Eric Carmen, the frontman of the powerpop band Raspberries and singer of solo hits including All By Myself, Never Gonna Fall in Love Again and Hungry Eyes, has died aged 74.
Carmen’s wife, Amy, announced his death on his official website. No cause of death was given.
“It is with tremendous sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of Eric Carmen,” she 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.”
The American singer was behind several huge hits in the 70s and 80s, beginning with his time as frontman of Raspberries, writing or co-writing most of their songs including their biggest, Go All the Way. That song – described as having the guitar riffs of the Who and vocals of the Beatles – had suggestive lyrics that were too controversial for some US and UK radio stations, and was banned from airplay by the BBC. The song’s popularity surged in 2014 when it was included on the first Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack.
When the Raspberries broke up in 1975, Carmen embarked on a solo career that leant away from rock and toward power ballads. His 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 part of Rachmaninov’s Symphony No 2.
Several of his songs would become huge hits when performed by other artists – Celine Dion covered All By Myself in 1996, Olivia Newton-John covered his 1977 track She Did It and Shaun Cassidy had a hit with Carmen’s song That’s Rock and Roll.
Carmen also had a hit with his contribution to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, Hungry Eyes, which put him back at the top of the music charts in 1987, reaching No 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The following year his piano pop Make Me Lose Control was a similar success, reaching No 3.
After the 1980s, Carmen’s singles did not reach the charts again, though he would tour with Ringo Starr and the All-Starr Band in 2000 and again with Raspberries in 2004, when they briefly reunited for some live performances.
He is survived by his wife and their two children, Clayton and Kathryn.
