The Raspberries
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The Raspberries are a power pop/pop rock band from Cleveland, Ohio in the United States. They had a run of success in the early 1970s with their crisp pop sound that drew influence from the British Invasion era—especially The Beatles, The Who, The Hollies, and The Small Faces—and its mod sensibility.
The group was formed in Mentor, OH, in early 1970 by singer-songwriter Eric Carmen and drummer Jim Bonfanti, local pop heroes thanks to the respective tenures in the hugely popular bands Cyrus Erie and the Choir; guitarist Wally Bryson and bassist John Aleksic (both Choir veterans as well) completed the original lineup… , which made its live debut in mid-October. With their short hair, matching suits, and Beatlesque sound, the Raspberries ran in direct opposition to the prevailing hard rock mentality of the Cleveland scene, but after just a handful of gigs, the band was among the city’s most popular live acts. However, after cutting their first demo session, Aleksic left the lineup in March of 1971, and with the addition of rhythm guitarist Dave Smalley, Carmen assumed bass duties. The Raspberries’ demo tape ultimately found its way to producer Jimmy Ienner, and in the wake of a major-label bidding war, the band signed to Capitol, issuing their self-titled debut LP (complete with a raspberry-scented scratch-and-sniff cover sticker) in the spring of 1972. The debut single “Don’t Want to Say Goodbye,” stalled, but the follow-up, “Go All the Way,” a magnificent fusion of Who-inspired guitar snarl and Beach Boys-styled vocal harmonies, went on to sell over a million copies on its way to cracking the Top Five.
The group was formed in Mentor, OH, in early 1970 by singer-songwriter Eric Carmen and drummer Jim Bonfanti, local pop heroes thanks to the respective tenures in the hugely popular bands Cyrus Erie and the Choir; guitarist Wally Bryson and bassist John Aleksic (both Choir veterans as well) completed the original lineup… , which made its live debut in mid-October. With their short hair, matching suits, and Beatlesque sound, the Raspberries ran in direct opposition to the prevailing hard rock mentality of the Cleveland scene, but after just a handful of gigs, the band was among the city’s most popular live acts. However, after cutting their first demo session, Aleksic left the lineup in March of 1971, and with the addition of rhythm guitarist Dave Smalley, Carmen assumed bass duties. The Raspberries’ demo tape ultimately found its way to producer Jimmy Ienner, and in the wake of a major-label bidding war, the band signed to Capitol, issuing their self-titled debut LP (complete with a raspberry-scented scratch-and-sniff cover sticker) in the spring of 1972. The debut single “Don’t Want to Say Goodbye,” stalled, but the follow-up, “Go All the Way,” a magnificent fusion of Who-inspired guitar snarl and Beach Boys-styled vocal harmonies, went on to sell over a million copies on its way to cracking the Top Five.
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Shoutbox
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finslaw wrote:
I am amazed how under listened this band is. Compared to Big Star no one seems to care. I wonder why?
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candlaero wrote:
I prefer it with a 'The'
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Lowbacca wrote:
I just realized their official name is Raspberries, without "The"....[3]
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promisedeyes wrote:
Eric Carmen was more McCartney than McCartney.[2] I love this group so much!
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lovemusic423 wrote:
One of my all time fav groups!
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BBB63 wrote:
"so underrated it makes me sick" +1... Go All The Way is among the very best power pop songs ever to appear on vinyl and Tonight and Nobody Knows are damn good too.
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McCoyMcFlyer wrote:
I just realized their official name is Raspberries, without "The"....[2]
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johnnycool2002 wrote:
I just realized their official name is Raspberries, without "The". I'm going to make the corrections in my library. I suggest everyone do the same, so we can get the right name on here.
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FaustoRocks wrote:
so great !! so underrated !!
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docmoondog wrote:
Eric Carmen was more McCartney than McCartney.
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Saveall wrote:
Great radio rock...and it still is.
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renatolpb9 wrote:
''Don't Want to Say Goodbye'' and ''Go All the Way''... Great songs! :D
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Lurholm wrote:
The drummer of The Rhinos once described the drum fill at the end of "Overnite Sensation" as "the sound of refrigerators tumbling down a staircase". And he was right. One of the best drum fills ever recorded, IMO.
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Puppet421 wrote:
I have to thank Last.FM for helping me find this band. I had heard Go All The Way and I Wanna Be With You a long time ago, but could never find them as I didn't know who they were by. I was recommended this band due to liking Big Star.
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GlamFool wrote:
motley crue covered tonight, its pretty good!
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YControl755 wrote:
Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs recorded a cover of "Go All the Way" for their forthcoming 70s covers album, "Under the Covers 2." Should be great. =-)
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trackaghost wrote:
So, so awesome
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mathcore16 wrote:
so underrated it makes me sick
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alnage wrote:
I want to go all the way
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Corvair1963 wrote:
"Heavily influenced by the British Invasion era..." Oh just come out and say it: these guys were channeling the early Beatles big time!! Not that there's anything wrong with that. Listening to "Let's Pretend," it seems that Eric Carmen thought he was the second coming of McCartney.
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I Can Remember - Raspberries…
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Don´t want to say goodbye - 1972
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Nobody Knows 1972
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Tonight
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Recent Activity
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Soydberg, rpronan, crawcoil and 5 other people added The Raspberries to their libraries. yesterday morning
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sossna updated the Swedish wiki page for The Raspberries. (diff) last month
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sossna updated the Swedish wiki page for The Raspberries. (diff) last month
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sossna created the Swedish wiki page for The Raspberries. last month
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nooneastern tagged The Raspberries with food name, the names, male vocalists and one other tag. last month
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rsauce2, greenbows, mrandysmiley and 5 other people added The Raspberries to their libraries. last month
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schweet tagged The Raspberries with ‘i love the oldies’. last month
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Balletrocker, Rahzooni, NYCOPYGUY and 23 other people added The Raspberries to their libraries. last month
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trishmartin tagged The Raspberries with ‘pop’. November 2011
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trishmartin and spinner62 added The Raspberries to their libraries. November 2011
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