Lew Bundles Posted August 30, 2022 Share Posted August 30, 2022 Who was the one that actually pulled the plug on the Raspberries? And how? Was there a group meeting to call it quits? Was it a result of Wally and Eric no longer on speaking terms and it dissolved on its own? Had Wally officially quit earlier when the band filled out its commitments as a three piece? Was there a “Yoko” or Allen Klein outside interference? I’m sure it’s revealed in “ the book”, but a quick refresher would be cool… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Benfer Posted August 30, 2022 Share Posted August 30, 2022 Well, my take on it from the book is that everyone was miserable towards the end....nobody more than Wally. Eric and Wally had the fight in the parking lot and Wally's attitude deteriorated. He was playing all kinds of crazy stuff on stage which was making the other band members angry. Then he didn't show up for a few gigs and Eric got up on stage one night and announced that this was the Raspberries last show. Who knows if Wally would have ever returned if the they had gone on. That is my summary and take of it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie B Trask Posted August 30, 2022 Share Posted August 30, 2022 Remember the gigs they were playing in 1975, They deserved better than playing Rutgers, The breakup was inevitable regardless of who pulled the trigger on it. Not to take away from Wallys talent but Eric was the most important piece of the band and had the most to gain from the split. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyletx500 Posted August 30, 2022 Share Posted August 30, 2022 From what I've read and heard, Craig's account seems on the money. Eric was, for better or for worse, the biggest talent in the group (in terms of vocals and songwriting prowess). In situations like those, the rest of the band has to decide if they want to ride the wave and be content playing backup, or leave the group... Seems like a lot of times, members choose the latter and the band is forced to dissolve. I'm sure with Eric and Wally it was a difficult relationship, since they were so close, and I get the feeling the idea was to treat each other as equals. But singing and songwriting is paramount, and whilst Wally was a fantastic guitarist, he didn't have the vocal or compositional chops to stand equal with Eric... which I'm sure caused a lot of tension. It may sound harsh, but Eric's talents allowed him the ability to cultivate a career with or without the Raspberries backing him up. There's plenty of top-notch players and musicians, but being a true artist, the all-in-one package so to speak, is a rare gift. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Benfer Posted August 30, 2022 Share Posted August 30, 2022 From Marathon Man, this from Wally "We had decided that the band was going to break up after we got rid of Jeff Hutton. We were just gonna end it. I couldn't make it through the last few gigs. Towards the very end of the band, I was burnt, fried and depressed. My marriage was gone and it dawned on me that the band was gonna be over too. I didn't know what I was going to do. It got to the point where I couldn't sleep. I went without sleep for a couple of months." Jeff Hutton was the side man they brought in for the Starting Over album. I'm not sure what led to them getting rid of him unless it was for financial reasons or something else. I'm also not sure exactly when they got rid of him. So by Wally's account, it seemed like it had already been decided at some point during their tour of the album that they were breaking up. Eric make's it sound more like he was holding on to the hope that they (Wally) could work things out, but finally he pulled the plug by making the announcement at the last show. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Posted August 30, 2022 Share Posted August 30, 2022 I remember Eric reflecting back at some point and realizing that all bands go through the same stuff that they did. They just couldn't weather the storm. At the time the break-up happened I got some inside info from Capitol records that I'm not privy to share. Suffice to say someone's health was at stake. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Benfer Posted August 30, 2022 Share Posted August 30, 2022 Also from Marathon Man, Eric says "In the movie version, I wish Wally were there and that he had this epiphany during that last show and decided to change so that we could go on and realize our dreams. But that didn't happen." Like I said, Eric still had hope until the very end. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie B Trask Posted August 30, 2022 Share Posted August 30, 2022 Who was their manager from 1972-1975 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew C. Clark Posted August 31, 2022 Share Posted August 31, 2022 Despite poor album sales, "Starting Over" went to # 143 (Billboard Top 200 Album Charts) in November of 1974. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda B Posted August 31, 2022 Share Posted August 31, 2022 Can anyone elaborate what happened "in the parking lot" between Wally and Eric? ...as I do not have the book Marathon Man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyletx500 Posted August 31, 2022 Share Posted August 31, 2022 3 hours ago, Rhonda B said: Can anyone elaborate what happened "in the parking lot" between Wally and Eric? ...as I do not have the book Marathon Man. The short version is that the tensions between Wally and Eric had reached critical mass, and basically they had a disagreement that turned into a physical altercation; Wally dragged Eric by the hair outside and swung him into a tree. According to the book Scott McCarl had to hit Wally with his gig bag and knock the wind out of him to get him to stop. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda B Posted August 31, 2022 Share Posted August 31, 2022 Holy @#$%! That wasn't just a little disagreement ..someone could have pressed charges, but didn't I guess. Thanks Kyle. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Benfer Posted August 31, 2022 Share Posted August 31, 2022 22 hours ago, Vinnie B Trask said: Who was their manager from 1972-1975 It appears that they fired Al Ross around the time of Side 3 and hired Stan Poses. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie B Trask Posted August 31, 2022 Share Posted August 31, 2022 I ask this because I often wondered if better management would have changed the final outcome of the Raspberries. If they were playing better venues would that have changed the overall mood of the band. maybe not! It is possible. They definitely got some great exposure on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert. Like many, my first exposure to the Raspberries was on the AM and FM at times, radio with GATW. The song caught my attention for several reasons. First, the beautiful melody during the verse matched with unassuming but suggestive lyrics. The 2nd was how well the vocals were on this track. Lead and back up!! But to be honest that was the last I heard from them. They only played GATW on New York radio at the time. Eric's next exposure to me was the release of All By Myself. I was impressed again on how well written the song was and Eric's tremendous vocal on it!! Enough ranting!! I feel like James there for a moment. The point is I wonder if things would have been different with great management. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raspbernie Posted August 31, 2022 Share Posted August 31, 2022 7 hours ago, Rhonda B said: Holy @#$%! That wasn't just a little disagreement ..someone could have pressed charges, but didn't I guess. It was the '70s, Rhonda. Nobody pressed charges back then. You got your ass kicked, you just took it. 😚 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lew Bundles Posted September 1, 2022 Author Share Posted September 1, 2022 Stan Poses was a player in the Badfinger debacle… https://rockandrolltruestories.com/tragic-story-badfinger/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott Posted September 5, 2022 Share Posted September 5, 2022 On 8/31/2022 at 4:44 PM, Raspbernie said: It was the '70s, Rhonda. Nobody pressed charges back then. You got your ass kicked, you just took it. 😚 You are 100% correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott Posted September 5, 2022 Share Posted September 5, 2022 I can understand the first breakup being young and prideful. What gets me is the reunion in 2004, those guys rocked it! For some of the same problems to come up again some 30 yrs later is just dumbfounded. If they wanted to keep touring it should have been equal pay. Seems like they could have worked it out if they wanted to. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie B Trask Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 It was John in Sept 1969 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyletx500 Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 On 9/5/2022 at 2:17 PM, scott said: I can understand the first breakup being young and prideful. What gets me is the reunion in 2004, those guys rocked it! For some of the same problems to come up again some 30 yrs later is just dumbfounded. If they wanted to keep touring it should have been equal pay. Seems like they could have worked it out if they wanted to. It is sad they couldn't reconcile their differences; what a wasted opportunity to regroup and make some more great music. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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