Eric Carmen, the frontman of ‘70s pop-rock band Raspberries and solo artist with over a dozen charting singles, including the 1975 hit “All by Myself,” has died, his wife Amy Carmen revealed in a post on his website. She wrote that he died in his sleep over the weekend. Carmen was 74 years old.
“It is with tremendous sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of Eric Carmen,” his wife 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. ‘Love Is All That Matters… Faithful and Forever.’”
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Carmen took an elementary theory course for preschool kids and began playing violin at age five before switching to classical piano. That interest followed him as he grew up and enrolled in college, where he joined the local group Cyrus Erie. By 1970, they merged with members of the Choir to form a new band, Raspberries, that drew inspiration from British Invasion bands like the Who and the Beatles. Carmen would serve as the band’s primary songwriter, penning the majority of their songs either by himself or as a co-songwriter.
With Carmen on rhythm guitar, piano, and vocals, Raspberries released their self-titled debut album in 1972, introducing themselves as a power-pop force with the early hits “Go All the Way,” “I Wanna Be With You,” and “Don’t Want to Say Goodbye.” That same year, Raspberries released Fresh before going on to drop Side 3 in 1973 and Starting Over in 1974. Although all of those albums produced charting singles—“Let’s Pretend,” “Tonight,” “Ecstasy,” “Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)”—the band broke up in 1975.
Following Raspberries’ dissolution, Carmen pursued a solo career and once again found near immediate success. His first singles, “All by Myself” and “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again,” both dominated the radio waves upon Eric Carmen’s release in 1975, with the former song going on to hit No. 2 on the Billboard charts. To date, it remains the highest-charting single of Carmen’s entire career.
Carmen released six solo albums over the course of his career, the most recent of which, I Was Born to Love You, came out in 2000. He penned over a dozen hit solo singles that climbed the Billboard charts. Several of his songs found additional fame on film soundtracks, like the placement of “Hungry Eyes” in Dirty Dancing and Raspberries’ “Go All the Way” in Guardians of the Galaxy.
