Don_Krider

Bernie's got the lyrics to "You Took Me All The Way." There's an interesting interview with Eric Carmen in Cleveland Scene from January 10, 1985 (the album hit record stores January 7, 1985, despite the 1984 copyright on the package)'In that article, the writer, Raj Bahadur, let Eric talk about each track on the Geffen "Eric Carmen" album (not to be confused with the Arista "Eric Carmen" album a decade earlier), and Eric had this to say about "You Took Me All The Way" at the time: __________ "You Took Me All The Way" ... "Any resemblance to 'Go All the Way' is purely intentional. John (Kolodner) requested it. I said, 'John, I'm 34 now, I can't go home and write a song like that again. 'Think of it as a tribute to the Raspberries.' But I had to construct it so that it would be applicable to a guy of 34 speaking to his wife of ten years, rather than a 16-year-old talking to his girlfriend in the back-seat." __________ Don Krider

When they did the "Let's Pretend"/"Starting Over" medley on the syndicated "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert" TV series during the 1974-75 season, I was blown away by the performance. It was neat to see the guys on different instruments, too, with Wally on bass and Scott on mellotron (if memory serves me correctly). Eric's keyboard work and vocal was nothing short of stunning. Maybe Bernie can add the clip to ETV. If only the guys could put that medley out as a single, I'm convinced it would do well even today. Don Krider

I always enjoyed Eric's cover of The Beach Boys "Caroline No" on the "Winter Dreams" album, and I've always thought Raspberries could do a stunning version of "Don't Worry Baby." I don't think anyone could do a better version of Eric's "My Girl" --- still one of my all-time favorites of Eric's solo material. Eric's vocal is just perfect on that. Don

I bought two copies of that when BMG Music Service had it briefly (gave my extra copy to a Cleveland Plain Dealer writer), and you are correct sir --- both songs were written by Eric and Wally! Wally's harmonica is too cool! Don

Out of curiousity, when they play the song, do they ever identify the artist?

Cool! Don Krider

More Choir "It's Cold Outside" radio station chart surveys (33 of them) at: http://www.las-solanas.com/arsa/charts_item.php?hsid=5674 Neat one, WKYC-AM in Cleveland, May 19, 1967, with The Choir and "It's Cold Outside" at #1 (#1 the week before as well): http://www.las-solanas.com/arsa/surveys_item.php?svid=6517 Raspberries radio station chart surveys at: http://www.las-solanas.com/arsa/artists_item.php?rtid=1245 Eric Carmen radio station chart surveys at: http://www.las-solanas.com/arsa/artists_item.php?rtid=2134 31 years ago, the June 22, 1976 survey for KEZY-AM 1190 in Anaheim, California, had Eric's solo hit "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again" at #11. Interesting mid-'70s playlist, too: http://www.las-solanas.com/arsa/surveys_item.php?svid=6794 Research is fun! Don Krider

That's what I loved about Top 40 AM radio in the '60s and '70s --- such a great mix of music, from country to Motown to rock to pop, it was a great way for a kid to be exposed to many forms of music all at once. I don't think kids get that on radio stations these days, sadly. I bought my first two 45 rpm singles in 1967 when I was 10-years-old: "Happy Together" by The Turtles and "Somethin' Stupid" by Frank & Nancy Sinatra (which I still love). Don Krider http://www.epinions.com/user-don_krider

Forty years ago TONIGHT (June 23, 1967), those 17-year-olds in The Choir (including Wally, Dave and Jim of Raspberries) were riding high with a regional Top 40 single (that spent several weeks at #1 in Cleveland). The WLS 890 AM Radio Survey for that night 40 years ago at http://www.las-solanas.com/arsa/surveys_...=tsc_psv%20DESC shows The Choir with "It's Cold Outside" at #33 in Chicago (dropping from #29 the week before). Neat photo of Wally, Dave and Jim in The Choir from a Japanese site at http://f17.aaa.livedoor.jp/~showa/music/sixties/garage-psyche/choir/choir-photo.jpg I just think it's awesome that Wally, Dave, Jim and Eric Carmen (who recorded with Cyrus Erie and The Quick in the '60s) are starting their fifth decade as recording artists with the release of Raspberries "Live On Sunset Strip" next month. Look at that WLS Survey and see how many of those hitmakers from 1967 are still recording; not many. Our guys are indeed special and I think they will "Go All The Way" once again. Don Krider

