(New York) Singer-songwriter Eric Carmen, who has had huge successes with titles like Hungry Eyesfrom the movie Lascivious danceAnd All by Myselfdied at the age of 74.
His death was announced on his website by his wife, Amy Carmen, who did not reveal the cause, saying only that he died “in his sleep at the end of the week.”
The message said the artist had derived “great joy from knowing that for decades his music had touched so many people and will be his lasting legacy.”
Eric Carmen has had 13 of his songs on the American charts Billboard Hot 100including three in the top 10.
The Raspberries, which he formed in Cleveland in the 1970s, saw four of his songs in the top 40whose great success Go All the Way in the first five positions.
The Raspberries made four albums for Capitol Records and were known for their matching suits at a time when most bands had abandoned that concept.
“Almost everyone in the bands had waist-length hair and beards and ripped jeans and they looked like a bunch of hippies, and I wanted to get as far away from them as possible,” Carmen told the newspaper. Observe in 2017.
The Raspberries ended their early career in 1975 and Eric Carmen then launched his solo career. From its beginnings, it enjoyed dazzling success with All By Myselfwhich sold over a million copies in the United States and reached number two on the charts in 1976.
The song, which takes a melody from Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto Number 2, enjoyed another great success twenty years later, when Celine Dion added it to her repertoire.
Carmen’s albums include Boats Against the Currentself-produced and autobiographical, in 1977, Change of Heart in 1978 and Tonight You’re Mine in 1980. His songs Nowhere to Hide And Desperate Fools have become soft rock classics.
In 1984, he released a second self-titled album, in collaboration with Bob Gaudio of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.
And then, in 1987, he had another huge success when his recording of Hungry Eyes is included on the soundtrack of the very popular film Dirty Dancing (Lascivious dance), reaching the top 5 of Billboard Hot 100 and propelling the album to sales of over 32 million copies.
Eric Carmen, born in Cleveland, had begun practicing music at a young age, taking violin lessons at age six and later learning piano and guitar.
He and the Raspberries had reunited for a few shows in late 2004 at the House of Blues in Cleveland, which led to shows across the country the following year and the album Live on Sunset Strip.