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Singer-songwriter Eric Carmen, who fronted the power-pop 1970s band the Raspberries and later had soaring pop hits like “All by Myself” and later “Hungry Eyes” from the hit Dirty Dancing soundtrack, has died. He was 74.
His death was announced on his website by his wife, Amy Carmen, who did not reveal a cause, saying only that he died “in his sleep, over the weekend.”
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“It brought him great joy to know, that for decades, his music touched so many and will be his lasting legacy,” the message read.
Carmen had 13 songs in the Billboard Hot 100, including three in the Top 10. The Raspberries, which formed in Cleveland, had four Top 40 singles, including the Top 5 hit “Go All the Way.”
Formed in 1970, the Raspberries made four albums for Capitol Records and were known for their matching suits at a time when most bands had abandoned them.
“Almost every band had hair down to their waist and beards and ripped jeans and they looked like a bunch of hippies, and I wanted to get as far away from that as I could,” Carmen told the Observer in 2017.
The Raspberries’ second album, “Fresh,” released in 1972, would be their highest charting, hitting No. 36 and featuring two Top 40 hits, “I Wanna Be With You” and “Let’s Pretend.”
The Raspberries ended their first run in 1975, two years after creative differences hastened the departures of drummer Jim Bonfanti and bassist Dave Smalley.
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