The Raspberries frontman Eric Carmen – whose solo hits include All By Myself and Hungry Eyes – has died at the age of 74.
His wife, Amy, announced his death on the singer’s official website.
“It is with tremendous sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of Eric Carmen,” she said.
“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.”
She ended the statement with the quote “love is all that matters… faithful and forever” from his 1977 solo album Boats Against The Current.
The Ohio-born singer-songwriter rose to fame with power pop group Raspberries before achieving solo success with hits including Never Gonna Fall In Love Again.
His song All By Myself, covered by Celine Dion, features in the classic opening scene of Bridget Jones’s Diary.
Hungry Eyes featured in Dirty Dancing starring Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze.
Carmen also wrote Almost Paradise from the Footloose soundtrack.
He co-founded the Raspberries in the early 1970s alongside Jim Bonfanti and Wally Bryson, who were later joined by Dave Smalley after the departure of John Aleksic.
The group released their debut album Raspberries in 1972, with tracks reaching chart success including Go All The Way.
The song caused controversy and was later banned by the BBC in the UK for its sexually suggestive lyrics and was included in the first Guardians Of The Galaxy soundtrack.
Four albums later the band broke up in 1975 and Carmen embarked on a solo career.
Carmen also toured with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band in 2000.
He is survived by his wife and two children, Kathryn and Clayton.
Post comments (0)