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American singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist Eric Carmen, former member of The Raspberries, performs at Alex Cooley's Electric Ballroom on November 10, 1975 in Atlanta, Georgia.
CNN
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Eric Carmen, former lead singer of the band The Raspberry and singer of the song “All by Myself”, has died, according to what the media announced. His website. He was 74, according to IMDb.
“It is with great sadness that we share the devastating news of the passing of Eric Carmen,” a post on his website said. “Kind, loving and talented Eric passed away in his sleep over the weekend.”
“It brought him great joy to know that his music over the decades has touched so many and will be his lasting legacy,” the post read.
No cause of death was given.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Carmen rose to fame as the frontwoman of the 1970s pop-rock band The Raspberries, whose sleek haircuts and matching suits seemed to reference the uniformed look of the Beatles and other iconic groups of the British Invasion.
“We became very popular when we went completely against the grain in 1970,” Carmen wrote in her book. Website biography. “Prog rock was here, and FM radio took it into its fold. I hated it. I loved the Beatles, the Who, the Byrds, the Stones, the Beach Boys, the Small Faces. I loved bands that could write!”
Together the band produced hit songs, including “I Wanna Be with You” and the provocative “Go All the Way” — which was sung from a woman's perspective. But it won't be long before cracks start to form in the group.
“The critics loved us, the girls loved us, but their album-buying 18-year-old brothers said no,” Carmen wrote. “We were frustrated and had a blast.”
After the band broke up in 1975, Carmen built his solo career on ballads like “All by Myself” — later reached legendary heights by Celine Dion — and “Hungry Eyes,” which provided a soulful musical backdrop to the growing love between the two. Johnny and Baby in “Dirty Dancing.”
One of Carmen's most memorable songs was written for the film's soundtrack. He co-wrote “Almost Paradise,” the love theme for the movie “Footloose,” which was performed by Mike Reno and Ann Wilson. The song earned him his only Grammy Award nomination when the soundtrack competed for Best Original Album Written for a Motion Picture.
The songs “All by Myself”, “Make Me Lose Control” and “Hungry Eyes” peaked in the top ten on Billboard's Hot 100 and each spent more than four months on the chart. In all, 13 of Carmen's songs held a place on the chart.
Carmen declined to join The Raspberry when they reunited in 1999 to release the EP “Raspberry Refreshed”. But he joined them onstage in 2004 for a performance at the House of Blues in Cleveland, and the crew briefly embarked on a mini-tour in 2005, according to Case Western Reserve. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.
The group's last performance together was at KeyBank State Theater in Cleveland in December 2007.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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