Greg Hawkes (born October 22, 1952^[1]) is a musician best known as the keyboardist for the New Wave band The Cars. For the popular-music magazine, see Musician (magazine). ... A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. ... New Wave was a music genre that existed during the late 1970s and the early-to-mid 1980s. ... The Cars were an American rock band, fronted by Ric Ocasek, that emerged from the early punk scene in the late 1970s. ...

Hawkes, a native of Fulton, Maryland, attended Atholton High School where he played in a band called Teeth. He then attended Berklee College of Music for two years, majoring in composition and flute. He left to play in various bands, including Martin Mull and his Fabulous Furniture, where he played flute, saxophones and clarinet. He also played in a band called Richard and The Rabbits, which included future Cars bandmates Ric Ocasek and Ben Orr. The Howard County Public School System is the public school system of Howard County, Maryland. ... Berklee College of Music, founded in 1945, is an independent music college in Boston, Massachusetts with many prominent faculty, staff, alumni, and visiting artists. ... Martin Mull (born August 18, 1943) is an American actor who has starred in his own TV sitcom and acted in prominent films. ... Ric Ocasek (born Richard Otcasek on March 23, 1949, in Baltimore, Maryland) is the former vocalist and frontman for The Cars and a producer for several other groups, including Bad Brains and Suicide. ... Benjamin Orr (September 8, 1947 – October 3, 2000) was the bass guitar player and one of the vocalists for New Wave band The Cars. ...

The Cars

Greg Hawkes' most notable involvement was with The Cars. Hawkes pushed the limits of available technology and sequencing helping to forge the sound of the 80's. His signature sounds include the Prophet V Touch Sync sound heard on Let's Go and Hello Again as well as arpegiated and syncopated synth lines such as on Shake it Up and Heartbeat City. The Cars were an American rock band, fronted by Ric Ocasek, that emerged from the early punk scene in the late 1970s. ...

Other

Hawkes also played with Ric Ocasek as a solo artist, often playing both keyboards and bass guitar. He also did a solo album, Niagara Falls, which was released in 1983. He also plays guitar, percussion instruments, saxophone, clarinet and ukulele.

Current

Hawkes lives in Boston, where he works as a session musician. He is a member of The New Cars[1], a quasi-reformation of The Cars also featuring original guitarist Elliot Easton. Filling in for other original Cars members are singer/guitarist Todd Rundgren, Utopia bassist/vocalist Kasim Sulton and former Tubes drummer Prairie Prince. Atom Ellis fills in at bass when Kasim is touring with Meatloaf. The band is touring through the 2006–2007 season. A new live album with three studio tracks, It's Alive!, was released in June 2006. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Sideman. ... The New Cars, the latest incarnation of The Cars, is a supergroup comprised of Todd Rundgren, Journey/Jefferson Starship/The Tubes drummer Prairie Prince, original The Cars members Greg Hawkes and Elliot Easton, as well as a rotating membership between Meat Loafs bass player Kasim Sulton and legendary bass... The Cars were an American rock band, fronted by Ric Ocasek, that emerged from the early punk scene in the late 1970s. ... Elliot Easton Elliot Easton (born Elliot Steinberg, 18 December 1953, in Brooklyn, New York) played lead guitar and sang background vocals for The Cars. ... Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, United States), is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. ... Utopia was progressive rock band led by Todd Rundgren that was together roughly from 1973 to 1985. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Tubes are a San Francisco-based theatre rock band, popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s, known for their live performances that combined lewd quasi-pornography with wild satires of media, consumerism and politics. ... Prairie Prince Prairie Prince (born Charles LEmpereur Prince, May 7, 1950, Charlotte, North Carolina) is a rocknroll drummer. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...

Hawkes' ukulele renditions of The Cars songs can be heard here:
The Cars were an American rock band, fronted by Ric Ocasek, that emerged from the early punk scene in the late 1970s. ...

1. "My Best Friend's Girl" ukuleledisco.com/bestgirl
   
2. "Drive" ukuleledisco.com/drive
   
3. "Tonight She Comes" ukuleledisco.com/shecomes
   
4. "You Might Think" ukuleledisco.com/youmightthink

Recently Greg has been playing with The Turtles (starring Flo and Eddie): http://www.theturtles.com/documents/37.html

Solo Album/Singles

• Niagara Falls (1982 Passport Records)

1. "Jet Lag" (1983)
2. "Backseat Waltz" (1983)

Notes