Greg Hawkes

Mullti-talented musician Greg Hawkes was born on October 22 in 1952. He originally hails from Fulton, Maryland. Hawkes attended Atholton High School. The first band he was a member of was the Advarks. Greg majored in flute and composition at the Berklee College of Music. In 1973 he was featured as a saxophonist on the album "Milkwood" along with future the Cars band mates Ric Ocasek and Ben Orr. In 1975 Greg collaborated again with Orr and Ocasek with the band Richard and the Rabbits. He played flute, clarinet, and saxophones with Martin Mull and his Fabulous Furniture in 1976. In 1977 Orr, Ocasek, and Hawkes founded the highly popular, successful, and innovative New Wave pop-synth group the Cars; the band enjoyed a steady succession of hit songs and bestselling albums from the late 70s up until the mid 80s. Outside of his work as a keyboardist in the Cars, Greg has also played mainly keyboards on most of Ocasek's solo albums, recorded the solo album "Niagara Falls" in 1982 and the singles "Jet Lag" and "Backseat Waltz" in 1983, and both composed and performed the soundtrack for the 1987 film "Anna." In 1989 Hawkes produced and recorded "Daddy's Home" for the Boston-based band Tribe and was featured on the song "Motor of Love" on Paul McCartney's album "Flowers in the Dirt." In the 90s Greg performed and recorded with the bands Letters to Cleo, Manufacture, and Propaganda. In 2006 he helped form the group the New Cars. In 2007 and 2008 Hawkes toured with the Turtles, performed in the Ukulele Noir concerts series in Boston and the East Coast, and recorded and produced his "UKEsymphonic" works (Greg as of late has been doing a lot of music with the ukulele). He lives in Lincoln, Massachusetts and continues to work as a session musician.