Overview

New York Times bestselling author Bill Janovitz delivers the definitive story of The Cars, one of the most popular, beloved, and influential bands to emerge from New Wave-with a foreword by Cars keyboardist Greg Hawkes. The Cars formed in the late 1970s as an alliance of five journeymen musicians with roots in Maryland, Ohio, New York, and New England. They had each performed in a series of bands before finding one another-along with the right sound at the right time. That sound, soon fortified by their iconic imagery, turned them into Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. Biographer, critic, and musician Bill Janovitz explores the musical, cultural, and commercial impact of the band with articulate and knowing insights. He draws on his own exclusive new reporting along with the enthusiastic participation of the surviving members of the band, as well as nearly everyone who surrounded them over the years. The band's unusual providence is fully explored here for the first time, and each of their landmark albums is masterfully chronicled and dissected, as is their profound support of the Boston music scene that has reverberated around the world and throughout the decades. Yet, with all of the success, there were also significant conflicts within the band, which led to an untimely end. Janovitz reveals the stories of each member, and of the group as a whole, with great care and understanding. To paraphrase The Car's own lyrics: Hello again, you might think this is just what you needed. It's magic. Let's shake it up and let the good times roll.

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9780306835063

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Reviews

""A comprehensive look at the New Wave band from Boston that charmed the world. ... Janovitz's writing about the band's music is wonderful--he is himself a Boston-area musician, the singer-songwriter for Buffalo Tom, and brings ample context to the Cars' oeuvre. This is a superb rock biography, a must for anyone with even a passing interest in pop music."" --Kirkus Reviews (STARRED) ""This inside account of the life of a rock band bristles with extravagant details and penetrating insights, much like his masterpiece biography of Leon Russell, but Bill Janovitz's The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told persuasively makes the case for the Cars as one of the essential American rock bands of their day. Janovitz brings a fellow musician's perspective, a scholar's depth and a fan's enthusiasm to this riveting, rollercoaster ride of the entire bell curve of the storied band's epic career."" --Joel Selvin, author of Altamont and Fare Thee Well ""[The Cars] sings on many levels but especially when Janovitz writes about the making of the albums, including the band's eponymous debut album that captured The Cars signature sound, unpretentious with memorable hooks, hypnotizing synths, rumbling drums, and clever lyrics ... Fans will appreciate this fine book as a lasting homage. Let the good times roll, indeed.""--Booklist ""I loved The Cars and followed their career from beginning to end, and I loved this book. Well written and researched, it captures the rock scene from the hippie days to new wave. It also stands as a cautionary tale about how not to run a band. All band dynamics are slippery, but I have always believed that everybody in a great band should be valued and rewarded.""--Peter Buck, R.E.M. ""Like The Cars, I was born in Ohio in the late seventies. I grew up listening to their cool, stylized, slightly unnerving songs, but now, thanks to Bill Janovitz, the records sound new to me. With The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told, Janovitz has given us a meticulously researched and satisfyingly granular portrait of the band, the history, the personalities, and the unmistakable sound. And what a writer! He had me on page one.""--Maggie Smith, author of Keep Moving and You Could Make This Place Beautiful

""A comprehensive look at the New Wave band from Boston that charmed the world. ... Janovitz's writing about the band's music is wonderful--he is himself a Boston-area musician, the singer-songwriter for Buffalo Tom, and brings ample context to the Cars' oeuvre. This is a superb rock biography, a must for anyone with even a passing interest in pop music.""--Kirkus Reviews ""I loved The Cars and followed their career from beginning to end, and I loved this book. Well written and researched, it captures the rock scene from the hippie days to new wave. It also stands as a cautionary tale about how not to run a band. All band dynamics are slippery, but I have always believed that everybody in a great band should be valued and rewarded.""--Peter Buck, R.E.M. ""Like The Cars, I was born in Ohio in the late seventies. I grew up listening to their cool, stylized, slightly unnerving songs, but now, thanks to Bill Janovitz, the records sound new to me. With The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told, Janovitz has given us a meticulously researched and satisfyingly granular portrait of the band, the history, the personalities, and the unmistakable sound. And what a writer! He had me on page one.""--Maggie Smith, author of Keep Moving and You Could Make This Place Beautiful ""This inside account of the life of a rock band bristles with extravagant details and penetrating insights, much like his masterpiece biography of Leon Russell, but Bill Janovitz's The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told persuasively makes the case for the Cars as one of the essential American rock bands of their day. Janovitz brings a fellow musician's perspective, a scholar's depth and a fan's enthusiasm to this riveting, rollercoaster ride of the entire bell curve of the storied band's epic career."" --Joel Selvin, author of Altamont and Fare Thee Well

""I loved The Cars and followed their career from beginning to end, and I loved this book. Well written and researched, it captures the rock scene from the hippie days to new wave. It also stands as a cautionary tale about how not to run a band. All band dynamics are slippery, but I have always believed that everybody in a great band should be valued and rewarded.""--Peter Buck, R.E.M. ""Like The Cars, I was born in Ohio in the late seventies. I grew up listening to their cool, stylized, slightly unnerving songs, but now, thanks to Bill Janovitz, the records sound new to me. With The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told, Janovitz has given us a meticulously researched and satisfyingly granular portrait of the band, the history, the personalities, and the unmistakable sound. And what a writer! He had me on page one.""--Maggie Smith, author of Keep Moving and You Could Make This Place Beautiful ""This inside account of the life of a rock band bristles with extravagant details and penetrating insights, much like his masterpiece biography of Leon Russell, but Bill Janovitz's The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told persuasively makes the case for the Cars as one of the essential American rock bands of their day. Janovitz brings a fellow musician's perspective, a scholar's depth and a fan's enthusiasm to this riveting, rollercoaster ride of the entire bell curve of the storied band's epic career."" --Joel Selvin, author of Altamont and Fare Thee Well

Author Information

Bill Janovitz is the New York Times bestselling author of Leon Russell: The Master of Space and Time's Journey Through Rock & Roll History, The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St., and Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell the Story of the Rolling Stones. He is a founding member of the international touring and recording band Buffalo Tom, formed in 1986 in Massachusetts. He lives with his family outside of Boston.

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