In the early 70s there was a nice young Jewish boy by the name of Eric Carmen, growing up in the Cleveland suburbs and going to college at the respected John Carroll University. He played in a few garage bands until forming the Raspberries, a bunch of clean cut men playing clean sounding guitar based tunes. Eric, Jim Bonfanti, Dave Smalley and Wally Bryson delivered the goods. Here are our favorite three singles from the Raspberries…
“Go ALL the Way” was the perfect radio hit – clean, short, easy to remember lyrics, and a little suggestive for the time. The single sold more than 1.3 million copies while it reached the top 10 on the charts. Although played in the US, it was banned in the UK generating more sales than it might have otherwise.
“I Want to Be With You” was released in November in 1972, written by Eric and came from their second album “Fresh.” If you wanted clean guitar and naught lyrics, this song is for you. Eric hits all the high notes in this one! Radio loved it as it was catchy and less than three minutes in total length.
“Overnight Sensation” proved to be the song that brought women to the show, and solidified Eric as a world class songwriter rand piano player. The song moves from low to high intensity, inspiring Meat Loaf and other adventurous singers.