Cars

Prehistory: Before they became world wide hit-makers, Cars were known as Cap’n Swing, and before that again Rick Ocasek and Benjamin Orr had a group called Richard and the Rabbits.

With rhythm guitarist/vocalist Ocasek writing the bulk of the songs, the Cars swung into action in 1977 producing catchy tunes with great hooks and choruses. They released twenty-six singles and seven studio albums between 1978 and 2011, with the self-titled debut album and follow-up Candy-O being the most successful.

Having elements of new wave and a strong power pop sensibility, the well-crafted singles found huge popularity on radio stations across the globe. One of their biggest hits, however, was the wistful balled "Drive", lifted from 1984’s Heartbeat City.

A factoid for closers: Ric Ocasek had an entertaining cameo in John Waters’ Hairspray, playing a beatnik painter shacked up with Pia Zadora who anticipated Banksy,s with self-destructive art.