Eric Carmen was a power-pop, singer-songwriter phenom. A musical prodigy, at age 13 he attended the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied violin among other instruments. Seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964, however, shifted his focus. From then on, rock & roll became his passion.
I recently spoke with a friend, Ken Wyban, who grew up with Eric at the Colony House apartments in Lyndhurst, Ohio.
“I was a lifeguard at the rooftop pool in the apartment complex we both lived in. Eric was mature for his age more than I was anyway, and serious about his music. Freddie, his brother, would be at the swimming pool, and I could hear Eric playing. It didn’t seem like practicing, more like just playing. His apartment was about 100 feet away from the pool, on the second floor, like the pool was. I would listen to WIXI 1260 on the radio, and when he played, I would turn the radio off. He played classical and a variety of other music. He was very good, was like a free concert. I felt he was like going places type of good, like the James Gang.
“I heard them [The Raspberries] at the Chesterland Hullaballoo and said to myself these guys should be making records. I was drafted shortly after that and when I returned from Vietnam they were making great records that was ’71! I was in a band called the Men About Town, Eric came to a backyard party on Brainard Road in Lyndhurst. We knew each other and would say hi around the apartments. Don’t think he knew I was in a band, but before he left the party he came up and gave us a compliment, which made our day, as he was the shit. Told us we sounded good. He was a good person, always treated people well.”
Kicking around the local music scene in the late ’60s, Carmen — along with Wally Bryson, Dave Smalley and Jim Bonfanti — formed Raspberries in 1970. They released their eponymous debut album in 1972. It included the top-5 hit “Go All The Way,” which to this day has one of the most infectious hooks in rock history. The song was featured in filmmaker — and Raspberries’ super fan — Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous. It was also included in the 2014 blockbuster movie Guardians Of The Galaxy. Simply put — a classic.
But as Carmen would sing on his self-titled debut solo album, the Raspberries were, “Caught in a rock-and-roll time warp/Just tryin’ to find a way to get out.” The group amalgamated the best qualities of the Beatles,The Who and The Beach Boys underpinning it with Carmen’s classical training and exquisite song writing, forging the unique power-pop sound, but the record company, Capitol, didn’t quite know what to do with the band. They were marketed as a teeny bopper band when, in fact, the likes of Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon and Kiss were fans.
In 1975 Carmen went solo and released six albums over the course of his career.
His self-titled, debut solo album included the mega hit “All By Myself,” which in 1976 reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Twenty years later, Celine Dion covered it, and the ballad became an international hit. Eric Carmen, the album, spent eight weeks on the Billboard album chart peaking at 21. Listening to it now, one hears the sound of a young man entering his prime with skill, talent and a maturity well ahead of his 26 years. The sound of which was of a musical genius that surely would have a long and promising career.
But by the mid ’80s, Carmen struggled to fit into the ever-changing musical landscape. His career had a quick surge with his participation on the soundtracks of Footloose (1984) for which he penned “Almost Paradise” — sung by Mike Reno of Loverboy and Ann Wilson of Heart — and the Dirty Dancing (1987) soundtrack performing “Hungry Eyes.” In the early “oughts,” he joined Ringo Starr’s All-Star Band on keyboards for a tour. Then from 2005-07, the Rasberries reunited for a well-received House of Blues tour. In 2009 the group played the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and there it ended for the band — where it began — Cleveland, Ohio.
In March of 2024 Carmen passed away in his sleep at age 74. While a cause of death was not given, one thing is certain, his musical legacy lives on. In September a Rasberries tribute album, Play On, was released featuring Rick Springfield, Lou Gramm, John Waite, The Lemon Twigs, Marshall Crenshaw and others covering 37 Rasberries gems. And 50 years ago, to the month, his first solo album was released — November 1975 — a tribute concert, EC50, was being held in Cleveland at Lakewood Civic Auditorium to commemorate the album’s release and honor Carmen’s musical legacy. Featuring and benefiting the Lakewood High School Orchestra and the Lakewood Project, it includes The Eric Carmen Band along with special guests, conducted by legendary arranger Charles Colello.
Growing up, Eric Carmen was — and will always be — my Ohio hero. If he could make it then maybe I could, too. And this after all, is what From Ohio is about.
Eric Carmen is From Ohio.