Gregory A. Hawkes (born October 22, 1952) is an American

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

best known as the

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

for the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

The Cars The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes (keyboards), ...

. Hawkes, a native of

Fulton, Maryland Fulton is a census-designated place located in southern Howard County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 2,049. History Indigenous peoples, likely Piscataway, used the land now known as Fulton for hunting and ...

, United States, attended

Atholton High School Atholton High School is a high school in Columbia, Maryland, United States and is a part of the Howard County public school system. The school hosts an Army JROTC program. The school mascot is the Raider. History Atholton takes its name from a l ...

where he played in a band called Teeth. He then attended

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

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, saxophone, and clarinet. He also played in a band called Richard and the Rabbits, which included future Cars bandmates

Ric Ocasek Richard Theodore Otcasek (March 23, 1944 – September 15, 2019), known as Ric Ocasek, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the primary co-lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and frontman for the rock ...

and

Benjamin Orr Benjamin Orzechowski (September 8, 1947 – October 3, 2000), known professionally as Benjamin Orr, was an American musician best known as the bassist, co-lead vocalist, and co-founder of the rock band The Cars. He sang lead vocals on sever ...

. He was the last member to join the Cars. Hawkes was also in

the New Cars The New Cars were a band formed in 2005 by two of the original members of the 1970s/1980s new wave band the Cars. The band was composed of original Cars members Elliot Easton and Greg Hawkes, along with vocalist/guitarist Todd Rundgren, vocalist ...

with original Cars member

Elliot Easton Elliot Easton (born Elliot Steinberg, December 18, 1953) is an American guitarist. He played lead guitar and sang backing vocals for The Cars, and his guitar solos are an integral part of the band's music. Easton has also recorded music as a so ...

, along with vocalist/guitarist

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...

, bassist

Kasim Sulton Kasim Sulton (born December 8, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, keyboardist and vocalist. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free," Utopia's only top 40 hit in the United States. As a solo artist, Sulton ...

, and drummer

Prairie Prince Charles Lempriere "Prairie" Prince (born May 7, 1950) is an American drummer and graphic artist. He came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the San Francisco–based rock group The Tubes, was a member of Jefferson Starship from 1992 to 2 ...

. In 2018, Hawkes was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

as a member of the Cars.

The Cars

Hawkes's most notable involvement is with

. Hawkes pushed the limits of available technology and sequencing helping to forge the sound of the 1980s. While The Cars were known commercially as a rock and new wave band, he had the biggest impact on the

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

and new wave sound of the Cars hits such as "

Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" ...

." His signature sounds include the Prophet-5 "sync" sound heard on " Let's Go" and " Hello Again" as well as

arpeggiated A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves. An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...

and syncopated synth lines such as on "

Shake it Up Shake It Up may refer to: * ''Shake It Up'' (Boney James & Rick Braun album), 2000 * ''Shake It Up'' (The Cars album), 1981 ** "Shake It Up" (The Cars song), the title song * "Shake It Up" (Divine song), 1983 * "Shake It Up" (Koda Kumi song), ...

" and "Heartbeat City." In 2010, Hawkes reunited with the surviving original members of The Cars to record their first album in 24 years, titled ''

Move Like This ''Move Like This'' is the seventh and final studio album by American rock band the Cars, released on May 10, 2011. The album was their first since 1987's '' Door to Door'', and the only one without bassist and vocalist Benjamin Orr, who died of ...

'', which was released on May 10, 2011.

Other

Hawkes also played with Ocasek as a solo artist, often playing both keyboards and bass guitar. He released a solo album, ''

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

'', in 1983. He also plays guitar, bass, percussion instruments, saxophone, clarinet and ukulele. In 2008 he released a solo album of Beatles songs performed on the ukulele, The Beatles Uke. Hawkes received a writing credit for "Service with a Smile" on Virginia-based progressive rock band

Happy the Man Happy the Man is an American progressive rock band formed in 1973. The name Happy the Man is a reference to Goethe’s "Faust" and the Bible, rather than the 1972 Genesis single. History Early days (1973–76) The group formed in 1973 in Harr ...

's second album ''

Crafty Hands ''Crafty Hands'' is an album by the progressive rock band Happy the Man, released in 1978. Only one track, "Wind Up Doll Day Wind," contains vocals. Reception Mike McLatchey of Exposé Online stated that the album displays "some of the best, most ...

'' in 1978. In 1989, Chris Hughes asked Greg to come to England to record a new

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

song. He was featured on "

Motor of Love An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

" from the ''

Flowers in the Dirt ''Flowers in the Dirt'' is the eighth studio solo album by Paul McCartney. The album was released on 5 June 1989 on Parlophone, as he was embarking on his first world tour since the Wings Over the World tour in 1975–76. It earned McCartney som ...

'' album, recorded at McCartney's own recording studio in a vintage windmill just south of London. In 1995, Hawkes was a member of The Sky Dwellers, which also included Perry Geyer of Manufacture. In 2009, Hawkes contributed synth to several tracks on the album ''Invisible Embraces'' by Boston-based new wave band

New Collisions New Collisions (also known as The New Collisions) is a new wave pop band from Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. History After gaining popularity in the Boston/Cambridge club scene, New Collisions was discovered in 2009 by Greg Hawkes of The Cars, ...

