The Cars discography
Encyclopedia
This following is the complete discography of the American Rock
band The Cars
. Over the years they have released six studio albums, six compilation albums and 23 singles.
The New Cars was a band formed in 2005 with two of the original members of the 1970s/1980s new wave band The Cars. The band was composed of Todd Rundgren
, drummer Prairie Prince
, Kasim Sulton
, and original Cars members Greg Hawkes and Elliot Easton. The band performed The Cars' classic songs, Rundgren's solo work, and some new material, and released one album, It's Alive!
(album) which contained mainly songs recorded by the original Cars, plus two Todd Rundgren staples, plus three all-new studio tracks by the band.
A seventh studio album by The Cars was released on May 10, 2011.
† Lead vocals by Benjamin Orr (Ric Ocasek on all others).
* "Drive" originally peaked at #5 in the UK in 1984, but re-entered the chart in 1985 after being used for documentary footage during Live Aid
, this time reaching #4.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band The Cars
The Cars
The Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
. Over the years they have released six studio albums, six compilation albums and 23 singles.
The New Cars was a band formed in 2005 with two of the original members of the 1970s/1980s new wave band The Cars. The band was composed of Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
, drummer Prairie Prince
Prairie Prince
Prairie Prince is a rock drummer. He was a member of The Tubes and a founding member of Journey...
, Kasim Sulton
Kasim Sulton
Kasim Sulton is an American bass guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free," Utopia's only top 40 hit in the United States...
, and original Cars members Greg Hawkes and Elliot Easton. The band performed The Cars' classic songs, Rundgren's solo work, and some new material, and released one album, It's Alive!
It's Alive! (album)
It's Alive! is the album released by The New Cars. The album features fifteen live tracks, thirteen of which are songs known as being performed by the original Cars. The remaining two, "I Saw the Light" and "Open My Eyes", were popularized by New Cars member Todd Rundgren...
(album) which contained mainly songs recorded by the original Cars, plus two Todd Rundgren staples, plus three all-new studio tracks by the band.
A seventh studio album by The Cars was released on May 10, 2011.
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales threshold) |
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| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
NL MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
NZ |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
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| 1978 | The Cars The Cars (album) The Cars is the self-titled debut album by the American rock band The Cars released in 1978. With the popular tracks "Just What I Needed" and "My Best Friend's Girl" getting heavy airplay on AOR radio stations, the album sold one million copies by the end of the year and steadily climbed the...
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18 | 35 | — | — | 5 | — | — | — | 29 |
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... : 6× Multi-Platinum British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... : Silver |
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| 1979 | Candy-O Candy-O Candy-O is the second studio album by the American rock band The Cars, released in 1979.- Cover art :The album cover was painted by artist Alberto Vargas, known for his paintings of pin-up girls that appeared in Esquire and Playboy magazines in the 1940s and 1960s...
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3 | 7 | — | — | 6 | — | — | — | 30 |
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| 1980 | Panorama
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5 | 19 | — | — | 14 | — | — | — | — |
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| 1981 | Shake It Up
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9 | 20 | — | 40 | 12 | — | — | — | — |
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| 1984 | Heartbeat City Heartbeat City Heartbeat City is the fifth studio album by American rock band The Cars, released in 1984.Heartbeat City contains a total of five American Top 40 singles, two of which were Top 10 as well, reaching #3 and #7, respectively...
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3 | 15 | 15 | 41 | 1 | — | 26 | 20 | 25 |
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| 1987 | Door to Door
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26 | 26 | 57 | — | 10 | 9 | 29 | 20 | 72 |
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| 2011 | Move Like This Move Like This -Best Buy edition:This enhanced CD also has videos for "Sad Song" and "Blue Tip.""Rocket USA" is a cover of a 1977 song by the American band Suicide, from their self-titled debut.-Personnel:The Cars*Ric Ocasek – lead and background vocals, guitars, keyboards...
