Up to that point, Eric Carmen was best known for a soulful ballad but, after his “Hungry Eyes” made its appearance in “Dirty Dancing”, Eric Carmen’s career reached another level.
He died earlier this year in March, but his birthday is today, offering the perfect occasion to reflect back on “All by Myself”, “Hungry Eyes”, and more.
The years before
The first time I heard Eric Carmen was in a single called “All by Myself”, which was a crooning ballad. It turns out that “All by Myself” was Carmen’s first solo single. He had been performing with a band called The Raspberries, as lead singer, and wrote or co-wrote all their hit songs.
The first time I heard Eric Carmen was in a single called “All by Myself”, which was a crooning ballad. It turns out that “All by Myself” was Carmen’s first solo single. He had been performing with a band called The Raspberries, as lead singer, and wrote or co-wrote all their hit songs.
“All by Myself” went all the way to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975 and number three in Canada.
His next single, “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again” peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and number one in Canada.
Eric Carmen didn’t have another top 10 hit, and just one top 20 hit, over the next 11 years.
Then he made a big comeback.
Soundtrack success
Carmen made a splash in the ‘80s as far back as 1984, when he and Dean Pitchford co-wrote “Almost Paradise” for the “Footloose” soundtrack. It was the love theme of the movie, performed by Ann Wilson of Heart and Mike Reno of Loverboy, who took the song all the way to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
Carmen made a splash in the ‘80s as far back as 1984, when he and Dean Pitchford co-wrote “Almost Paradise” for the “Footloose” soundtrack. It was the love theme of the movie, performed by Ann Wilson of Heart and Mike Reno of Loverboy, who took the song all the way to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
He would find even bigger success as a singer three years later on a soundtrack for a movie that has become a classic.
Dirty Dancing
Eric Carmen released “Hungry Eyes” in 1987, as the second single from the soundtrack to “Dirty Dancing”. I always remember the scene in the movie when the song is play. Johnny is teaching Baby, to dance in a lake. They are practising lifts because if she falls, it is a much lighter landing than the hard ground. In particular, I remember Johnny, played by Patrick Swayze, lifting Baby, played by Jennifer Grey, above the water. It was pretty cool.
Eric Carmen released “Hungry Eyes” in 1987, as the second single from the soundtrack to “Dirty Dancing”. I always remember the scene in the movie when the song is play. Johnny is teaching Baby, to dance in a lake. They are practising lifts because if she falls, it is a much lighter landing than the hard ground. In particular, I remember Johnny, played by Patrick Swayze, lifting Baby, played by Jennifer Grey, above the water. It was pretty cool.
I have another odd memory of the time. It was second semester of my first year of university and I picked up a statistics class. Our professor initially was named Dr. Gian Jhangri, before our class split and I had Professor Ferenczi. My friend Roy was in another section, and he had Jhangri. One day, we were waiting in line at the cafeteria and I asked him how stats was going.
Then, for whatever reason, I started singing, “Jhangri Eyes”. We both laughed.
“Hungry Eyes” took Eric Carmen back to the top 10, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
That song catapulted Eric Carmen to another successful single.
Summer of 1988
Not long after I finished my first year of university in the Spring of 1988 and was back to the farm for the summer, Eric Carmen released another single.
Not long after I finished my first year of university in the Spring of 1988 and was back to the farm for the summer, Eric Carmen released another single.
It was called “Make Me Lose Control”, and became part of the soundtrack of the summer of 1988, back in Southern Alberta. When I hear that song, I am taken back to the things I was doing that summer – cruising the strip in Lethbridge; going to Alley Oops; working at the greenhouse; talking to guys like Shawn Kingston and Lorne Miller.
“Make Me Lose Control” went all the way to number three on the Billboard Hot 100, number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and number two in Canada.
Eric Carmen would chart just one more song, “Reason to Try”, which reached number 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988.
He hasn’t charted another single to this date.
Parting thoughts
It’s funny how artists come and go. Eric Carmen had had a big hit with “All by Myself”, but kind of faded into the woodwork.
It’s funny how artists come and go. Eric Carmen had had a big hit with “All by Myself”, but kind of faded into the woodwork.
Then, come 1987 and his songs were as popular as anyone’s, charting two in the top five, and occupying spots on the charts for a significant amount of time.
Then he was gone again, never to return to those heights.
Yet, those songs came out at a very special time in my life, when I was away from home for the first time, meeting new people, experiencing new things, and exploring what was out there.
Whenever I hear “Hungry Eyes” or “Make Me Lose Control”, I will think of those times.
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