New Biography on The Cars Singer/Bassist Benjamin Orr to be Published November 2018

- "Door To Door" recording sessions, 1987. Photo by Marco Glaviano (used with permission)

New Biography on The Cars Singer/Bassist Benjamin Orr by Vermont Writer Joe Milliken to be Published November 2018! 

“Let’s Go!” by Joe Milliken to be released November 2018
“Benny Eleven-Letters” with The Mixed Emotions, 1966. Ben Orr Collection (used with permission)

Bellows Falls, VT – Veteran music journalist Joe Milliken recently announced a publishing deal with the Lanham, Maryland-based publisher Rowman & Littlefield Publishers to produce his first book, a biography about the late Benjamin Orr. Orr was the co-founder, co-lead singer, and bassist for the platinum-selling rock band The Cars. Titled Let’s Go! Benjamin Orr and The Cars, a release date is set for November 15, 2018.

– Benjamin Orzechowski at 16-years-old, 1963. Ben Orr Collection (used with permission)

Often considered the band’s heartthrob, Orr possessed an incredible voice, diverse musical talent and rare stage presence, all balanced by a magnetic, yet enigmatic personality, striking good looks, and a relentless determination to reach rock stardom. Born Benjamin Orzechowski (aka “Benny Eleven Letters”) and raised in the Cleveland suburb of Parma Heights, Orr was, prior to becoming a world-famous rock star with The Cars, a “teen star” as a house band musician for the nationally syndicated television show Upbeat.

A few years later Ben met his musical partner and future Cars’ bandleader, Ric Ocasek, and by 1976 their quest for the perfect blend of songs, bandmates, and musical landscape finally materialized as The Cars. They would go on to sell over 30 million albums worldwide resulting in 15 “Top 40” hits.

Onstage, “Door To Door” tour, 1987. Photo by Marco Glaviano (used with permission)

From his early success in Cleveland through his stardom with The Cars, to his solo band efforts and eventual rebirth with the emerging supergroup Big People, this definitive account of Orr’s rock-and-roll life is not a backstage ‘tell all,’ but the story of a charismatic musician with a vision, a sense of adventure, and unwavering perseverance. Orr passed away much too young at 53, but he achieved his dream through hard work and determination, a long road that began in Cleveland and culminated with The Cars coming back to his hometown to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in April of 2018.

This first-ever biography about Orr spans 11 years in the making, as Milliken draws together interviews with over 120 family members, friends, bandmates, and music associates from Orr’s life, as well as many unpublished and never before seen photos from private collections, to reveal an intimate portrait of one of classic rock’s great talents.

– Onstage, “Panorama Tour, 1980. Photo by Vernon Gowdy (courtesy of Billie Flory, used with permission)

Let’s Go is available for presale: 
Rowman & Littlefield’s website:
Amazon:

 

 

Chyrisse Tabone, Ph.D.
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