LEGACY PRESERVATION

BRIAN

I first began listening to The Cars and Benjamin Orr when the Cars' debut album came out in the summer of 1978. It was the summer after finishing grammar school and entering high school.  Just What I Need was getting some airplay, but when I heard My Best Friend's Girl come on the radio one day when I was in a sporting goods store shopping with my Dad; the song, the sound, the lyrics, the handclaps, the hooks, the background vocals and the melodies all literally stopped me dead in my tracks. What an incredibly new and fresh sound this was with an almost rockabilly hint I thought to myself.  I was immediately hooked!!

I grew up on and was influenced by the music from the 50's, the 60's (British Invasion and Flower Power) and the 70's (classic rock). The Cars' debut album and the first Van Halen album came out roughly at the same time; Van Halen's self-titled album came out in February 1978, followed by The Cars' debut self-titled album in June 1978. The summer of '78 was an awesome one!  The Cars and Van Halen's music would go on to change the music landscape and influence many artists to follow, even now.

Four albums came out when I was in high school (Self-Titled, Candy-O, Panorama, and Shake it Up); two while I was in college Heartbeat City and Door to Door.  You could say I literally grew up on The Cars!! 

I had the opportunity to see all of The Cars' concert tours from Candy-O onwards. The Panorama, Shake It Up and the  Heartbeat City album tour (which I saw twice) were the most memorable ones for me.  The concerts were very euphoric and mesmerizing. After the show was over, you weren't sure if you had been there for 5 minutes, or for 5 hours. Benjamin, of course, "owned" the stage and you just couldn't help being fixated on him, while trying to watch the other band members as well. I also recall being very drawn to Benjamin for some reason when looking at all the album photos and sleeves.  He had a certain appealing aura and affable propensities about him - what the French would call a "je ne sais pas" - or a certain " I don't know what" about him.

Fast forward now to March 23, 1995.  Much to my excitement the local radio station announces, "Benjamin Orr from The Cars will be playing at Jaxx nightclub in Springfield, VA" (IN MY HOMETOWN!!). Mind you, it has been 8 long years since I last saw Benjamin perform. 

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity in eager anticipation, the lights finally go down in the small night club.  Me and my school days friend were on the floor right in front of the stage. The (ORR) band begins to play an instrumental and starts to build a crescendo. No Benjamin in sight... 

I am looking at this very heavy set guy playing guitar and I am starting to get worried. I am thinking to myself, "Is that Ben? It's been a while and I suppose people do change... but that guy is a whale" (please forgive me for thinking that, Johnny). OMG what in the hell happened to Ben I am thinking?!  My friend and I look at each other perplexed; I guess the same thoughts were running through his mind too.

At this point I am almost teary-eyed thinking this has been one big colossal and sick joke. Then at that moment.... from behind the drummer and from behind a curtain literally busts out the "real" Benjamin clad in fringe and in all his glory as the band goes into Too Hot to Stop as he takes center stage right in front of us. Talk about going from nearly heartbroken to  overwhelmed with elation in a matter of mere seconds!!  I have always wondered whether Ben could see us from behind the curtain and the dejected looks on our faces when he bust out from behind the curtains. Mere coincidence perhaps, but it's a funny story nonetheless. Needless to say, the show was awesome as Ben and the band played hits from The Cars, The Lace and his new material that he had been working on with John Kalishes for a second solo album.  Afterwards my friend and I hung out and I recall Big Dave (Tedeschi) letting us past him and up a flight of stairs where we were able to hang out with Benjamin for a while and get something signed.  It was a great night and one I will never forget!

​

A couple of years later Benjamin and the ORR band would play again in my hometown at the Fairfax County Government Center building (where I was working at the time) at a summer festival event. Back in the mid to late 90's Ben and the ORR band had no website and social media was not prevalent at this time. If you wanted to know when and where a band or artist was playing we had only local FM radio and the newspaper (The Washington Post - Weekend section insert was the go-to). I started using Pollstar (an insider or trade publication for the concert industry) around this time to find where my favorite bands were playing. I got lucky and this led me to find other shows where Ben was playing in proximity of the DC area; The Buffalo Lodge in Rossiter, Pennsylvania; a summer festival on the river in Tarentum, Pennsylvania; Boston City Hall Plaza in Boston, Massachusetts; and I flew out to San Mateo, California near San Francisco for the "Day of Decadence" show where I had an all areas access and press/photo pass. 

​

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to hang out and talk with Benjamin on numerous occasions during the mid to late 90's.  More about this and some other funny stories for another time. He was always very kind and humble and just an ordinary guy. He was bigger than life on stage, but once he stepped off stage he was very approachable and kind (unlike many other public figures).  Benjamin loved performing and he loved his fans. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to meet him so many times.

Shortly after the show in San Mateo, California in September 1999 Ben fell ill and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  I wrote to him when he was in the hospital in Atlanta.  Back then we were still using 3.5" floppy disk drives. I have been looking for this letter for years on all my old 3.5" disk drives and on my old computer hard drives, but regrettably it is lost.  I knew nothing about pancreatic cancer at the time, and in my ignorance just assumed he could get treated for it somehow and be back on the road touring again or having a reunion with The Cars someday in the near future.  Sadly, that never happened.

The news of his passing the first week of October 2000 hit me like a ton of lead.  It was devastating.  :' (

Around this time I somehow found Dawn-Marie who was in the initial stages of putting together a memorial and tribute site for Benjamin. We joined forces and launched "Benjamin Orr : The Legacy" on Yahoo Groups (this was before the advent of MySpace and Facebook).  Dawn-Marie and I had very different styles and ways of doing things, yet we complimented each other very well.  We have been friends ever since, going on 21 years now! Recently, Betty Wood has joined us in helping to maintain and preserve Ben's memory and legacy. All three of us have close and personal ties to Benjamin as you will read in each of our stories.

So, that is how it all began. I hope you have enjoyed reading this.  Thank you for being here, taking the time to read this, and for giving me the opportunity to share it with you as we embark on the next phase of our journey with "The Legacy"   as we launch and unveil this new website in Benjamin's honor and remembrance.  

More to come.... stay tuned!

​