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7 |
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| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||||||||||||
Compilation albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
AUS |
NZ |
UK |
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| 1985 | Greatest Hits Greatest Hits (The Cars album) Greatest Hits is a six-time platinum-selling compilation album by the new wave band The Cars. It was released in October 1985 on Elektra Records.-Track listing:All songs written by Ric Ocasek.# "Just What I Needed" – 3:43...
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12 | 5 | 2 | 27 |
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| 1995 | Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology is a career compilation from the 80s New Wave rock group The Cars...
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— | — | — | — | ||||
| 2001 | Shake It Up & Other Hits Shake It Up & Other Hits Shake It Up & Other Hits is a budget compilation album of The Cars' songs, released by Rhino Records in 2001.-Track listing:# "Shake it Up"# "Let's Go"# "Magic"# "Touch and Go"# "Bye Bye Love"# "Tonight She Comes"# "Why Can't I Have You"...
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— | — | — | — | ||||
| 2002 | Complete Greatest Hits
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144 | — | 10 | — | ||||
| 2005 | The Essentials The Essentials (The Cars album) The Essentials by The Cars is a compilation of hits released by WEA International in 2005.-Track listing:# "My Best Friend's Girl"# "You Might Think"# "Since You're Gone"# "Shake It Up"# "Just What I Needed"# "Magic"# "Touch and Go"# "Drive"...
|
— | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Rock |
AUS |
CAN RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
NL MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
NZ |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
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| 1978 | "Just What I Needed Just What I Needed -Cover versions:*Big Daddy - Big Daddy*Caleigh Peters – Sky High soundtrack*Sister Hazel – Lift*Poison – Poison'd*Bang Tango – Untied and live!*The Insyderz – Fight Of My Life and Paradise CD Single*Replicants – Replicants... " † |
27 | — | 96 | 35 | — | — | 38 | — | — | 17 | The Cars |
| "My Best Friend's Girl My Best Friend's Girl (song) "My Best Friend's Girl" is a song by American rock band The Cars from their 1978 self-titled debut album on Elektra Records. Written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Roy Thomas Baker, the song was released as the album's second single. It peaked at number 35 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart, and reached... " |
35 | — | 67 | 55 | — | 40 | — | — | — | 3 | ||
| 1979 | "Good Times Roll Good Times Roll "Good Times Roll" is a song by American rock band The Cars. It is the first track from their 1978 debut album The Cars, produced by Roy Thomas Baker... " |
41 | — | — | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Let's Go Let's Go (The Cars song) "Let's Go" was the first single from The Cars' album Candy-O released in 1979. It was written by Ric Ocasek and features lead vocals by Cars bassist Ben Orr. The single peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the U.S., but the song was an even bigger success elsewhere... " † |
14 | — | 6 | 5 | — | — | 40 | — | — | 51 | Candy-O | |
| "It's All I Can Do It's All I Can Do "It's All I Can Do" is a song by the American rock band The Cars. It is the third track from their 1979 album Candy-O. It was written by the band's lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, and features the bassist, Benjamin Orr, on vocals... " † |
41 | — | — | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Double Life" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980 | "Touch and Go" | 37 | — | 62 | 16 | — | — | 42 | — | — | — | Panorama |
| "Don't Tell Me No" † | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981 | "Gimme Some Slack" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Shake It Up" | 4 | 2 | 10 | 7 | — | 48 | 26 | — | — | — | Shake It Up | |
| "Cruiser" † | — | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982 | "Since You're Gone" | 41 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 37 | |
| "Victim of Love" | — | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984 | "You Might Think You Might Think "You Might Think" is a single by The Cars from their fifth studio album, Heartbeat City, which came out in 1984. The track was written by Ric Ocasek, and produced by Mutt Lange and The Cars. Ocasek sang lead vocals.... " |
