Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Ric Ocasek, lead singer of the rock band The Cars, died Sunday in New York at age 75.
Police said they received a call around 4 p.m. for an unconscious male at a townhouse on East 19th Street.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. Law enforcement sources confirmed the deceased was Ocasek.
Ocasek and his band were inducted into the Rock Hall in 2018.
The institution described the band as “hook-savvy with the perfect combo of new wave and classic rock.”
The band had 13 top-40 singles, including radio staples like “Good Times Roll” and “Just What I Needed,” and Ocasek went on to a successful producing career after The Cars broke up in the late 1980s.
Ocasek formed the Cars in Boston in 1976 with bassist and singer Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson. They played their firstshow on New Year’s Eve that year, and in 1978 released their self-titled debut album.
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First Benjamin Orr, now Ric Ocasek. The Cars are no more. R.I.P.