Red Hot Chili Peppers Honor Ric Ocasek With Cars Cover of ‘Just What I Needed’
Red Hot Chili Peppers recently paid homage to late the Cars frontman and noted rock producer Ric Ocasek with a live cover of "Just What I Needed," the Cars' classic 1978 debut single.
It's the not the first take on the hit song to emerge since Ocasek died last week at the age of 75. But the Chili Peppers' spin is certainly more faithful to the original than Mark Hoppus' mournful rendition of the tune. (However, the Blink-182 bassist's version was recorded specifically for a TV show to evoke a "moody and strange, dark and drony" sonic space, as the musician recently shared.) Regardless, check out fan-captured video of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' live cover of "Just What I Needed" down toward the bottom of this post.
As noted by Consequence of Sound, RHCP peppered their set in Singapore Sunday night (Sept. 22) with a couple of other cover songs, as well. True to their funky form, they also dished out a hearty helping of Stevie Wonder’s "Higher Ground" and bits of Prince's "Purple Rain" during the encore.
In addition to Ocasek's work with the Cars, the icon produced a spate of like-minded acts throughout his long career, including indie-rock mainstays Nada Surf. Last week (Sept. 18), Nada Surf guitarist-vocalist Matthew Caws penned a touching remembrance of their time working with Ocasek for NPR.
"From the Bad Brains to Romeo Void to Weezer and many others, Ric produced many talented artists very early on their careers," Caws wrote. "I think he had a particular knack for making young artists comfortable."
Following Ocasek's death Sept. 15, a wealth of associated bands musicians paid their respects to the rocker. The words of comfort included musings from the Killers, KISS' Paul Stanley, Sacred Reich and more.
Red Hot Chili Peppers Perform The Cars' "Just What I Needed"
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