Eric Carmencantor original do hit “All By Myself”, passed away at age 74. The information was shared on the musician’s official website, through a note, which does not detail the cause of death.
“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 has touched so many people and will be his lasting legacy,” it says in an excerpt.
“Please respect the family’s privacy as we mourn our enormous loss. ‘Love is all that matters… Faithful and forever’”, adds Amy Carmen, the singer’s wife.
In addition to being the composer of the song that later became a hit with Céline Dion, Carmen achieved fame as the lead singer of the 70s pop-rock group, The Raspberries.
Despite producing hits such as “I Wanna Be with You” and “Go All the Way”, the group did not last long and broke up in 1975.
In a solo career, Eric also composed “Hungry Eyes”, which was on the soundtrack for the romance between Johnny and Baby in the classic “Dirty Dancing”.
Eric Carmen – Hungry Eyes (Official HD Video)
It’s worth mentioning that he co-wrote “Almost Paradise”, another love song, this time for “Footloose”. The song earned him his only Grammy nomination, when it competed for Best Original Soundtrack Album Written for a Motion Picture.
“All by Myself,” “Make Me Lose Control and “Hungry Eyes” reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and each spent more than four months on the chart. In total, 13 Carmen songs took place on the chart.
Carmen refused to join The Raspberries when they reunited in 1999 to release the EP “Raspberries Refreshed”. But he joined them on stage in 2004 for a performance at Cleveland’s House of Blues and the team briefly embarked on a mini-tour in 2005, according to Case Western Reserve’s Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.
*With information from Taylor Romine, Jennifer Henderson and Elizabeth Wolfe of CNN
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