The Raspberries were an American pop rock band formed in 1970 from Cleveland, Ohio. They had a run of success in the early 1970s music scene with their pop rock sound, which AllMusic later described as featuring "exquisitely crafted melodies and achingly gorgeous harmonies." The members were known for their clean-cut public image and matching suits, which brought them teenybopper attention as well as scorn from some mainstream media outlets as "uncool". The group drew influence from the British Invasion era—especially the Beatles, the Who, the Hollies, and the Small Faces—and its mod sensibility. In both the US and the UK, the Raspberries helped pioneer the power pop music style that took off after the group disbanded. They also have had a following among professional musicians such as Jack Bruce, Ringo Starr, and Courtney Love.
Eric Howard Carmen was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of the Raspberries, with whom he recorded the hit "Go All the Way" and four albums. He embarked on a solo career in 1975 and had global success with "All by Myself", "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", "She Did It", "Hungry Eyes", and "Make Me Lose Control". In later years, he toured with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band before reforming the Raspberries in 2004.
Side 3 is the third album from the Raspberries, released in 1973. The album cover is diecut like a basket of Raspberries, with the group's name placed at the top of the LP sleeve. Three singles were released from the album: "Tonight" / "Hard to Get Over a Heartbreak", which reached number 69 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 37 on the Cash Box chart; "I'm a Rocker", which reached number 94 on Billboard and number 75 on Cash Box; and "Ecstasy", which did not chart on Billboard but reached number 116 on Cash Box. The album itself reached number 138 on the US albums chart.
Starting Over is the fourth and final studio album by the 1970s power pop band Raspberries. It peaked at #143 on the Billboard pop album chart in 1974. Rolling Stone named it its rock record album of the year for 1974. The LP generated the #18 Billboard pop single "Overnight Sensation ", while a second single, "Cruisin' Music", did not chart. This was the first album by the Raspberries to feature songs with profanity. Those songs were "Starting Over", which featured the word "fucking" once, and the song "Party’s Over", which featured the word "shit" twice.
Wallace Carter Bryson is an American guitarist, best remembered for his time with the power-pop group Raspberries, famous for their hit "Go All The Way". After the Raspberries split in 1974, Bryson co-formed the power pop group Fotomaker and became one of the leading members of the group.
The Kingston Trio At Large is the American folk music group the Kingston Trio's fourth album, released in 1959. It was the Trio's first stereo studio album and one of the four they would simultaneously have on Billboard's Top 10 albums during that year. It spent fifteen weeks at #1. The single "M. T. A." b/w "All My Sorrows" spent eleven weeks on the singles charts and peaked at number 15. The Trio's second single that same year, "The Tijuana Jail" b/w "Oh Cindy", was recorded during The Kingston Trio At Large sessions. It peaked at number 12.
The Kingston Trio is the Kingston Trio's debut album, released in 1958. It entered the album charts in late October 1958, where it resided for nearly four years, spending one week at #1 in early 1959. It was awarded an RIAA gold album on January 19, 1961.
String Along is an album by the Kingston Trio, released in 1960. It was their fifth studio album in a row to reach number one on the Billboard charts and remained there for ten weeks. String Along received an RIAA gold certification in 1962, a year after Dave Guard had left the group. It was the last LP of the Trio to reach the number one spot. Two singles, "Bad Man's Blunder" b/w "The Escape of Old John Webb" and "Everglades" b/w "This Mornin', This Evenin', So Soon", were released. Both were the last singles of the "Guard years" Trio to chart, "Bad Man Blunder" the last to reach the Top 40.
Make Way is the ninth album by the American folk music group the Kingston Trio, released in 1961. It reached number two on the Billboard charts, despite there being no US singles released from the album..
Goin' Places is the tenth album by the American folk music group The Kingston Trio, released in 1961. It peaked at number three on the Billboard charts and spent 41 weeks in the Top 40. The lead-off single was "You're Gonna Miss Me" which failed to chart. Its B-side was "En El Agua" from the earlier Make Way album. Goin' Places was the last album recorded with founder Dave Guard as a member.
"Go All the Way" is a song written by Eric Carmen of American rock group the Raspberries, from their 1972 album Raspberries. Released as a single in July 1972, the song reached the Top 5 on three principal US charts: number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 4 on Cashbox, and number 3 on Record World. The single sold more than 1.3 million copies, earning the band their only certified Gold Record. It was their second single release and their biggest US hit.
Capitol Collectors Series is a compilation album of the American folk music group the Kingston Trio's recordings from their time with the Capitol Records label. It contains songs from both the Dave Guard and John Stewart trios. All the songs included were released as singles by the group with two having never appeared on any of their principal recordings.
Raspberries' Best Featuring Eric Carmen, more commonly known as Raspberries' Best, is a 1976 compilation album by Raspberries. The album contained songs from each of the group's four LP's, which were recorded between 1972 and 1974. Most of the tracks on this LP were among their seven charting hits. The group had already disbanded when this compilation was released.
"Let's Pretend" is a song by Raspberries, released in March 1973 as the second single from their second LP, Fresh. It was written by band leader Eric Carmen, who also provided the lead vocals.
"I Wanna Be with You" is a song by Raspberries, released in November 1972 as the first single from their second LP, Fresh. It was written by band leader Eric Carmen, who also provided the lead vocals. It became their second greatest US hit.
"It's Cold Outside" is a song by the American garage rock band the Choir, written by member Dann Klawon, and first released on Canadian-American Records in September 1966. It was later re-released in 1967 on Roulette, with Dann's last name incorrectly spelled "Klawson". The song is considered a classic of the musical genre of garage rock, and became the group's only national hit. The song has since been featured on several compilation albums. At the time of the recording, the band consisted of: Wally Bryson - lead guitar, Dave Smalley - guitar/vocals, Dave Burke - bass, Jim Bonfanti - drums, and Dann Klawon - multiple instruments/vocals. The group changed members over the years, but Bryson, Smalley and Bonfanti would team up with songwriter Eric Carmen a few years later, and form the power pop group Raspberries.
"Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" is a hit single by Raspberries, released in September 1974, on the Capitol label. It was written by band leader Eric Carmen, who also provided the lead vocals. It was the first single release from their fourth and final LP, Starting Over.
"Don't Want to Say Goodbye" is a song written by Eric Carmen and Wally Bryson that was first released on the Raspberries 1972 debut album Raspberries. It was released as the first single from the album and reached No. 86 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Ecstasy" is a song written by Eric Carmen that was first released by the Raspberries on their 1973 album Side 3. It was also released as a single but did not chart.
Greatest is a 2005 compilation album by Raspberries. The album contains 20 songs, 4 to 6 from each of the group's four albums. Most of the songs on Greatest had been included on previous Raspberries' compilation albums, but the songs on Greatest were remastered using 24-bit technology, and the album included liner notes quoting three members of the band – Eric Carmen, Wally Bryson and Jim Bonfanti discussing each song.
