Benjamin Orr

For other people named Benjamin Orr, see Benjamin Orr (disambiguation).

Benjamin Orr
Birth name	Benjamin Orzechowski
Born	September 8, 1947 Lakewood, Ohio
Died	October 3, 2000(2000-10-03) (aged 53) Atlanta, Georgia
Genres	Rock, pop rock, new wave
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Bass, vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums
Years active	1965–2000
Labels	Elektra/Asylum
Associated acts	The Cars

Benjamin Orr (September 8, 1947 – October 3, 2000) was an American rock musician best known as the bassist and vocalist for the Boston-based rock band, The Cars.

He sang several of their best known hits, including "Just What I Needed", "Let's Go", and "Drive". He also scored a moderate solo hit with "Stay the Night."

Career

Benjamin Orr was born Benjamin Orzechowski in Lakewood, Ohio, to parents of Russian, Czechoslovak, and Polish descent, who actively supported his musical endeavors. He became proficient in several instruments including the guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, and drums. Known locally as "Benny 11-Letters," he grew up in Lakewood, Ohio, and Parma, Ohio, and dropped out of Valley Forge High School to join a local band the Grasshoppers as lead singer and guitarist in 1964. The Grasshoppers were the house band on the syndicated TV show Upbeat produced by WEWS-TV in Cleveland. In 1965, the Grasshoppers released two singles on the Sunburst label, "Mod Socks" and "Pink Champagne (And Red Roses)", the latter written by Orzechowski. The Grasshoppers dissolved in 1966 when two of the band members were drafted into the U.S. Army, after which Orzechowski joined the band Mixed Emotions. Later Orzechowski was drafted as well, although he received a deferment after approximately a year and a half in the Army.

Around 1970, Orr moved to Columbus, Ohio where he met Ric Ocasek and formed a musical partnership that would continue through to the end of his life. Along with lead guitarist Jas Goodkind, the two formed a folk band called Milkwood. The group released one album, How's the Weather?, in 1973 which failed to chart. By the mid 1970's, Orr was working in a Boston night club band, Cap'n Swing, whose members included future Cars leader Ric Ocasek and guitarist Elliot Easton. After the group broke up in 1975, the three of them along with keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson formed the Cars in 1976.

As a key member of the Cars, Orr's biggest success came with the song "Drive," where he was featured on lead vocals and had a part as the storyteller in the accompanying music video. The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

After several top hits and multi-platinum record albums with the Cars, he released his only solo project The Lace in 1986. He co-wrote all music and lyrics, and the album had one Top 40 hit, "Stay the Night". A second single "Too Hot to Stop" was also released, but did not chart in the Hot 100. The album had a very familiar rhythm and feel of the Cars but was also free of Ocasek's frequently cryptic lyrics. The album cover for The Lace featured Ben Orr on the front and his co-writer Diane Grey Page on the back. The video for "Stay the Night" reached number one on both MTV and VH1, and Orr won an ASCAP award for the song.

Orr continued to work with the Cars for one more album before walking away in 1987 (the Cars never gave an official break up statement), after which he and the other members pursued solo work. Sometime in the mid-1990s, Orr recorded tracks with guitarist John Kalishes for an unreleased follow-up to The Lace. From 1998 until his death in 2000, he performed with his own band ORR and two side bands, "The Voices of Classic Rock" with Mickey Thomas and John Cafferty, and "Big People", which was a cover band with Jeff Carlisi (of .38 Special), Derek St. Holmes (of Ted Nugent), and Liberty DeVitto (of Billy Joel). Also in the late 90's, Orr was helping to promote an unknown local band in New England, and even performed a few Cars songs with the band, on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Illness and death

In April 2000, Orr was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was subsequently hospitalized, yet he continued to perform in concerts with the band Big People at summer music festivals and state fairs. He reunited with all the former members of The Cars one last time in Atlanta, for an interview that was used in a Rhino Records video and DVD of a German concert performed in 1979, The Cars Live.

His final public appearance was on September 27, 2000, in a Big People concert in Anchorage, Alaska. He died at home in Atlanta on October 3, 2000, aged 53, surrounded by his fellow Big People band members Jeff Carlisi, Derek St. Holmes and Rob Wilson, manager David Tedeschi was not present but was devastated by the loss of his best friend. Orr was survived by his son, Ben, from a previous relationship.

Ocasek wrote and recorded the song "Silver," which was his musical tribute to Orr. It appeared on Ocasek's 2005 solo album, Nexterday.

He was given a special thanks on the Cars "Move Like This" album. The booklet reads: "Ben, your spirit was with us on this one."

Discography

The Grasshoppers

• 1965: "Mod Socks" b/w "Twin Beat" (Sunburst 104, national U.S and Canada release on Warner Bros. 5607)
• 1965: "Pink Champagne (And Red Roses)" b/w "The Wasp" (Sunburst 105)

Milkwood

• 1973: How's the Weather? (Paramount 6046)

The Cars

Main article: The Cars discography

Solo albums

• 1986: The Lace (Elektra 60460) #86 US

Solo singles

Year	Song	Canada	US Pop	US Rock	US A/C	Album
1986	"Stay the Night"	31	24	6	2	The Lace
1987	"Too Hot To Stop"	-	-	25	-	The Lace

External links

• Benjamin Orr biography – Allmusic
• Benjamin Orr at the Internet Movie Database
• Benjamin Orr: The Legacy