The Cars discography

The discography of the American rock band the Cars includes seven studio albums, eight compilation albums, four video albums and 26 singles. Originating in Boston in 1976, the band consisted of singer, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter Ric Ocasek, singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, lead guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes, and drummer David Robinson. After signing with Elektra Records, the band released their self-titled debut album, The Cars in 1978. Backed by the successful singles "Just What I Needed" (number 27), "My Best Friend's Girl" (number 35), and "Good Times Roll" (number 41), the album was a major commercial success, selling one million copies by the end of the year, peaking at number 18 on the Billboard 200 chart in March 1979.[1][2] The album remained on the album chart for 139 weeks. The band's follow-up, Candy-O, was released a year later in 1979, and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200. Its singles included their first Top 20 hit "Let's Go" and "It's All I Can Do", which reached number 41.[1]

Their third album, Panorama, was released in 1980. Although it peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified Platinum, it was less commercially successful than its predecessors.[1] A single, "Touch and Go", peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their next album, Shake It Up (1981), fared better commercially, going platinum by the end of the year and spawning their first Top 10 single with its title track.[1] 1984's Heartbeat City was the band's most successful, hitting number 3 on the Billboard 200. Its lead single, "You Might Think", reached number 7 in the US, with three more singles: "Magic", "Drive", and "Hello Again" reaching number 12, 3, and 20, respectively on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] Their Greatest Hits album, released later that year, contained the singles "Tonight She Comes" and a remixed version of "I'm Not the One", and has gone 6x platinum.[1] Their final album before their breakup, Door to Door (1987), spawned the single "You Are the Girl" which reached number 17 on the Hot 100; it was their last Top 40 hit as a band.[1][3]

The band reunited for the album Move Like This in 2011, without Orr who died of pancreatic cancer in 2000.[4] It reached the Billboard 200 Top 10 and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart; its single, "Sad Song", reached number 33 on the Billboard Rock Songs chart. The Cars were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 and reunited once more to perform at the induction ceremony.[5] The reunion was their final performance with Ocasek, who died in 2019 of cardiovascular disease.[6] As of 2001, the Cars had sold over 23 million albums in the United States.