(WatchDogReport.org) – Raspberries frontman Eric Carmen, known for his solo hits All By Myself, Hungry Eyes, and Make Me Lose Control, has died at the age of 74, according to his website. His wife, Amy Carmen, announced that he died in his sleep over the weekend and asked for the family’s privacy as they mourn the departed singer.
In his solo career, Carmen reached Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 with All By Myself in the mid-1970s and Number 4 with Hungry Eyes after the song featured in the film Dirty Dancing in 1987. A cause of death has not been given.
Born in Cleveland in 1949, Carmen embarked on his solo career after the Raspberries split up in 1975 due to a decline in the group’s commercial success. Carmen claimed that he only chose to record his hit Hungry Eyes because he did not have anything else to do. The singer claimed that he was “ice cold” and not in high demand at the time and that he did not expect Dirty Dancing to be successful but opted to record the song anyway.
The song ended up being slower than the singer wanted due to the dance scene having already been shot, so he added guitar to “juice up” the song. The Raspberries song Go All The Way, banned by the BBC for its sexually suggestive lyrics, was featured on the soundtrack for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. He achieved further notoriety in cinema when his solo track All By Myself featured in Bridget Jones’s Diary. The song was also covered by Celine Dion.
Carmen’s singles did not enter the charts again after the 1980s, but he toured with Ringo Starr and the All-Starr Band in 2000 and briefly reunited with the Raspberries in 2004 for some live shows.
Amy referred to her husband as “sweet” and “loving” in her statement. She said the singer found great joy in knowing that his music touched so many for decades and will be his enduring legacy. Carmen is survived by Amy and their two children, Clayton and Kathryn.
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