THE CARS: Enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday
The 33rd annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony -- Saturday night at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, home to the Rock Hall and Museum -- honored The Moody Blues, Dire Straits, The Cars, Bon Jovi and the late Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Brandon Flowers of The Killers inducted The Cars, saying they "left a comet trail behind them, writing and recording songs that transcended into classics."
He also mentioned the memorable use of one of the songs The Cars performed Saturday night in Fast Times at Ridgemont High:
"The Cars had it all. The looks. The hooks. Beat romance lyrics. Killer choruses. Guitar solos that pissed off your parents. Dazzling music videos, not to mention, not to mention, the best song in any movie scene that featured a girl slowly getting out of a pool and taking her top off. That's right. I'll take 'Moving in Stereo' over the Star Wars theme any day of the week."
Ric Ocasek, Greg Hawkes, Elliot Easton and David Robinson were on hand to be inducted. Most of them remembered the band's late bassist, Ben Orr, who was from Cleveland.
Ric Ocasek remembers Ben Orr during his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame accepance speech:
"When the band first started, Ben was supposed to be the lead singer and I was supposed to be good looking guy in the band. But after a couple of gigs I kind of got demoted to the songwriter, so I went with that one. But obviously it's hard not to notice that Benjamin Orr is not here. He would have been elated to be here on this stage in his hometown. It feels quite strange to be up here without him because we miss him and love him dearly."
Orr died of pancreatic cancer in 2000 at the age of 53.
With bassist Scott Shriner of Weezer filling in, The Cars did “My Best Friend's Girl,” “You Might Think,” “Moving in Stereo” and “Just What I Needed.”
Highlights from this year’s ceremony will air on HBO on May 5th at 7pm (Central).