Don H, thanks for doing the show with Wally. A couple of questions: Is there any special player needed for the streaming broadcast ( http://www.wibg.com/listen5.html )? And does the station archive the show so people can listen to it later on? For anyone interested, there are some other Raspberries-related radio shows archived online: Denny Carleton of The Choir ( http://dennycarleton.com/realaudio.htm ) has archives of some of his Cleveland radio interviews with Cleveland music stars on his site. Of interest here, and requiring a RealPlayer to listen to, is a year 2000 interview that Denny Carleton did with Dave Smalley of Raspberries at: http://dennycarleton.com/DaveSmal.html Denny's interview with Kenny Margolis of The Choir, The Sittin' Ducks and The Bryson Group ( http://thebrysongroup.com/merchandise/ ) is at: http://dennycarleton.com/ducks.ram.html And you can slip back to 2005 and listen to the Jonesville ( http://wfmu.org/special.php/JS ) radio program interview with Eric Carmen and Jim Bonfanti at: http://wfmu.org/listen.ram?show=15750 (requires the RealPlayer as well) Raspberries rule! Don Krider http://www.epinions.com/content_147186945668

This is from the Brysons: ----------------------------------------- "Fans can listen to a live 2-hour show on New Jersey station WIBG Radio, featuring the music of Wally Bryson with a pre-recorded interview with Wally by host Don Hurley. Saturday, June 23rd between 5:00 PM-7:00 PM (EST). streaming live at http://www.wibg.com/ " -------------------------- Also, Wally's son, Jesse Bryson, plays The Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland on June 27, 2007, at 9 pm --- see Jesse's site at: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=16251586 OR visit The Beachland Ballroom page at: http://www.beachlandballroom.com/shows.html Enjoy! Don http://www.epinions.com/content_186044681860

Just a postscript, but Raspberries appearance on the show aired May 4, 1973. Don Krider http://www.epinions.com/content_74683551364

The Raspberries were on Episode 14 of "The Midnight Special" in 1973 performing "I Wanna Be With You" and "Let's Pretend." Neat little history book on the show, "The Midnight Special, 1972-81," (VH1 Books/Pocket Books/Melcher Media, 1997) By B. R. Hunter has a complete episode guide to the show. It was a fun episode hosted by Johnny Nash, which also had songs by Gladys Knight & The Pips, Chi Coltrane, Kenny Rankin and Tom T. Hall. Besides Eric's solo appearances in 1976 and 1977, watch for episode #244 from 1977, hosted by Frankie Valli (of The Four Seasons), who sang Eric's "I Need You" on that episode! Don Krider http://www.epinions.com/content_74683551364

Paulie, I signed the petition --- http://www.petitiononline.com/09272006/petition.html --- after reading your post. Thanks for posting that. I've been a loyal fan of the show from the beginning. "Jericho" has been that rare series that makes you think, has sharp writing and is exciting to watch (a rarity on TV today). My brother and son are big fans as well. Anyone who hasn't seen the show can watch full episodes online at: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/jericho/ or http://www.whodroppedthebomb.com (goes to the CBS page as well, but it's the URL they advertise on TV) Hopefully, they won't cancel it. Don

I always thought that the songs Scott McCarl and Eric Carmen wrote together on the "Starting Over" album were amazing: "Play On," "I Can Hardly Believe You're Mine" and "Cry." If he can't be back in the band for whatever reason, perhaps Eric will consider writing some new songs with Scott for the band. I would love to see that happen. Scott's solo CD, called "Play On" but not including that song, is a stunner, too, for those who haven't picked it up. It includes a wonderful tune by Billy Sullivan and Brent Warren (of The Action, a great Ohio band) called "I'll Be On My Way," Scott's single "In Love Without A Girl," a remake of Raspberries "Nobody Knows" (with Scott singing lead instead of Eric) and a cover of The Beatles' "Yes It Is" that will bring tears to your eyes --- not a bad track among the 17 songs on the CD (which is listed at online retailers like Amazon.Com). I also love Scott's 1998 interview with a Badfinger website at http://www.justeseninc.com/mccarl.htm where he talks about Raspberries considering adding Badfinger's Pete Ham to the Raspberries lineup in 1975 --- according to the interview, Pete Ham committed suicide *before* they could talk about the idea and then both bands split up, but just the thought of songwriters like Pete Ham, Scott McCarl and Eric Carmen writing songs for one band is amazing to think about. May Pete Ham rest in peace. He was a fantastic songwriter, singer and musician. Don Krider http://www.epinions.com/user-don_krider

There's an interesting interview of Clive Davis that reporter Mike Wallace did for CBS-TV's "60 Minutes" in 2004 at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/02/06/60minutes/main598488.shtml Don Krider http://www.epinions.com/user-don_krider

