The Cars

[Troubadour]

What a lovely tribute, Willie! I totally understand the need to share and reminisce. Our musicians mean so much to us. Benjamin was a beautiful man with a fantastic voice and it's great to know that his music is still loved across the world. Indulge all you want; I can guarantee that lots of the songs are new to me, and I'm really enjoying them!

[Outlawman13]

Benjamin was such a sweet man with such an incredible talent!!! I miss him as well Willie!!! His voice was so so so perfect!!!!!! And thank you so very much for that tribute!!! It's what I really needed!!!! He was so precious and very, very hot and beautiful!!!!
Do You Know What It Feels Like Without You Ben:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bspdfmPtpV8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bspdfmPtpV8[/ame]

I have this interview on my Cars dvd and I just cry when he says this. I just love Ben:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...=wUdsEeG9y7k#!

[TimothyBFan]

Thanks Cathy and Lou-- you guys always indulge me with this obsession and I so appreciate it.

I love that one, Christy--toooooo freakin' cute.


Have you seen the one from Rock Goes To College done with the whole group only a few months before he passed? What a difference he had become. I can't watch that interview. Have seen it one time only and that will have to be enough. It about killed me to watch it the one and only time but I knew I just had to. Damn cancer!!!!

[TimothyBFan]

I've been having a Benjamin week (like that's anything new, really) but then this showed up in my news feed this morning and it melted my heart. I've seen recent pics of Ben Jr and he just looks more and more like his Daddy as he gets older.

Benjamin and Ben Jr.

[Prettymaid]

Oh yeah! Big resemblance! Can you post any more recent picture of Ben Jr?

[TimothyBFan]

I know you're indulging me and I thank you. And yes, I do have more Ben Jr. recent pictures. His mother is very protective of him so there's not much out there.

Here he is back stage in Boston with The Cars when they reunited a couple years ago. Ben Jr. is the one in the middle.



Not sure how recent this one is.



Benjamin on top and Ben Jr. on bottom. Look at the smiles. So similar.


Here's some young pictures of Benjamin before the Cars and Ric Ocasek.

This one is when he was in The Grasshoppers.




This is Benjamin in his group called The Mixed Emotions


This is a letter written to the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 1965. Women were in love with Benjamin even then.




Going thru some of my stuff and found this. The Cars backstage rider. Nothing to surprising here. I like the way they made sure their road crew was taken care of.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/cars-backstage-rider

[Troubadour]

Wow, Willie - there is definitely a BIG resemblance! I love those photos. Ben Jr is such a cutie (as was his dad.) Thanks for sharing. I also love the letter in the newspaper... too funny.

[Outlawman13]

OHHH I feel you Willie!!! I'm going through Ben days almost ever day!!! LOL. Ben Jr. is so handsome and looks so much like Ben!!! I love seeing pictures like that so very much!!! LOL so sexy!!! The Backstage Rider made me laugh!! I just got a '79 Cars concert on dvd and loving it like crazy. It has Ben in leather!!!!! Yummy!!! After all of this time seeing the concert on the computer, I finally get to see it on the big screen:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEkGqb2wu5k[/ame]

[TimothyBFan]

Ahhh.... The Cars Live -Musikladen in Germany. It was released only 3 weeks after Benjamin passed away. I have a couple copies of this video (one doesn't work very well and skips but I couldn't part with it when I replaced it several years ago). One of my fave Cars dvds EXCEPT for the interview. Can hardly handle watching Benjamin in that shape. When I see it, all I can think of is how frail he is and knowing that just 5 months later, we lost him. And the way Ric keeps touching his shoulder with such affection, just rips my heart out. There are people out there that still want to blame Ric for the breakup. But anyone who sees that interview would be hard pressed to not see the love that Ric always had and still had for Benjamin.

Here's a links to the interview in case anyone want to see it. It is a great interview, despite the shape Benjamin was in. Love hearing them talk about the old days of making The Cars album and about the different instruments they would use, the night before they shot the show that is on this dvd and the beer tents. It took me several years to finally watch this video the 2nd time after seeing it the first time after I got the dvd right after Benjamin died. But now I can watch it and actually absorb some of the other stuff and not concentrate so much on him. Does that make sense?

Part 1
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8P_rIowJCA[/ame]

Part 2
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWiVmGxWPdQ[/ame]

Part 3
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzWJDSmLZ4A[/ame]

Part 4
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmR0lGfMGsU[/ame]

Part 5
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9zB-PAmmUs[/ame]

Part 6 At about 1:53 in this one, Benjamin speaks more than he has through the whole interview. Even his voice is frail.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9zB-PAmmUs[/ame]

[Outlawman13]

I can't watch that interview either!!! Just makes me want to cry to see him in that condition too!!! I sure do love that man and I heard that Ric did drive him out of the group!!!! I know how much Ric loved/loves Ben and can hear it in his songs. You got that dvd just before Ben died? Wow!!!! I just wish I could've met Ben before he passed!!! He is my idol!!