Cleveland rocker Eric Carman, who pioneered power pop as lead singer of the Raspberries and later found solo success with soft rock standards such as “All by Myself” and “Hungry Eyes”, has died at 74 . His death was announced by his family on their official website.
Eric Carman, frontman of the powerpop band the Raspberries and singer of hit singles including All by Myself, Never Gonna Fall in Love Again and Hungry Eyes, has died at the age of 74.
Carmen’s wife Amy announced his death on his official website. No cause of death was given.
“It is with great sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of Eric Carman,” he wrote. “Our sweet, loving and talented Eric passed away in his sleep over the weekend. It brings him great joy to know that, over the decades, his music has impacted so many people and will be his lasting legacy. Please respect the family’s privacy as we mourn our tremendous loss.
The American singer was behind many of the biggest hits in the 70s and 80s, beginning his time as frontman of the Raspberries, writing or co-writing most of their songs, including their biggest song, Go All the Way. The song – which has been described as having a Who’s guitar riff and the Beatles’ vocals – contained suggestive lyrics that were too controversial for some US and UK radio stations, and was banned from airing by the BBC. The song’s popularity increased in 2014 when it was included on the first Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack.
When the Raspberries broke up in 1975, Carmen began a solo career that moved away from rock toward power ballads. Her first two singles were big hits in 1976: All by Myself – based on Sergei Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 – and Never Gonna Fall in Love Again, which was based on a section of Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2.
Many of her songs became huge hits when performed by other artists – Celine Dion covered All by Myself in 1996, Olivia Newton-John covered her 1977 track She Did It and Shaun Cassidy covered Carmen’s song That Covered rock and roll hits.
Carmen also found success with her contribution to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, Hungry Eyes, which brought her back to the top of the music charts in 1987, reaching number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The following year his piano pop single Make Me Lose Control was released. Similar success, reaching number 3.
After the 1980s, Carmen’s singles did not reach the charts again, although she toured with Ringo Starr and the All-Starr Band in 2000 and again with the Raspberries in 2004, when they reunited for some live performances. Unite. Meet.
How did Eric Carman die?
How did Eric Carman die?
Eric Carman died at the age of 74, his wife Amy shared the sad news on the singer’s official website. It reads, “It is with great sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of Eric Carman. Our sweet, loving and talented Eric passed away in his sleep over the weekend. It brings him great joy to know that his music has influenced so many over the decades and will be his lasting legacy. Please respect the family’s privacy as we mourn our tremendous loss.
However, the cause of death has not been revealed yet.
He is survived by his wife and their two children, Clayton and Katherine.
