Eric Carmen, Raspberries Frontman and “All By Myself” Singer, Dies at 74
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Eric Carmen, the frontman of pop rock band the Raspberries who would later go on to have a successful solo career with hits such as “All By Myself,” “Hungry Eyes” and “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again,” has died. He was 74.
Carmen’s wife Amy posted news of the singer’s death on his official website. “It is with tremendous sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of Eric Carmen,” Amy Carmen wrote. “Our sweet, loving and talented Eric passed away in his sleep, over the weekend. It brought him great joy to know, that for decades, his music touched so many and will be his lasting legacy. Please respect the family’s privacy as we mourn our enormous loss.”
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No cause of death was given.
In a music career that spanned four decades, Carmen won a following, and found chart success, for his rich, high tenor voice that made him one of the unique singers in pop history. With the Raspberries, Carmen and his bandmates, via hits such as “Go All the Way” and “Let’s Pretend,” laid the foundations for power pop music that would become popular after the band disbanded. As a solo act, Carmen became synonymous with slick power ballads such as “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again,” “She Did It, “Hungry Eyes,” “Make Me Lose Control” and of course “All By Myself,” that charted the world over and have become classics.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio on Aug. 11, 1949, Carmen was singing and playing instruments from an early age and became a classically trained pianist. The British Invasion bands of the mid-1960s, including The Beatles and Rolling Stones, the Who and the Kinks, were an early and important influence on Carmen.
After appearing in a several local Cleveland bands, including The Choir, Carmen along with Wally Bryson, Jim Bonfanti and Dave Smalley formed the Raspberries. The band was formed as a reaction to prog rock which was popular at the time, with Carmen and his bandmates keen to focus on songwriting and harmonies. The Raspberries released their first, eponymous, studio album in 1972 via Capitol, that featured the power pop they became famed for. Although the album didn’t crack the top 50 of the Billboard charts, the record featured the singles “Don’t Want to Say Goodbye,” which reached No. 86 on the charts, and “Go All the Way,” that hit No. 5.
The Raspberries would release three further studio albums — Fresh (1972), Side 3 (1973) and Starting Over (1974) — but the band’s had lost commercial momentum and disbanded in 1975. The band’s other notable songs include “I Wanna Be With You,” “Tonight” and “Overnight Sensation (Hit Record).” Carmen had written or co-written all the Raspberries songs.
Now a solo act, Carmen found immediate success with his debut album, Eric Carmen, released in November 1975 via Arista Records. Leaning into soft rock and power pop ballads, Arista boss Clive Davis suggested the album’s lead single should be “All By Myself” which became a monster radio smash, that hit No. 2 on the Billboard charts, and charted high in the U.K., Canada, Australia and other big markets.
“All By Myself,” built upon Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, was certified Gold in the U.S. and U.K. and would later be covered by Celine Dion.
Firmly established as a popstar, Carmen released his second studio album, Boats Against the Current, to great expectation in 1977, although the recording of the album was fraught with problems and cost overruns. With a lot riding on the success of the album, its commercial performance was a disappointment, with Boats Against the Current peaking at No. 45 on the Billboard chart. The record did spawn the singles “She Did It” and “Love Is All That Matters.”
Carmen released two more albums with Arista — Change of Heart (1978) and Tonight You’re Mine (1980) — but neither really troubled the top of the charts, and he signed with Geffen Records for his fourth studio album, 1984’s Eric Carmen, his second self-titled album. Eric Carmen also struggled to make an impression, despite featuring the top 40 hit “I Wanna Hear It from Your Lips.”
However, as it seemed Carmen’s chart career was winding down, he had a huge success singing the song “Hungry Eyes” from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. Written by Franke Previte and John DeNicola, “Hungry Eyes” became Carmen’s biggest hit, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard chart and charting all over the world.
Carmen was hot again, and capitalizing on the success of “Hungry Eyes” he released the single “Make Me Lose Control” in May 1988. The song, co-written with Dean Pitchford, was another big hit and hit No. 3 on the Billboard chart. The song, which didn’t appear on any albums and was always considered as something of its own thing by Carmen, proved to be his last hurrah and he didn’t release any new music again till 2000’s I Was Born to Love You, his final studio album.
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