I was upgraded on a flight from CLE to LAX next to him 20 years ago. I’ll write that up tomorrow. Great guy and very kind. In addition to below, he was the lead singer for the raspberries.
Dang. RIP Eric Carmen, 74
- Thread starter Obliviax
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Good trivia about Eric Carmen the person who got co-writing credit on All by Myself was composer Rochmaninof. Carmen insisted on it as he took a melody from a piano piece and incorporated into All by Myself.
It wasn't the only song he pulled from Rachmaninoff. He also did Never Gonna fall in Love Again. Symphony #2 In E Minor. All by Myself was Piano Concerto#2 in C Major for those who want to listen.
I actually stumbled upon it by accident. I sometimes use classical to sleep on planes (I'm on them A LOT). I had Rachmaninoff playing and I kept hearing Never Gonna fall in love again and when I landed,......Google.
I have a playlist matching up some artist influences.....or possibly stolen. Some silly one's like Ton Loc's Wild Thing grabbing Van Halen's Jamie's Cryin. Or Aldo Nova apparently playing Jefferson Starship's Jane to drive Fantasy. Madonna / Lady Gaga....a few there.
I haven't stumbled into others like Eric Carmen with Classical, and maybe Eric did other ones. Eric did make me listen more, definitely. RIP Eric
about 25 years ago I had a flight from CLE to LAX. I got upgraded to first class. A dude sat next to me carrying a bag of gummy bears and a book about the effects of drugs on your brain. Soon, Jim Brown walked by and he turned to me and said "Was that Jim Brown? We are in first class and Jim Brown is back in coach?" LOL. Next, a woman comes up to him and asks him to autograph her ticket cover, which he did. She said that it was erie watching him board when "All by Myself" came on the speaker. I had no idea who the guy was so I asked him and he said "I am Eric Carmen". I was embarrassed I didn't know him but a co-worker when to high school with him (Brush) and loved his work so we hit common ground. We talked for four hours and he was just great. He had met and married a gal (she was in the front row of one of his concerts, he asked to see her and they fell in love). She was pregnant and they didn't want to raise a kid in LA so decided to move back to CLE. He was building a studio in his new house before moving in.
He told me that he was going through a breakup and couldn't sleep. He went downstairs to the piano and knocked out "All by Myself" in just a couple of minutes and went back to bed. The next morning, he remembered that he did it but not the details. He went to the piano and there was the music and words. He cleaned it up, presented it to his team, and they recorded it. It was a HUGE hit but it almost ruined his career. Every song he wrote thereafter, when he played it for the publisher, they said "Hey Eric, this is great and everything...but can you just write another 'All by Myself' again?" He had gotten typecast. he grew to hate the song before he fell back in love with it again. He said it was difficult to perform because he had to take himself back to that dark time plus get mad at his team. he was telling me that writing, for him, came in fits and starts. When an idea popped into his head he had to excuse himself and just go with it but he fought it for a long time (to be nice to people) before finally deciding that was his process. He had met David Bowie and DB carried a notepad with him and wrote down phrases or words or tunes that popped into his head. When DB was writing in that book, you didn't bother him because who knows what musical genius might be lost if you asked him a question in the middle of his process.
He kept expressing concerns that he was in a different place then when he was a kid growing up in CLE. I told him he would be full with his wife and child. I think he wanted to exchange numbers and regret I didn't ask him. I figured he didn't want anything to do with me but he was a great guy and we really hit it off.
I hope he was happy. I know he got a DUI several years back. Good dude and his passing has hit me hard.
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Billy Joel stole the chorus of "This Night" from Beethoven and credited him as well, not to steer this away from Carmen. I liked E.C.s hit songs, admittedly don't know many of his "deep tracks." RIP.
en.wikipedia.org
This Night (Billy Joel song) - Wikipedia
forgot to add...he also co-wrote "Almost Paradise" from the movie Footloose and performed by Ann Wilson.
One other thing he told me on that flight....he said he went to a huge record store in LA and saw Slash looking at albums. He didn't know Slash so he thought he'd go up and introduce himself. It turned out Slash was looking at Raspberries albums when he walked up. Quite a coincidence. Turned out Slash was a huge fan and that was very flattering to Carmen as Slash was the next generation after Carmen in terms of rock music. "The kids still like me" was the feeling I got.
