ROLLING BACK THE YEARS
Who was Raspberries singer Eric Carmen?
He had a storied dating history which included three different wives
ERIC Carmen rose to fame in the 70s as the frontman of the Raspberries before branching out on his own.
The musician had a huge worldwide hit with All By Myself in 1975.
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Who was Eric Carmen?
Carmen was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 11, 1949.
He was a guitarist and keyboardist who rose to fame when forming his band the Raspberries.
The pop group gained a cult following in the 1970s and 80s, with successful tracks like Go All The Way, which sold over one million records.
The band broke up in 1975, but Carmen pursued a solo career creating hits such as All by Myself, Never Gonna Fall in Love Again, She Did It, Hungry Eyes, and Make Me Lose Control.
He released his last track Brand New Year in 2013, shortly before the March 2014 arrival of a 30-track album featuring his most famous songs named The Essential Eric Carmen.
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Did Eric Carmen write his own songs?
He co-founded the pop group with Jim Bonfanti and Wally Bryson, and was later joined by Dave Smalley after the departure of John Aleksic.
Carmen was a talented songwriter who either wrote or co-wrote most of the Raspberries hits.
Some of the most well-known tracks written by the band's frontman were Overnight Sensation, I'm A Rocker and Let's Pretend.
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He also co-wrote hits like Don’t Want to Say Goodbye and I Saw The Light with band-mate Wally Bryson.
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Who was Eric Carmen's married to?
Carmen married his wife Amy Murphy in 2016, and had been with her ever since.
Amy is a former Cleveland WKYC-TV3 staff meteorologist, but left the station to seek pastures new in Miami, Phoenix and Los Angeles, reports .
The talented newscaster worked for Fox News and earned an Emmy award, as well as two further nominations for her coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Following her work in the media, she took a job as director of corporate communications for PacifiCord - now called Health Banks - a biotech firm.
How many times was Eric Carmen married?
Carmen was married three times throughout his life.
His first marriage was to Marcy Hill on October 31, 1978.
But their marriage quickly came to an end just a year later, in 1979.
His second marriage was to Susan Brown in 1993, but they divorced in 2009. The couple had two children, Clay and Kathryn.
In 2016 he married Amy Murphy, and although they never had children together the couple remained together up until Eric sadly passed away in 2024.
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When did Eric Carmen pass away?
It was announced by Amy that Carmen passed away on March 11, 2024, on the musicians website.
She wrote: "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 cause of death has not been made public.
Tributes have been pouring in for the late star, 74, since his death was announced on Monday.
On Facebook, one fan commented: "I’m utterly crushed. What a huge influence his music has been in my life."
A second wrote: "Thank you Eric for the music and the memories. Your music was a big influence on me since I was 15 and I even used 'I was born to love you' as our wedding waltz. Such a musical talent, you will never be forgotten."
And a third said: "One of my all-time favorite artists! I will miss him tremendously, but his music will last forever."
Singer John Eddie also paid tribute to Carmen on X, formerly known as Twitter.
";Sad to hear that Eric Carmen has passed away," the artist
"The Raspberries were one of my favorite bands. I bought their first album with the scratch and sniff sticker because Go All The Way is a perfect rock n roll single.
"Raspberries greatest hits is one of my all time favorite albums. Even the weaker songs on the album are pretty f*****g great.
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"I saw the Raspberries live on one of those AM radio station concerts. It was at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. It was either WIBG or WFIL. The ticket cost like 99 cents. It was a crazy bill: Slade, The Raspberries, Jim Croce, Lou Reed and Stevie Wonder.
"Might’ve been some other acts on the bill too but I’m old and that’s who I remember. Anyway it’s a sad day for my inner child who is now in his late forties. Rest in peace Eric Carmen and thank you for the Raspberries."
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