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DAY IN HISTORY
All By Himself-Eric Carmen
A sad ending for music phenomenon
Last year on this date, singer Eric Carmen died in his sleep at age 74. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he was a music prodigy. His aunt Muriel, a musician in the Cleveland Orchestra said he was like a sponge learning music. He was admitted to the Cleveland Institute of Music at three-and-a-half years old.
“He was playing piano before he could walk,” said his brother Fred Carmen in an Andy Greene Rolling Stone article. “I could bang my spoon on a steel bowl and he’d go, ‘C-flat.’ He literally had perfect pitch.”
Carmen began with the pop rock group Raspberries where his songs “I Wanna Be With You” and “Let’s Pretend” led the local charts. His solo ballad “All by Myself” hit national charts. I absolutely loved this song of sadness, lonely times and regret.
Carmen rose into musical fame with the soundtrack for 1984s Footloose. He blasted further into musical history with Dirty Dancing in 1987. Everyone wanted the “Time of My Life” with more “Hungry Eyes.” He also worked on the Dionne Warwick hit song, “That’s What Friends Are For.”
Carmen contributed to many other film projects including
To Die For (1995)
