This Week's Forgotten Gem of the '80s - Benjamin Orr's "Stay the Night"

This may have been Ben Orr's only solo moment in the sun - and only real spotlight hour out of the shadow of the Cars' mastermind Ric Ocasek - but any fan of that seminal new wave/classic rock band knows just how important the former will always be to the rock and roll pantheon. "Stay the Night" reached only as high as No. 24 on the pop charts in early 1987, but I know it and treasure it in my musical memory far more than many a Top 10 hit of the era.

Unfortunately, Orr was always highly susceptible to being underappreciated, even though he sang lead so memorably on major Cars tracks from "Just What I Needed" to "It's All I Can Do" and, of course, to the brilliant ballad "Drive". An early death from cancer in 2000 probably went unnoticed by some music fans, but Orr's haunting vocals are much harder to overlook for those moved by his work over the years. Justifiably, the gifted Ocasek handled most of the songwriting duties in the Cars, which makes this Orr solo effort even more of a revelation into the heights to which the bassist and singer could have climbed given slightly different circumstances.

• Sample or download "Stay the Night" here.
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