R. I. P. Eric Carmen (1949 - 2024)

I'm a little sad today as I write this because Eric Carmen has passed away at age 74.

I never followed Carmen's career closely, but I always liked what I heard whether it was with The Raspberries or later as a solo artist.

Hardcore rock fans of the 1970s looked at Carmen's music as being too mainstream, and the guys in my dorm made fun of The Raspberries as nothing more than an early Beatles clone who wore matching suits while playing bubblegum pop.

But, let me tell you, no bubblegum song I ever heard had a hard rocking intro - and a song title and lyrics - like "Go All The Way." The Raspberries were not The Ohio Express or The 1910 Fruitgum Company.

There was nothing highbrow or avant garde about Carmen's music, but he recorded quality mainstream rock interspersed with a few ballads - most notably "All By Myself" - and he was a master at writing hooks and melodies that complemented his huge sounding tenor voice.

I only own a solo greatest hits CD and The Raspberries last LP, Starting Over. The latter has a perfect opening track, "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)," from 1974 that is a reminder of one of Brian Wilson's more grandiose and demanding productions. It's my favorite song by the quartet. Carmen's best solo track is his 1988 single, "Make Me Lose Control."

After 1984, Carmen released only a handful of singles and one album. In the 21st century he toured with Ringo Starr's All-star band. Other than that he was largely missing in action.

Today, The Raspberries are considered one of rock's great power pop groups and the classicly trained pianist's solo work continues to resonate with his old fans today.

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