'Hungry Eyes' Singer Eric Carmen Dies Aged 74

Former Raspberries frontman and solo singer songwriter Eric Carmen has died at the age of 74. His wife Amy Carmen broke the news to fans on his website.

It is with tremendous sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of Eric Carmen. 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 touched so many and will be his lasting legacy. Please respect the family’s privacy as we mourn our enormous loss. “Love Is All That Matters...Faithful and Forever”

The final line is from his 1977 song Love Is All That Matters.

Carmen first came to prominence as the lead singer of The Raspberries, a US 70s power-pop band that drew inspiration from the UK stylings of The Beatles, The Who and The Hollies. They recorded four albums with their biggest hit All The Way lifted from their debut album hitting the top 20 in the US and here in Australia. The song was given a new lease on life more recently on the Guardians of the Galaxy Awesome Mix soundtrack.

It was his first solo single that pushed him into the stratosphere, with All By Myself hitting #2 in the US and #7 in Australia. It was based on Sergei Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 2 and kept from #1 by The Four Seasons’ December 1963 (Oh What A Night). The song was covered in 1995 by Celine Dion where it once again entered the top ten across the world, cementing its place in the great American songbook and taking is place as one of Celine’s high points (in more ways than one).

Carmen released six solo albums, but it was his soundtrack work on the hit movie Dirty Dancing that cemented his place in music history with the 80s classic Hungry Eyes returning him to the top 10 in 1987.

After his 80s success he toured with Ringo Starr and his All Star Band and reunited with The Raspberries in the early 2000s.

He is survived by his wife and children Clayton and Kathryn.