Joe Milliken - Let’s Go! Benjamin Orr and The Cars (Book Review)
Rowman & Littlefield
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538118658/Let's-Go-Benjamin-Orr-and-The-Cars

Rating: B

If The Cars had a face, it was that of Ben Orr.

Sure, the iconic New Wave power pop band that topped the charts in the 70s and 80s was musically dominated by Ric Ocasek, who wrote virtually all of the band’s songs and sang lead on many of its hits.

But in the group’s photos and videos, it was Orr, with his blue eyes, (usually) blonde hair, and incredibly photogenic Rutger Hauer-meets-Elvis Presley image, who stood out. And in addition to his good looks, Orr had a voice that stood toe-to-toe with the finest rock vocalists of his era.

It is for these reasons that Orr has become a legendary icon in the years since his death from pancreatic cancer at age 53 in the year 2000. There are fan groups on social media devoted to him, and his voice can still be heard constantly on classic rock radio, especially in the song that became The Cars’ top-selling single, “Drive.” Like Marilyn Monroe and James Dean before him, Orr died young and left behind an image that burned forever into the minds of many fans.

It was this following and legendary status that prompted author Joe Milliken to write the first-ever biography of Orr, Let’s Go! Benjamin Orr and The Cars. Although billed as a book about Orr and the band, it’s all about Orr, and provides a deeper dive on this press-shy legend than anything that has come before it.

This exhaustively researched book follows Orr from his early days as Benjamin Orzechowkski, the son of European immigrants. Known as “Benny 11 Letters,” Orr was one of those people who was just born to be a rock star. From a young age, he took to music, and while still in his teens, Orr became something of a local legend, playing and singing in The Grasshoppers, the featured “house band” on a popular 1960s dance TV show in Cleveland, Ohio.

Milliken recounts this era, and every era of Orr’s life, with painstaking detail primarily provided by the many friends and associates of Orr’s that he interviewed for this project. So we get little-known details of the many bands Orr was in prior to meeting the man who would be his musical partner for the bulk of his life, Richard Otcasek, who would drop the “t” in his last name, shorten the first, and go on to become Ric Ocasek, who with Orr would be the foundation of The Cars.

Before forming The Cars, Ocasek and Orr (while still using their real names) formed a short-lived folk-rock trio with guitarist James Goodkind, Milkwood, that produced one album in 1973, “How’s the Weather?” before quickly disbanding (It’s available as a download on Amazon, and while not a classic, this CSNY-like relic is sure to be of great interest to Cars fans.)

The pair formed a series of bands such as Richard and the Rabbits and Cap’n Swing before joining forces with keyboardist Greg Hawkes, lead guitarist Elliot Easton, and drummer David Robinson to form The Cars in 1976. The band’s 1978 best-selling self-titled debut album featured a series of hit songs such as “Just What I Needed” and “My Best Friend’s Girl” that made the group headliners around the world.

Millken takes us through all the stages of the band, from formation through the recording of the original band’s underrated 1987 swan song, “Door to Door.” Detailed info on the making of Orr’s one solo LP, “The Lace,” is followed by extensive coverage of his post-Cars years leading The Ben Orr Band (later shortened to Orr) and then joining with other classic rock vets such as Pat Travers, Derek St. Holmes, Jeff Carlisi, and Liberty DeVito in the band Big People, with which he played his final gigs.

Except for a TV interview shortly before his death, Orr never got to reunite with The Cars, and he was sorely missed (and not replaced) when the band reunited as a four-piece in 2011 for a new album and short tour. And his presence was strongly felt (and spoken of) when The Cars were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in his hometown of Cleveland in 2018.

This is a strong story that deserved to be told, and now it has been. Millken has pulled off an amazing feat here, tracking down numerous people from Orr’s life (some of whom have, sadly, passed away since being interviewed for this book), and getting them to recount stories and provide insight into the man who was, according to his friends quoted here, at times modest, shy, moody, and the nicest guy ever, but undeniably a person with great talent and charisma.

Millken frequently moves from quote to quote, letting the more than 120 people he interviewed for this book tell Orr’s story. At times I do wish the author would have interjected more of a narrative to supplement the interview material, especially at such crucial points in the story as Orr’s falling out with Ocasek that led to the demise of The Cars. But you can’t fault the breadth of the information Millken presents here in the voices of Orr’s friends, bandmates, and lovers.

For Cars fans, especially those for whom Orr is their favorite member, this book is an incredible gift. There is little out there in terms of biographical info on The Cars (there was a book published in 1985, “Frozen Fire: The Story of The Cars” that will cost hundreds of dollars for a used copy these days). And now there is “Let’s Go!” While it is not the most thorough biography on The Cars—and doesn’t intend to be—it is a detailed, thorough portrayal of this mysterious rock icon that will be a highly entertaining read and prized possession for Ben Orr’s legion of fans.

By Howard Whitman