical style by saying: “they have taken some important but disparate contemporary trends—punk minimalism, the labyrinthine synthesizer and guitar textures of art rock, the ’50s rockabilly revival and the melodious terseness of power pop—and mixed them into a personal and appealing blend.”
My favorite songs from them include the entire albums The Cars and Candy-O.
Dangerous Type
Just What I Needed
Candy-O
Oh, what a shock. First Eddie. Now Ric. I loved “Drive”. One of the more beautiful melodious songs. All very sad. RIP Ric.
Sad day, Indeed!! Those two albums you’ve mentioned are pillars of the late 70s and should be enshrined.
Interesting bit of trivia:
“Just What I Needed” and “Candy-O” featured Benjamin Orr (bassist) singing lead, who shared that duty with Ric in the band.
I’d like to add another Ocasek-led gem to your list:
“Touch and Go” from Panorama, their 3rd album.