Eric Howard Carmen was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of the Raspberries, with whom he recorded the hit "Go All the Way" and four albums. He embarked on a solo career in 1975 and had global success with "All by Myself", "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", "She Did It", "Hungry Eyes", and "Make Me Lose Control". In later years, he toured with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band before reforming the Raspberries in 2004.
Carmen in the early 1990s
The Raspberries were an American pop rock band formed in 1970 from Cleveland, Ohio. They had a run of success in the early 1970s music scene with their pop rock sound, which AllMusic later described as featuring "exquisitely crafted melodies and achingly gorgeous harmonies." The members were known for their clean-cut public image, with short hair and matching suits, which brought them teenybopper attention as well as scorn from some mainstream media outlets as "uncool". The group drew influence from the British Invasion era—especially the Beatles, the Who, the Hollies, and the Small Faces—and its mod sensibility. In both the US and the UK, the Raspberries helped pioneer the power pop music style that took off after the group disbanded. They also have had a following among professional musicians such as Jack Bruce, Ringo Starr, and Courtney Love.
Raspberries, 1975. L-R: Wally Bryson, Michael McBride, Scott McCarl, and Eric Carmen.