Eric Carmen, the rock singer who led the 1970s power-pop pioneers the Raspberries before embarking on a successful solo career, has died. He was 74.
His death was announced on his website by his wife, Amy Carmen. She did not give a cause and said only that he died “in his sleep, over the weekend.”
The Raspberries, which formed in Cleveland, burst onto the American rock scene in 1972 with their self-titled debut album, featuring their biggest hit, “Go All the Way,” a provocative song for its day, sung from the point of view of a young woman.
Dave Swanson of the website Ultimate Classic Rock called it “the definitive power pop song of all time,” as the emerging style, known for grafting ’60s-era vocal harmonies onto the crunchy guitar riffs of the ’70s, would come to be called.
“The opening Who-like blast leads into a very Beatles-esque verse, before landing in some forgotten Beach Boys chorus,” he wrote. “Thus was the magic of the Raspberries song craft. They were able to take the best parts and ideas from the previous decade, and morph them into something new, yet familiar.”
The Raspberries’ second album, “Fresh,” also released in 1972, would be their highest-charting, at No. 36. It featured two Top 40 hits, “I Wanna Be With You” and “Let’s Pretend.”
Known for its matching suits and clean image, the band was dismissed by some as passé, though its influence on rock music would grow over time.
After the band broke up in 1975, Mr. Carmen went solo. He swerved into soft rock, quickly scoring a hit single with “All by Myself,” which peaked at No. 2.
In the 1980s, two of his biggest hits came from soundtracks. For 1984’s “Footloose,” he co-wrote “Almost Paradise,” which was recorded by Mike Reno and Ann Wilson, and he wrote and sang “Hungry Eyes,” from 1987’s “Dirty Dancing.” “Make Me Lose Control” reached No. 3 in 1988.
