Ric Ocasek: Tim McGraw Speaks out About Death of the Cars Lead Singer

Country music superstar Tim McGraw is speaking out about the death of The Cars lead singer, Ric Ocasek. A longtime fan, McGraw mourned Ocasek’s passing on social media.

“Man…so saddened to hear about the passing of Ric Ocasek, lead singer of [The Cars], and legendary producer to many,” McGraw posted. “His music was inspirational to me. Our thoughts go out to all of his family, friends, and fans.”

McGraw is including a cover of one of The Cars’ biggest hits, “Drive,” on his upcoming new album.

“I’m a big Cars fan anyway, and I’ve always loved that song,” McGraw explained on The Bobby Bones Show. “Back when I was playing around on a guitar in high school, that was one of the songs I would sit around and play. And then after I graduated high school, I was sitting around on the steps of the frat house and playing music, trying to get lucky with a guitar on my hand, doing anything I could to draw attention from the girls. That was one of the songs I would play, and we played it in clubs for quite a while.

“When [producer Byron Gallimore] and I and the band were in the studio, we were cutting songs for this new record, I wanted to do a cover. We sort of racked our brains to think of what cover to do. I sat down and started goofing around with that on the guitar. Byron said, ‘Well let’s just do that one. And within five minutes, we had an arrangement worked out. We really loved how it worked out, so we went in and recorded it.”

Ocasek passed away on Sunday, Sept. 15. His death is presumed to be of natural causes. Ocasek was 76 years old when he died.

No word yet when McGraw’s next album will be released. His debut single, “Neon Church,” landed in the Top 20. The 52-year-old is back at radio with his current single, “Thought About You,” which is also in the Top 20 and still climbing. “Drive” is also available for download or stream, by visiting McGraw’s website.

Photo Credit: Getty images / Chris S Covatta