Biography
The Raspberries emerged in early 1970 in Mentor, Ohio, when singer-songwriter Eric Carmen and drummer Jim Bonfanti—already local favorites from their stints in Cyrus Erie and the Choir—decided to form a new group. Guitarist Wally Bryson and bassist John Aleksic, both Choir alumni, rounded out the original quartet, which took the stage for the first time in mid-October. Sporting short hair, coordinated suits, and a Beatlesque approach, the band stood apart from Cleveland’s dominant hard-rock ethos yet quickly became one of the city’s most in-demand live acts. After recording an initial demo, Aleksic departed in March 1971; rhythm guitarist Dave Smalley joined, and Carmen moved to bass.
The demo reached producer Jimmy Ienner, triggering a fierce bidding war that ended with a Capitol Records contract. Their self-titled debut album, distinguished by a raspberry-scented scratch-and-sniff sticker on the cover, appeared in spring 1972. While the first single, “Don’t Want to Say Goodbye,” failed to chart, the follow-up “Go All the Way”—a striking blend of Who-style guitar bite and Beach Boys-inspired vocal harmonies—sold more than a million copies and reached the Top Five. Before cutting the second album, Fresh, released later that year, Carmen and Smalley exchanged guitar and bass roles; the record yielded further hits with “I Wanna Be with You” and the melodic “Let’s Pretend,” cementing the group’s reputation among critics. Internal friction, fueled mainly by Carmen’s dominant songwriting role and the resulting eclipse of contributions from Bryson and Smalley, continued to mount, prompting the harder-edged 1973 release Side 3, whose opening track “Tonight” exemplified its rawer attack.
Side 3 never entered the Top 100, and after a triumphant Carnegie Hall performance Smalley and Bonfanti quit to launch their own band, Dynamite. Bassist Scott McCarl and former Cyrus Erie drummer Michael McBride stepped in. The 1974 album Starting Over maintained the tougher direction and delivered the group’s last major hit, “Overnight Sensation (Hit Record).” A backstage argument between Carmen and Bryson soon led to Bryson’s exit; reduced to a trio, the Raspberries dissolved in 1975. Carmen began a solo career, enlisting McBride for his self-titled debut album, which featured the number-two smash “All by Myself.” He remained absent from the upper charts for more than a decade until the Dirty Dancing soundtrack supplied the 1987 hit “Hungry Eyes,” followed a year later by the number-three single “Make Me Lose Control.” Bryson briefly resurfaced in Tattoo before joining power-pop outfit Fotomaker for three late-’70s albums.
In March 1999 the four original members—Carmen, Bryson, Smalley, and Bonfanti—reconvened for the first time in years, prompting reunion speculation. Months afterward, three of them performed together at a Cleveland celebration for rock journalist Jane Scott’s 80th birthday, after which Billboard confirmed plans for a full Raspberries tour that ultimately never occurred. Carmen persisted with solo recording, while Bryson, Smalley, and later member Scott McCarl revived the band as a trio and released the album Refreshed in 2000.
The demo reached producer Jimmy Ienner, triggering a fierce bidding war that ended with a Capitol Records contract. Their self-titled debut album, distinguished by a raspberry-scented scratch-and-sniff sticker on the cover, appeared in spring 1972. While the first single, “Don’t Want to Say Goodbye,” failed to chart, the follow-up “Go All the Way”—a striking blend of Who-style guitar bite and Beach Boys-inspired vocal harmonies—sold more than a million copies and reached the Top Five. Before cutting the second album, Fresh, released later that year, Carmen and Smalley exchanged guitar and bass roles; the record yielded further hits with “I Wanna Be with You” and the melodic “Let’s Pretend,” cementing the group’s reputation among critics. Internal friction, fueled mainly by Carmen’s dominant songwriting role and the resulting eclipse of contributions from Bryson and Smalley, continued to mount, prompting the harder-edged 1973 release Side 3, whose opening track “Tonight” exemplified its rawer attack.
Side 3 never entered the Top 100, and after a triumphant Carnegie Hall performance Smalley and Bonfanti quit to launch their own band, Dynamite. Bassist Scott McCarl and former Cyrus Erie drummer Michael McBride stepped in. The 1974 album Starting Over maintained the tougher direction and delivered the group’s last major hit, “Overnight Sensation (Hit Record).” A backstage argument between Carmen and Bryson soon led to Bryson’s exit; reduced to a trio, the Raspberries dissolved in 1975. Carmen began a solo career, enlisting McBride for his self-titled debut album, which featured the number-two smash “All by Myself.” He remained absent from the upper charts for more than a decade until the Dirty Dancing soundtrack supplied the 1987 hit “Hungry Eyes,” followed a year later by the number-three single “Make Me Lose Control.” Bryson briefly resurfaced in Tattoo before joining power-pop outfit Fotomaker for three late-’70s albums.
In March 1999 the four original members—Carmen, Bryson, Smalley, and Bonfanti—reconvened for the first time in years, prompting reunion speculation. Months afterward, three of them performed together at a Cleveland celebration for rock journalist Jane Scott’s 80th birthday, after which Billboard confirmed plans for a full Raspberries tour that ultimately never occurred. Carmen persisted with solo recording, while Bryson, Smalley, and later member Scott McCarl revived the band as a trio and released the album Refreshed in 2000.
Albums