. Hawkes has also made at least two appearances in the children's television series ''

Yo Gabba Gabba! ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' is a children's musical television series created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz. The series is about five costumed toys come-to-life and their friend DJ Lance Rock (Lance Robertson). It is co-produced by Magic Stor ...

'', where he appears in segments instructing the viewer on playing certain instruments. In one of his appearances where he teaches the viewers on playing the

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

, he performed the Cars' hit single

You Might Think "You Might Think" is a song by American rock band The Cars from their fifth studio album, ''Heartbeat City'' (1984). The track was written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Mutt Lange and the Cars, with Ocasek also providing the lead vocals. The s ...

. On May 8, 2014, Hawkes appeared onstage with Californian comedy rock/new wave band

The Aquabats The Aquabats are an American rock band formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1994. Throughout many fluctuations in the group's line-up, singer the MC Bat Commander and bassist Crash McLarson have remained the band's two constant fixtur ...

at Boston's

Paradise Rock Club The Paradise Rock Club (formerly known as the Paradise Theater) is a 933-capacity music venue in Boston, Massachusetts. Due to its relatively small size, it appeals to top local alternative rock performers as well as American and British bands vi ...

, where he joined the band in playing synthesizer for a cover of The Cars' "

Just What I Needed "Just What I Needed" is a song by American rock band The Cars from their self-titled debut album (1978). The song, which first achieved radio success as a demo, took inspiration from the Ohio Express and the Velvet Underground. The song is sun ...

". In 2017, Hawkes toured with Todd Rundgren on his White Knights: The Chivalrock Tour, playing keyboards and saxophone. Hawkes also attended Rundgren's Toddstock event in 2018.

Current

Hawkes lives in

Lincoln, Massachusetts Lincoln is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The population was 7,014 according to the 2020 United States Census, including residents of Hanscom Air Force Base that live within town limits. The town, located in the MetroWest region o ...

, where he works as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

. He was a member of the New Cars

a quasi-reformation of

that also featured original guitarist

. Filling in for other original Cars members were singer/guitarist

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...

bassist/vocalist

and former

Tubes Tube or tubes may refer to: * ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * ''The Tube'' (TV series), a music related TV series by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a ...

drummer

Atom Ellis Atom Ellis (born April 8, 1966) is a bass guitarist from San Francisco, California. Atom was a founding member of the Thrash Funk band Psychefunkapus from 1986 to 1992 and a member of the San Francisco band Dieselhed from 1993 to 2000. During a ...

filled in at bass when Kasim was touring with

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

. The band toured throughout 2006–2007. A live album with three new studio tracks, '' It's Alive!'', was released in June 2006. Before The Cars reunited in 2010, Hawkes played with

The Turtles ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

(starring Flo and Eddie) and

Ukulele

Since 2001 Hawkes has been playing and experimenting with the

, including renditions of

songs " My Best Friend's Girl", "

", "

Tonight She Comes "Tonight She Comes" is a 1985 song by American rock band the Cars from their ''Greatest Hits'' album. It was released as a single in October 1985, reaching number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in January 1986. The song reached number one on ...

" and "

". In 2008, Hawkes released ''The Beatles Uke'' CD on Solid Air Records. The album consists of instrumental versions of 15

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

classics, in what he calls a “UKEsymphonic” style, using multi-tracked recordings to create a ukulele orchestra. The CD is a testimony to the influence that the Beatles, particularly McCartney, have had on Hawkes' music and career. Among other instruments, Hawkes owns and plays a Talsma custom ukulele.

Discography

Solo albums

* ''

'' (1983) * ''The Beatles Uke'' (2008)

With the Cars

* ''

'' (1978) * ''

Candy-O ''Candy-O'' is the second studio album by American rock band the Cars, released on June 13, 1979 by Elektra Records. Produced by Roy Thomas Baker, the album spawned two singles, " Let's Go" (number 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100) and " It's ...

'' (1979) * ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...

'' (1980) * ''

Shake It Up Shake It Up may refer to: * ''Shake It Up'' (Boney James & Rick Braun album), 2000 * ''Shake It Up'' (The Cars album), 1981 ** "Shake It Up" (The Cars song), the title song * "Shake It Up" (Divine song), 1983 * "Shake It Up" (Koda Kumi song), ...

'' (1981) * '' Heartbeat City'' (1984) * ''

Door to Door Door-to-door is a canvassing technique that is generally used for sales, marketing, advertising, evangelism or campaigning, in which the person or persons walk from the door of one house to the door of another, trying to sell or advertise a ...

'' (1987) * ''

'' (2011)

Solo singles

* "Jet Lag" (1983) * "Backseat Waltz" (1983)

References

External links

Greg Hawkes's Official Website
(archived, incomplete; domain now defunct)
Greg Hawkes 2 hour interview on RundgrenRadio.com

Greg Hawkes performs Eleanor Rigby

Greg Hawkes on the Keyboards Special on RundgrenRadio.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkes, Greg American rock keyboardists The Cars members 1952 births Living people People from Fulton, Maryland American new wave musicians American session musicians The New Cars members People from Lincoln, Massachusetts Berklee College of Music alumni Atholton High School alumni 21st-century American keyboardists 20th-century American keyboardists Varèse Sarabande Records artists