Paul Stanley, Steven Van Zandt Mourn Eric Carmen’s Passing
Last night, the family of power-pop and easy-listening singer Eric Carmen announced that he had passed away over the weekend. On his official website, his wife, Amy Carmen, wrote, “It is with tremendous sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of Eric Carmen. Our sweet, loving and talented Eric passed away in his sleep, over the weekend. It brought him great joy to know, that for decades, his music touched so many and will be his lasting legacy. Please respect the family’s privacy as we mourn our enormous loss. ‘Love Is All That Matters… Faithful and Forever.'” He was 74. No cause of death has been announced.
“Love is all that matters… faithful and forever,” is a quote from Carmen’s 1977 song, “Love Is All That Matters.”
Eric Carmen’s Career
In the 1970s, Carmen was the frontman for a Beatles-influenced power-pop band, the Rasberries. Their hits included “Go All The Way” and “Overnight Senstation.” After the band broke up, Carmen became a solo artist, scoring a massive hit with “All By Myself” in 1975. Decades later, in 1996, Celine Dion covered the song. Carmen enjoyed another massive hit with “Hungry Eyes” from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack in 1987.
In 2000, Carmen had a bit of a full-circle moment when he joined Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band, performing Beatles songs with the band’s drummer. More recently, the Rasberries had a pop culture moment when “Go All The Way” was used on the very popular soundtrack of 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
After the news of Carmen’s passing was made public, Paul Stanley of KISS tweeted, “Awful News. Eric Carmen has died. Although known to many for writing radio hits like “All By Myself” and others, Eric was a true rocker at heart. His voice had elements of McCartney and Steve Marriott. The Raspberries did shows with us. A killer band live & I loved their records.”
Steven Van Zandt of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band tweeted, “Damn. Another friend gone. RIP Eric Carmen. The Raspberries set a production standard we’re still trying to reach. Deepest love and condolences to Amy and the family.”
Celebrity Deaths 2024: Musicians, Entertainers & Cultural Figures We Lost
We have already had to say goodbye to many people in 2024 from the worlds of entertainment, sports, politics and beyond.
Among the untimely deaths in 2024 was actor Carl Weathers. The actor best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky franchise died on February 1 at the age of 76. Weathers died in his sleep, but a cause of death wasn’t disclosed.
Weathers also notably starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987’s Predator. Schwarzenegger said in a statement via social media following his death, “Carl Weathers will always be a legend. An extraordinary athlete, a fantastic actor, and a great person. We couldn’t have made Predator without him. And we certainly wouldn’t have had such a wonderful time making it. Every minute with him – on set and off – was pure joy. He was the type of friend who pushes you to be your best just to keep up with him. I’ll miss him, and my thoughts are with his family.”
Sylvester Stallone released an emotional video statement honoring Weathers. Stallone said, in part, “Today is an incredibly sad day for me. I’m so torn up, I can’t even tell you. I’m just trying to hold it in because Carl Weathers was such an integral part of my life, my success — everything about it, I give him incredible credit and kudos. Because when he walked into that room and I saw him for the first time, I saw greatness. But I didn’t realize how great. I never could’ve accomplished what we did with ‘Rocky’ without him.”
Toby Keith is another major death in 2024. The country star died on February 1 at age 62 following a battle with stomach cancer. Countless artists from the country world shared tributes to Keith. Among them was Reba McEntire, who shared, “Toby and I are both from Oklahoma and very proud of our Oklahoma heritage. Toby worked very hard to make a mark in the country music business and did a great job doing that. I am very proud of him, and I hope he rests in peace. I was very honored to get to work with Toby and be a part of the era of country music he was in. We’ll sure miss him.”
An unlikely tribute to Keith came from someone who was an unlikely friend: Stephen Colbert. Colbert took a moment during The Late Show to honor his friend, whom he first met when he was the host of The Colbert Report. Colbert said, at the time, there was “a not-so-helpful legend that I had knives out for some of my guests, and it didn’t help that at the beginning, I sometimes did.”
Much to Colbert’s surprise, he and Keith hit it off. He noted, “That day, Toby taught me not to pre-judge my guests and to have my intentions but to keep my eyes open to the reality of who they are. For that lesson and a lot of other things, I am always gonna be grateful.”
Scroll through the gallery below to see the musicians, celebrities and other cultural figures we’ve lost, so far, in 2024.
Brian has been working in pop culture and media for about three decades: he’s worked at MTV, VH1, SiriusXM, CBS and Loudwire. Besides working as a writer and an editor-in-chief, he’s also appeared on air as a pundit, guested on radio shows and hosted podcasts. Over the years, he’s interviewed the surviving members of Led Zeppelin, the members of U2, Beyonce, Pink, Usher, Stevie Nicks, Lorde… and is grateful to have had the chance to interview Joe Strummer of the Clash and Tom Petty.