Don_Krider

Three things got me through high school in the early '70s --- Raspberries, Badfinger and "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (I would stay up way too late at night to catch his show, then try to wake up for school in the morning). Johnny Carson's death ends an era, but he will always be immortalized for me in Eric Carmen's "Last Night" (from the first solo album), a tale that captures another lonely night's end (waiting for the call that never comes, tuning in Carson for some laughs, smoking another cig, dialing an unanswered phone number) while playing some brilliant rock 'n' roll: "...I waited for the phone to ring And when it didn't I turned on the Carson show I lit another cigarette And dialed your number But there was no one at home..." I also remember in 1977 when Frankie Valli did the Carson show and sang his new single, "I Need You" (which Jim Girard in Hit Parader magazine said was tailor-written for Valli's voice) --- Valli introduced the song saying, "This was written by a contemporary artist named Eric Carmen." Don

The RPM/Cherry Red web page for the reissues can be viewed at http://www.cherryred.co.uk/rpm/artists/raspberries.htm

Normally "I'm A Rocker" in my musical tastes, but "Temporary Hero" blows me away --- I find the melody to be absolutely delicious myself. The song is brilliant as a demo; pretty perfect as is, in my humble opinion. It's the lyrics that grab me, too, and just convince me again that Eric's songs are so much better when he writes the lyrics himself. Don

"Make Me Lose Control" was #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart for three straight weeks in 1988 (though it peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart). Celine Dion's version of ABM peaked at #4 in Billboard.

A Berry Happy 56th Birthday, Jim. Thanks for your hard work and love in reuniting the fans with the band. Don Krider

Steven Tyler, before Aerosmith, was known as Steve Taralico and sang backup on The Left Banke's "Nice To See You," "My Friend Today" and "Dark Is The Bark." Knowing Eric's love of The Left Banke ("Walk Away Rene"), I thought it might be interesting to see *if* Eric and Steve could pull off something great in the studio (you're right, it might not work, but who knows?). Raspberries' Wally Bryson in an interview at http://www.raspberries.net/bryson.html says he is a huge fan of Aerosmith (having toured in Fotomaker with them). To be direct, I wasn't so much describing Raspberries/Aerosmith "recording" together as I was thinking of what an interesting videotaped event (for a documentary like VH-1's "Behind The Music" series) would be and the media coverage it might generate that would propel any further Raspberries' events/projects.

Mark Hudson's daughter, Sarah Hudson, has an album, "Naked Truth," due out September 7, 2004 (delayed from a July release). She was profiled recently on the PBS series "Frontline" about how hard it is to make it in music (the other act profiled was Velvet Revolver). Mark Hudson played a bit of "So You Are A Star" at the close of one of Sarah's songs on the "Frontline" episode. She's managed by David Simone (Barry Manilow, Elton John). Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, probably as a favor to Mark Hudson, sings backup on two tracks on her new album. Now, imagine: Raspberries' produced by Mark Hudson. Friends of Mark's stop in: Steve Tyler and Eric Carmen do a duet backed by the dueling power chords of Aerosmith's Joe Perry and Raspberries' Wally Bryson, while Ringo Starr joins Jim Bonfanti on percussion... oh well, I can dream... Don

That's neat about Mark Hudson. He sang backup on Eric's "Reason To Try" single, which peaked at # 87 in 1988 (it's from the "One Moment In Time: 1988 NBC Summer Olympics Album," which went Gold in 1988). The Hudson Brothers wore white suits and sang Beatles-inspired tunes, too --- wait a minute... If you ever want a piece of power pop heaven, get their greatest hits CD, "So You Are A Star." Don

Eric, best wishes for a very Happy 53rd Birthday. Congratulations also on the 25th Anniversary of the release of "Boats Against The Current" -- that album always sails through the ocean of my mind and is an island of refuge in a storm of musical mediocrity. It has been a wonderful 30 years of your music since The Raspberries first captured my ears in 1972 -- having seen you perform live in 1973 and 1988 in Louisville, I hope you will once again take being "cool" on the road to show the masses what the word really means once again. Best to your family, as well, Don Krider (and from my son, Eric Douglas Krider, as well)