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| Eric Carmen |
Eric Carmen 74, the frontman of 70’s power pop band The Raspberries, who later had tremendous success as a solo musician with mega hits such as “All By Myself”, and “Hungry Eyes”, has passed away at age 74.
In a statement posted on his website, Eric’s wife Amy Carmen wrote, “It is with tremendous sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of Eric Carmen. 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. ‘Love Is All That Matters… Faithful and Forever.”
No cause of death or exact date of death has been announced.
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| A young Eric Carmen |
The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Carmen was born in Cleveland in 1949 and began showing musical talent at a very young age. He began taking violin lessons at age six, and later piano and guitar. By high school Eric was writing songs and playing in local rock bands. Eventually forming “Cyrus Erie”, who released a single on Epic in 1968 titled “Get the Message”.
In 1970, Carmen along with Cyrus Erie guitarist Wally Bryson, joined with bassist John Aleksic, and drummer Jim Bonfanti to form the Raspberries. The Raspberries went on to produce hits like “Go All the Way”, “Overnight Sensation”, “I Wanna Be With You”, and the ballad “Let’s Pretend”.
The Raspberries, although short lived, became notable influences for future rock stars such as, Bruce Springsteen, Kiss, Motley Crue, Teenage Fanclub, and Nirvana,
After the breakup of The Raspberries, Carmen joined forces with Clive Davis and Arista Records, a solo career was born. 18 months after the Raspberries final album “Starting Over” was released, “All By Myself” hit number 2 on the charts in 1975, followed by “Never Gonna Fall In Love Again”, which went to number 11 on the Hot 100 also in 1975.
“Never Gonna Fall In Love Again” would be the last single to chart in the Top 10, until the Dirty Dancing smash hit “Hungry Eyes” in 1987, which peaked at number 4 on the Hot 100. Carmen then followed up the success of “Hungry Eyes” in 1988 with “Make Me Lose Control”, flying up the chart and landing at number 3. After this Carmen never charted another single, and did not release another studio album after 1984’s “Eric Carmen”.
In 2000, Carmen went on tour with Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band, sitting in with Starr and his band, and performing Raspberries hits and music from his solo career.
In 2005 after pressure from fans, the Raspberries reunited and released “Live On Sunset Strip” a recording their performance at L.A.’s House of Blues.
