#22 - Candy-O: The Cars (1979)

The Cars have been here before. That one was pretty cute, but definitely pales in comparison to this one.

The artist behind this bit of cheesecake was no less than Alberto Vargas, probably the greatest pin-up artist of all time. 

Vargas made his name first with Esquire and then with Playboy. Here’s a sampling of his work (suitability for your work in descending order):

 

He’s actually got 8 album credits, including several for the luscious Bernadette Peters:

Once again, the idea was drummer David Robinson’s. He had done a photo shoot of model Nancy Beth at a Ferrari dealership, then – being a huge fan of pin-ups – naturally thought of Vargas. Initially uninterested, Vargas was cajoled to come out of retirement by his great-niece, who was a fan of the band. In an interesting final twist, Beth got cold feet, so actress and soon-to-be Robinson girlfriend Candy Moore was used for the face.

Speaking of beautiful women, I’ve always been amazed that Ric Ocasek somehow got stunning supermodel Paulina Porizkova to marry him. 

Unfortunately, they just split up just two years ago, after 28 years of marriage. And Ric, of course, passed away last year, at age 70.

The band’s second album, Candy-O included the big hit “Let’s Go.” Interestingly, the band’s first album was so popular that Elektra really pushed the group to hold off on releasing Candy-O, but were overruled by Ocasek.

Greg Hawkes (keyboard), Elliot Easton (guitar), David Robinson (drums),
Ocasek (vocals, guitar, face of the band), Ben Orr (bass)

A little surprised I could only find one parody:

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