The Cars were the first new-wave band in my life, followed by the Pretenders.  Both felt like the straight ahead rock and roll that we were used to, with a bit of a twist musically and visually.

As I remember, the Cars didn’t tour much in the beginning – at least not in Arizona, which added some mystique.  But they cranked out the albums – four between 1978-1981 – and they were as big as any of the new-wave bands on the planet.

Here’s what it was like when they hit the stage for the US Festival in 1982: