(PAGE SIX) -- Ric Ocasek, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame singer whose popular new-wave band, The Cars, left a profound impact on rock music, was found dead in his New York City apartment on Sunday, a police spokesman said. Ocasek was 75.

Ocasek's estranged wife, Paulina Porizkova, found him unresponsive Sunday afternoon at his home in Manhattan's Gramercy Park neighborhood, sources told the New York Post, adding that he apparently died of natural causes.

The Cars' self-titled 1978 debut album was a smash hit, boosted by singles including "Just What I Needed." The album helped lead the way for new wave's influence on rock music throughout the following decade.

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