Eric Carmen, the Cleveland born pop and rock singer-songwriter known for hits like “All by Myself” and “Hungry Eyes,” as well as rock hits as the lead singer of early 70s power pop outfit The Raspberries, died in his sleep over the weekend of undisclosed causes, his wife, Amy announced Monday. He was 74. Carmen also wrote songs that were hits for other artists, including "Almost Paradise" the duet sung by Mike Reno of Loverboy and Ann Wilson of Heart on the soundtrack of Footloose.
The Lyndhurst native helped form The Raspberries in 1970 and they had their first and biggest hit in 1972: "Go All The Way." The song attracted renewed attention in 2014 when it was included in the film Guardians of the Galaxy and was included on the film's Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 soundtrack.
After leaving The Raspberries to go solo, Carmen's first single was also his biggest solo hit. "All By Myself" went to number 2 on the Pop chart and was later covered by Celine Dion in 1996.
"Hungry Eyes," from the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
In 2000, Eric Carmen joined Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band on tour, performing his biggest solo and Raspberries hits as well as sitting in with the performer whose band had provided a template for much of his musical life.
In recent years, as he held back from releasing new music or performing live. However, fans communicated with him on social media.
