The photo above was a screenshot from a weird video I discovered from back in the day. A band called Island was playing (not familiar with them), but it helped me visualize even better the layout of the club. There was a seating area in front of the band, and off to the left was the dance floor.
In the spring of 1972, my Junior year in high school, The Raspberries put out their first album, complete with scratch'n'sniff raspberry sticker, which kept my vinyl collection smelling pretty for years to come. I used to wear raspberry Bonne Bell lipstick as well. It was a theme.
During that summer I dated a guy named Eddie, and we never missed seeing The Raspberries at Cyrus Erie. We would split a 6-pack of Schlitz malt liquor on the way there (I'd have 2, he'd have 4), and then we'd dance and sing loudly to every song until the lights came on. I think they played practically every other week, even when "Go All the Way" was a hit song on the radio. They also played for my school's winter semi-formal in December.
Somewhere along the way, I dropped my interest in them for other singers and bands. Even with that being the case, when I hear the song "Let's Pretend" from the Fresh album, I have to sing along -- loudly. That is one great song, and also the most Beatlesque! Watch a performance from 1973 here:
Fast forward to fall 1976. I was now 21-years-old, and had started my first "professional" career, and was pretty lonely. What I remember most about Eric's solo hit song "All By Myself" is hearing it while driving in the dark and relating so fully to the lyrics. I was that kind of emo young adult. 😖
Fast forward again to the late 1980s. Eric was making a name for himself writing for soundtracks. It was always good to hear him on the radio. There is one specific memory that stands out, and it is about the how music was changing.
In 1988 I had purchased a direct mail advertising business. In the fall of 1989 I signed up for an advertising class through the Cleveland Advertising Club. One of our sessions involved creation of music for advertising. The guy leading the session had nothing but an Apple computer and a piano keyboard. He started playing "Hungry Eyes," one of Eric's big hits from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. He told us that the entire thing had been created electronically, using Garage Band. No real players were needed: just the vocalist and the engineer.
The future of music was right there before my eyes in 1989, and it had Eric's voice attached.
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When I heard this morning that Eric Carmen had passed, all these memories flashed through my head. For me he represents a very specific time in my life, one that is vivid in its fun, music, and dancing memories, and from which I cannot separate myself from even if I tried. Those days were the transition from youth to adult, and music went hand-in-hand with that. Eric's music informed and formed me in some ways that I can now discern.
This meme came through my feed today:
Today I thank you, Eric -- for decades of music, that took me from teen years to adulthood, to this very day when I'm listening to your essentials and wondering why I have failed to honor you more often. I didn't talk about it much in this memoir, but you were also there for some tough times, things that happened that were hard for me to process. You took the edge off that anxiety, and for that I am most grateful.
As the years have passed, there are songs that have floated to the surface as my all-time favorites written by Eric Carmen. I already mentioned one of them. The other is "That's Rock and Roll." I feel it is one that is overlooked, perhaps because it was a teen idol hit by Shaun Cassidy. But that doesn't negate the fun and power pop of the song. Listen below. The lyrics are there, so feel free to sing with me--loudly!
I enjoyed reading this blog post about your memories which Eric Carmen's music defined. It brought me back to the same time in my life where Carol Kings Tapestry album was my soundtrack. It was also interesting to learn that the Raspberries had a prominent Cleveland connection; and they even played at your high school!! I grew up where Bonny Raitt played in our local bar haunts; damn, those were the days.
ReplyDeleteI loved this piece because your writing reminded me of the ways
music weaves through our lives often unnoticed until some time passes. Then a song plays and we are transported and spiritually connected to a specific time and place once again.
Music is magic. Your post is a gift.