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Benjamin Orr (September 8, 1947 – October 3, 2000) was an American musician best known as a singer,bassist and co-founder of the rock band the Cars. He sang several of their best known songs, including "Just What I Needed", "Bye Bye Love", "Moving In Stereo", "Let's Go", "It's All I Can Do", and "Drive". He also scored a moderate solo hit with "Stay the Night." ==Early life and career== Benjamin Orr was born Benjamin Orzechowski in Lakewood, Ohio〔http://www.allmusic.com/artist/benjamin-orr-mn0000128776/biography〕 to parents of Polish, Russian, Czechoslovakian and German 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 attended Valley Forge High School before joining a local band the Grasshoppers as lead singer and guitarist in 1964.〔Scott, Jane. "Meet the Men With Green Feet" ''The Plain Dealer'' January 30, 1965: 34〕 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 were also the house band on the ''Big 5 Show'', a musical variety TV show produced by WEWS-TV in Cleveland. 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 and later, the Colours. Later Orzechowski was drafted as well, although he received a deferment after approximately a year and a half in the Army.〔Scott, Jane. "The Cars take off fast in record derby" ''The Plain Dealer'' June 9, 1978: Friday 28〕〔Adams, Deanna. ''Rock 'n' Roll and the Cleveland Connection'' (2002): 50–52〕 Orr first met Ric Ocasek, the future leader of the Cars, in Cleveland in the 1960s after Ocasek saw Orr performing with the Grasshoppers on the ''Big 5 Show''.〔Scott, Jane. "Cars are roaring back; Blossom is a sell-out" ''The Plain Dealer'' August 7, 1984: 5-C〕 A few years later, Orr moved to Columbus, Ohio where he and Ocasek formed a musical partnership that would continue in various incarnations until the break-up of the Cars in 1988. After moving to Boston, the two formed a folk band called Milkwood with guitarist James Goodkind. In 1973, the group released one album, ''How's the Weather?'', which failed to chart. Remaining in Boston, Ocasek and Orr then formed another band, Richard and the Rabbits, featuring keyboardist Greg Hawkes, followed by another band, Cap'n Swing, which included guitarist Elliot Easton. After the group broke up in 1976, the three of them along with Hawkes and drummer David Robinson formed the Cars. As a member of the Cars, Orr sang lead vocal on some of the band's best known songs, including their first top 40 hit "Just What I Needed", "Let's Go," and on "Drive", their highest-charting U.S. single. Orr released his only solo album, ''The Lace'', in 1986. He co-wrote the music and lyrics with his long-time girlfriend, Diane Grey Page who also sang backing vocals,〔http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-lace-mw0000191215/credits〕 and the album had one top 40 hit, "Stay the Night". The song was a top 10 album rock hit〔Whitburn, Joel. ''Rock Tracks'' (2002): 103〕 and the video was in heavy rotation on MTV.〔"(MTV Programming )" ''Billboard'' December 13, 1986: 42〕 A second single "Too Hot to Stop" was also released, but did not chart in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The album cover for ''The Lace'' featured Orr on the front and Page on the back. Orr continued to work with the Cars for one more album, ''Door to Door'', and tour before the group disbanded in 1988, 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",〔http://www.allmusic.com/artist/benjamin-orr-mn0000128776/biography〕 which was a cover band with Pat Travers (of the Pat Travers Band), Jeff Carlisi (of 38 Special), Derek St. Holmes (of Ted Nugent), and Liberty DeVitto (of Billy Joel). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Benjamin Orr」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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