Singer Eric Carmen, former member of the American group The Raspberries, died at the age of 74, his wife announced on Tuesday March 12. The causes and place of death have not been specified.
“Our sweet, loving and talented Eric passed away in his sleep this weekend. He was very happy to know that, for decades, his music touched so many people and that it will remain engraved in their memory,” wrote Amy Carmen, in a message posted on the artist’s official website. She also asked fans to “respect the family’s privacy.”
Born in 1949 in Cleveland, Ohio, Eric Carmen began his musical career by co-founding the group The Raspberries in the 1970s. After four albums, the group broke up in 1975 and reformed in 2004. Eric Carmen had, in the meantime, launched a solo career.
The singer is best known for being the author of the hit All by Myself in 1975 and the interpreter of Hungry Eyes, taken from the soundtrack of the very popular film Dirty Dancing (1987), by Emile Ardolino, with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. His song Almost Paradise, which he co-wrote for the film Footloose, earned him a Grammy nomination.