On the Rhapsody site at http://www.rhapsody.com/playlistcentral/playlistdetail?playlistId=13279761 they have Clive Davis' hand-picked Top 31 favorite songs from Arista, J and RCA Records (at #15, "All By Myself" by Eric Carmen). It's a rather strange list of pop, hip-hop and rock picked in celebration of Clive's 40 years in the music industry. There's an interesting biography of Clive at http://www.law.harvard.edu/alumni/bulletin/2001/spring/feature_3-1.html which drops the names of some major artists signed by Clive Davis over the years. But Clive's comments on Eric's investment in "Boats Against The Current" to Crawdaddy magazine (September 1977) at http://www.ericcarmen.com/press/770900a.htm seem to echo what Eric said about Clive earlier: ***************************************************************** ...As it happens, the LP cost $358,000 before final mixing. Eric Carmen chuckles as he takes the heat, reaching for the Dunhills on the coffee table... ...Asked if he was nervous about having invested so much money in the production of this latest album. Davis quipped: "It's his investment, not mine—but he sells a lot of records…I think the FM purists will start to listen to him without seeing him as an AM heavyweight trying to crash their market. Once he has the FM credibility of a Frampton or a Fleetwood Mac, there'll be no complaints about his AM popularity." ***************************************************************** Don Krider

Eric, your comments "from the inside" on the music industry are fascinating, honest and refreshing to read. You have a story to tell and I'm glad you're telling it. It's the kind of warning kids like Kelly Clarkson need before they sign the contracts. In fact, I think you could write a book to educate future musicians on the ins and outs of the industry. Just call it, "Inside Story". Really enjoying your posts. Don Krider

Paulie, I also found it odd that CD Universe is taking pre-orders but Amazon.Com isn't.

Hey Paulie, That link is to a page on the CD Universe site itself showing Allumination Filmworks titles that CD Universe carries, but if you go to Allumination Filmworks own website at http://www.alluminationfilmworks.com I can't find Eric's album(s) listed in their catalog or under "coming soon," which is a bit confusing. I guess someone will let us know the final answer soon. Don

While awaiting a news briefing, in the green room we have The G-City Rockers from Georgia performing their version of Eric Carmen's "That's Rock 'n' Roll" in a video using images from the "South Park" TV series: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=814348454 (that's "South Park" residents Butters on drums and Eric Cartman at the piano, for those not in the know)... Don Krider :-)

...meanwhile, in the EricCarmen.Com Waiting Room, Kenny Loggins and Ann Wilson are stepping up to sing "Almost Paradise" (originally a #7 chart hit in 1984 for Ann Wilson and Mike Reno, written by Eric Carmen and Dean Pitchford for the movie "Footloose," and later a 1989 "Dirty Dancing Live" single by Eric Carmen and Merry Clayton on RCA --- whew!) on a Lifetime TV special in this video at (takes time to load, but it's cool): http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=735521393 Don Krider

CD UNIVERSE and AMAZON.COM both list a CD called "Boats Against The Current/Change Of Heart" by Eric Carmen as being reissued on June 26, 2007 from a label called Allumination Filmworks (oddly, not from Arista Records). Allumination Filmworks is based in California, which means this would be a U. S. release, and they have a website at http://www.alluminationfilmworks.com --- they do reissue CDs and DVDs (from a number of artists, including Ian Hunter), but I can't find a mention of Eric on the site (as of this posting). So, is this for real? Is it a 2-for-1 (2 albums on one CD)? There's no track listings with the album info on the CD Universe and Amazon websites, so if this release is coming, will there be bonus tracks? Anyway, CD Universe is taking pre-orders according to their listing ($13.98 list, with a much lower pre-purchase price, according to that site). Interesting that it would be released the same day as the tentaive release date for Raspberries "Live On The Sunset Strip" from Rykodisc. If this release is actually coming out, then it sounds like the 30th Anniversary of "Boats Against The Current" may be riding the seas pretty well this year. Don Krider http://www.epinions.com/user-don_krider

HT, "My Heart Stops" has made it onto one CD that I'm aware of, Eric Carmen's "Best Selection" released in Japan in 1996 (BMG BVCA-2611) (*not* to be confused with "The Best Of Eric Carmen"). I think "Best Selection" is out-of-print now (Amazon.Com says "unavailable"), but perhaps some online retailer has it available still (it shows up on Ebay every once in a while, too). "Best Selection" also includes Eric's last U. S. Billboard chart single, "Reason To Try" from 1988 (which peaked at #87 and features Mark Hudson of The Hudson Brothers on backing vocals). And good ol' Bernie has the lyrics to "My Heart Stops" here: http://www.ericcarmen.com/music/lyrics11.htm#11 Don Krider http://www.epinions.com/content_349631581828

Hey, Marv, hope I didn't offend you with my post -- I just don't feel that "My Heart Stops" was ever "relegated to the flip side of 'It Hurts...'" like you posted. I did like the purple finger-print designs on the cassette-single box of "My Heart Stops" (might as well toss in that it was a Guy Roche and Eric Carmen production for those who haven't heard it). Don ...who also likes the cardboard box for the 1990 Capitol Records cassette-single (0-7777-44393-4-3) "Go All The Way"/"I Wanna Be With You" with the Capitol Tower building on the front and no photos of the band...