On his early days in bands: “Even back then, people had attitude problems or girlfriend problems. If a guy met a girl he thought was special, he’d choose to stay home. And the guys who chose to stay home are still home now.” — from “Benjamin Orr: The Cars’ Mr. Casual Steps Out” by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician Magazine, March 1987
sweetpurplejune 
😍🥰 He followed his dreams…I love the way he speaks (voice too) but he was always so classy & articulate in the press & in print. Shows that he was raised right & continued to follow his own inner morals and ethics. I’ve noticed that a lot in interviews he’s always very polite, very controlled, is never harsh and gets his point across without being too wordy like some people.
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Yeah. Benjamin had a really lovely speaking voice. He was also well spoken. He may have often been fairly quiet in interviews but when he did speak,he spoke well and concisely. He was clearly a thoughtful speaker.
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Whenever I see this quote, I am sad …. for him.
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And for those who stayed home.
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To me this quote is simply a practical description of what it takes to make it in the entertainment industry. It can be real dog eat dog to make it in the music industry. If anything it speaks really well of Benjamin, Greg, David, Ric, Elliot that they seem to have made it and done so without being particularly egotistical about it. Driven, single minded at times perhaps but I don’t think they really “stepped” on anyone on the way up in that sense of being ambitious which is more than can be said for a lot of people.
But a person needs to have that drive to hit the big time and that drive means often making choices that puts the music above everything else in a person’s life. If someone is lucky enough to make it big, then maybe they could get some more wiggle room but beforehand they really have to be ready to jump at a moment’s notice because that could be THE moment and if they miss it, it might not come around again for a long time, if ever. Choose to stay home with that special girl and more likely than not, they aren’t getting another shot.
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I totally agree with what you said. Obviously they made it by sheer talent, determination and courage to chase the dream they wanted rather than running down anyone in their way or climbing over people to get where they wanted to be. Classy. 😻
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I know a guy that was with a popular band in the mid-70s. They had two songs on the radio, a couple good albums but some of the guys wanted to stay home with thier girlfriends or new wives and never tour for more than 3 weeks at a time. Thier record label wanted them On the road more and to move from thier home in the Ozarks to California they voted to stay put, several main guys left, the band continued on but never again achieved the success they could have had.
In other words, Ben was 100% correct.
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Yes… How much do you want it? How much do you want to make it? That’s really what it boils down to. How important is it? If it’s what you really want to do you’ll make it happen one way or another.
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I believe that is exactly the point Ben was putting across. It’s really about how much you want it. You kind of have to want it more than anything.
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