7 | 1 | 24 | 8 | — | 49 | 27 | 20 | — | 88 | Heartbeat City |
| "Magic Magic (The Cars song) "Magic" is a song by The Cars from their fifth studio album, Heartbeat City, released in 1984. It was released as a single and reached No. 12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart. The track was written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Robert "Mutt" Lange and The Cars... " |
12 | 1 | 96 | 14 | — | — | 50 | — | — | — | ||
| "Drive Drive (The Cars song) "Drive" is a 1984 song by The Cars, the third single from the band's Heartbeat City album and their biggest international hit. It was written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange with the band. Lead vocals were by Cars bassist Benjamin Orr.... " † |
3 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 15 | 3 | 4* | ||
| "Hello Again Hello Again (The Cars song) "Hello Again" is a song performed by the rock band The Cars, released in 1984 as the fourth single from the album Heartbeat City. It was the fourth Top 20 hit from the album, reaching number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also reached number 8 on the Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart and... " |
20 | 22 | 52 | 42 | 27 | — | 12 | — | 17 | — | ||
| 1985 | "Why Can't I Have You" | 33 | 11 | — | 90 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Heartbeat City" | — | — | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 78 | ||
| "Tonight She Comes Tonight She Comes "Tonight She Comes" is a 1985 song by The Cars, from their Greatest Hits album. It was released as a single in October 1985, reaching number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in January, 1986... " |
7 | 1 | 16 | 36 | — | — | 20 | — | — | 79 | Greatest Hits | |
| 1986 | "I'm Not the One I'm Not the One "I'm Not the One" is a song by the American rock band The Cars, from their fourth album, Shake It Up. It features Ric Ocasek on lead vocals, with the whole group repeating "going round and round" throughout the song.-Overview:... " |
32 | 29 | 75 | 82 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Shake It Up |
| 1987 | "You Are the Girl You Are the Girl "You Are the Girl" is a 1987 song by The Cars, from their album Door to Door. It was released as a single in August 1987, reaching number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.... " |
17 | 2 | 69 | 33 | — | — | 30 | — | — | — | Door to Door |
| "Strap Me In" | 85 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988 | "Coming Up You" † | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2011 | "Sad Song Sad Song (The Cars song) "Sad Song" is the lead single by the American rock band The Cars from their 2011 studio album Move Like This. A brief clip of the song was released in December 2010; the full song was released to radio on March 1, 2011.-Details:... " |
— | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Move Like This |
† Lead vocals by Benjamin Orr (Ric Ocasek on all others).
* "Drive" originally peaked at #5 in the UK in 1984, but re-entered the chart in 1985 after being used for documentary footage during Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
, this time reaching #4.
Videos
| Year | Title | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Heartbeat City | VHS VHS The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan .... , Betamax Betamax Betamax was a consumer-level analog videocassette magnetic tape recording format developed by Sony, released on May 10, 1975. The cassettes contain -wide videotape in a design similar to the earlier, professional wide, U-matic format... , Laserdisc Laserdisc LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical... |
| 1985 | The Cars Live 1984–1985 | VHS, Betamax, Laserdisc |
| 2000 | The Cars Live | VHS, DVD DVD A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions.... |
| 2006 | The Cars Unlocked | DVD/CD |
Music Videos
| Title | Album |
|---|---|
| "Just What I Needed" | The Cars |
| "My Best Friend's Girl" | The Cars |
| "Let's Go" | Candy-O |
| "Double Life" | Candy-O |
| "Dangerous Type" | Candy-O |
| "Panorama" | Panorama |
| "Touch and Go" | Panorama |
| "Shake It Up" | Shake It Up |
| "Since You're Gone" | Shake It Up |
| "You Might Think" | Heartbeat City |
| "Drive" | Heartbeat City |
| "Magic" | Heartbeat City |
| "Why Can't I Have You" | Heartbeat City |
| "Hello Again" | Heartbeat City |
| "Tonight She Comes" | Greatest Hits |
| "You Are The Girl" | Door To Door |
| "Strap Me In" | Door To Door |
| "Blue Tip" | Move Like This |
| "Sad Song" | Move Like This |
| "Free" | Move Like This |