The Raspberries were a pioneering power pop and rock band that rose to popularity in the early 70s thanks to the monster hit "Go All The Way." The song went all the way to #5 and was followed up by other chart hits like "I Wanna Be With You" (#16), "Let's Pretend" (#35), and "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" (#18). By 1975, lead singer Eric Carmen embarked on a successful solo career. Other members of the band founded Fotomaker. "Making It Easy" is from the band's third record, "Side 3" from 1973. A perfectly suitable rocker for the era that combines melody and harmony like few other bands could.
All by himself, Eric Carmen released two different eponymous records - his debut after breaking from The Raspberries in 1975, and another one in 1984. The first one did much better, reaching #21 on the album chart, while his 1984 record stalled at #128. Eric Carmen's solo career got off to a great start - and what better way to kick off a solo career than with a song called "All By Myself"? "All By Myself" hit #2 in 1975 and was followed up by another hit landing at #11 ("Never Gonna Fall In Love Again"). Carmen's career fizzled after that until 1987, when his contribution to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, "Hungry Eyes", topped out at #4. He even beat that monster hit with a follow up single called "Make Me Lose Control", which got to #3 in 1988. His last charting single was "Reason To Try", which stopped trying at #87 that same year. Back to Eric Carmen's 1984 album. Things were off to a tepid start with the lead single, "I Wanna Hear It From Your Lips" stalling at #35 and then "I'm Through With Love" only going to #87. But buried among a bunch of sleepy ballads failing to match the majesty of "All By Myself" is an upbeat pop rocker called "American As Apple Pie". Some trivia - what other artists have had two self-titled records? Check here.