One other thing he told me on that flight....he said he went to a huge record store in LA and saw Slash looking at albums. He didn't know Slash so he thought he'd go up and introduce himself. It turned out Slash was looking at Raspberries albums when he walked up. Quite a coincidence. Turned out Slash was a huge fan and that was very flattering to Carmen as Slash was the next generation after Carmen in terms of rock music. "The kids still like me" was the feeling I got.
That's great, but it didn't happen.
The Story of... 'All By Myself' by Eric Carmen
If there's one song that captures the essence of solitude and longing, it's Eric Carmen's 'All By Myself'.
www.smoothradio.com
He later said: "The song started with the solo. It started 4 bars at a time. Eventually, over a period of 2 months, that entire interlude had been written. Then my quest was to put this in the middle of an actual song. Then it was a matter of trying to figure out what kind of song and how could I do it.
"I was listening to Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto (written in 1901) and I heard the melody which I used for the verse," he told Songfacts. "Then I needed a chorus. I went back and listened to a song that I had written in 1973 called 'Let's Pretend' for the Raspberries.
"I just took those notes and took it from there. I thought, ''Let's Pretend' was a nice melody.' The song didn't go quite as far as I thought it should have. I'll go back and steal from myself for this."
I knew some asshole would get pedantic.That's great, but it didn't happen.
The Story of... 'All By Myself' by Eric Carmen
If there's one song that captures the essence of solitude and longing, it's Eric Carmen's 'All By Myself'.
He later said: "The song started with the solo. It started 4 bars at a time. Eventually, over a period of 2 months, that entire interlude had been written. Then my quest was to put this in the middle of an actual song. Then it was a matter of trying to figure out what kind of song and how could I do it.
"I was listening to Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto (written in 1901) and I heard the melody which I used for the verse," he told Songfacts. "Then I needed a chorus. I went back and listened to a song that I had written in 1973 called 'Let's Pretend' for the Raspberries.
"I just took those notes and took it from there. I thought, ''Let's Pretend' was a nice melody.' The song didn't go quite as far as I thought it should have. I'll go back and steal from myself for this."
First, I can only go by what the person told me. And second, nothing in what you quoted says that he didn't get up in the middle of the night and craft the roots for the song.
Did I call you and asshole? If not, let me do that again.
It wouldn't be an Obliviax post without a lie, or ten.I knew some asshole would get pedantic.
First, I can only go by what the person told me. And second, nothing in what you quoted says that he didn't get up in the middle of the night and craft the roots for the song.
Did I call you and asshole? If not, let me do that again.
Obi - It's hard to believe that someone is an a** hole 24/7.
But he is.
But he is.
A drama queen as well, he likes to announce when he ignores you for pointing gross inaccuracies with his "stories".
LMAOROFL has been blocked for a reasonI knew some asshole would get pedantic.
First, I can only go by what the person told me. And second, nothing in what you quoted says that he didn't get up in the middle of the night and craft the roots for the song.
Did I call you and asshole? If not, let me do that again.
He also took a lot of hits for publicly supporting Trump. Turns out the music industry is populated with a lot of narrow minded half wits like Hollywood.I knew some asshole would get pedantic.
First, I can only go by what the person told me. And second, nothing in what you quoted says that he didn't get up in the middle of the night and craft the roots for the song.
Did I call you and asshole? If not, let me do that again.
Pointing out and correcting your endless stream of lies is fun ... why would I put you on ignore?
The funny thing is as much of his music that I knew, and I feel like I have a pretty wide breadth of music knowledge, I did not know his name at all.
Ever see the movie "Rules of Attraction?"
Weird movie, but entertaining... Except for this.
Warning. Graphic.
Interesting. His portfolio is pretty diverse. Raspberries, Dirty Dancing, solo, and Ann Wilson. But when you take a look at his body of work, pretty incredible stuff. I haven't met too many celebrities but the time I was seated next to him on a flight, he simply could not have been nicer or more forthcoming.
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