Wednesday, September 18, 2019

A Couple Of Quick Updates

RIC OCASEK:
Kent - 
Thanx for your great story on Ric Ocasek!  Only correction is that the age of Ric was 75 not 70.  He graduated  from Maple Heights High School (in suburban Cleveland, Ohio) in 1963. I know many famous celebrities like to shave years off their age (heck, lots of regular people do, too!)
If he really was 70, he would have been like 14 years old when he graduated.  My friends in Ohio told me about his school and graduation. 
Thanx
Joe Studnek
Most of the reports I saw put his age at 75.  (I even saw one that said 77 ... but for the life of me I couldn't figure out how Ric could have possibly been as old as Paul McCartney, who reached his first level of success some fifteen years earlier!) 
But then I also saw a couple of reports (by very reliable sources) that said his age was 70, "erroneously reported as 75 by other sources," which made a little more sense to me since that would have put Ric at about 29 when The Cars broke through.  (Knowing that they had toiled around the bar scene for several years prior to making it, this seemed the most logical scenario to me.)
But ... just to be sure ... I went to MY music bible, Joel Whitburn's "Top Pop Singles" book ... which showed Ric being born in 1949, making him 70 when he died ... so that's the one I went with.
Since most of the reports do show him at 75, I'll amend my piece ... and hopefully Joel will as well when his next revised edition comes out (which, sadly, will now also show Ric's date of death.)  kk 
 
We can also update Ric's cause of death ... it sounds like he was dealing with several major health issues at the time.
New York City's Medical Examiner put the official cause of death as hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and said that he was also suffering from pulmonary emphysema.  Ric had also had a recent surgical procedure from which he was expected to make a full recovery, so his death was described as "unexpected and untimely" by his estranged wife, model Paulina Porizkova, who he met on the set while filming a Cars music video.  (She was the one who found him unresponsive when she went to bring him coffee Sunday morning.)

In a Facebook post, she wrote:

Ric was at home recuperating very well after surgery.  Our two sons, Jonathan and Oliver, and I were making sure he was comfortable, ordering food and watching TV together.  
I found him still asleep when bringing him his Sunday morning coffee.  I touched his cheek to rouse him. It was then I realized that during the night he had peacefully passed on. 
We appreciate the great outpouring of love.  We, his family and friends, are completely and utterly devastated by his untimely and unexpected death and would appreciate the privacy to mourn in private.
-- from the Ocasek Family
 
We appreciate the great outpouring of love.  We, his family and friends, are completely and utterly devastated by his untimely and unexpected eath and would appreciate the privacy to mourn in private.-- from the Ocasek Family

Read More: Ric Ocasek's Cause of Death Revealed | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ric-ocasek-cause-of-death/?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=newsletter_4572276&utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
He'd recently undergone an unnamed surgical procedure; she described his death as "unexpected and untimely," as he was expected to make a full recovery.
According to the Daily News, New York City's medical examiner has determined that the cause of death was hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Ocasek also suffered from pulmonary emphysema, which also contributed to his death.


Read More: Ric Ocasek's Cause of Death Revealed | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ric-ocasek-cause-of-death/?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=newsletter_4572276&utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
He'd recently undergone an unnamed surgical procedure; she described his death as "unexpected and untimely," as he was expected to make a full recovery.
According to the Daily News, New York City's medical examiner has determined that the cause of death was hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Ocasek also suffered from pulmonary emphysema, which also contributed to his death.


Read More: Ric Ocasek's Cause of Death Revealed | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ric-ocasek-cause-of-death/?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=newsletter_4572276&utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
He'd recently undergone an unnamed surgical procedure; she described his death as "unexpected and untimely," as he was expected to make a full recovery.
According to the Daily News, New York City's medical examiner has determined that the cause of death was hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Ocasek also suffered from pulmonary emphysema, which also contributed to his death.


Read More: Ric Ocasek's Cause of Death Revealed | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ric-ocasek-cause-of-death/?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=newsletter_4572276&utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
As expected, there was also an outpouring of love, respect and appreciation from fans and fellow musicians after Ocasek's death was announced.  Coming right on the heels of losing Eddie Money on Friday, this was a very powerful one-two blow in the world of Classic Rock legends.  (kk)  

And, speaking of Classic Rock Legends ...
 
CLASSIC ROCK UPDATE:  I am VERY happy to announce that ALL of the votes have now been tabulated ... and we are in the process of putting together the final countdown ... and by that I mean the DEFINITIVE countdown ... of THE TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK SONGS OF ALL TIME.
I am even optimistic enough to announce a new target date of Friday, October 4th for the launch.  (If everything goes according to plan, we'll even run a little "pre-show" series earlier that week to help set the stage for the big unveiling.)
So please stay tuned for more details ... and, if you haven't already done so, bookmark this site for your upcoming daily visits! 
https://classicrockessentials.blogspot.com/

TOMORROW IN FORGOTTEN HITS:
Who Played The First Beatles Record In America? ...
Again
(A HISTORY LESSON)
Don't miss it!