ERIC CARMEN FOR THE PIPE ORGAN

OK - on a secular note...

Another thing I've mentioned a couple of times over the past couple of years is (in my secular life) my being a big fan of the 70's power-pop band, Raspberries. Those who know the Raspberries know also of their frontman, Eric Carmen, maker of such hits as All by Myself, Never Gonna Fall in Love Again, and Hungry Eyes.

Now, Raspberries' music often was influenced by bands like the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Small Faces, and the Who. Shortly after the band split in 1975 (note: they've been reunited since 2004), Eric Carmen embarked on a solo career. On his self-titled debut album, he showed signs of yet another influence - this one of the classical kind: Sergei Rachmaninoff. In fact, at least four songs on Eric's first album have traces of Rachmaninoff in it - All by Myself, Never Gonna Fall in Love Again, Last Night, and My Girl. Not to mention, the first two titles now often carry the credit "Carmen and Rachmaninoff" with them.

I got to hear pieces of Symphony #2 and sure enough - I found the very passages that inspired Eric in his music. Just the other day, I stumbled onto a YouTube video of organist Jeffrey Smith playing the back half of the Adagio from Symphony #2 (Rachmaninoff, Opus 27) on the Schoenstein organ at St. Paul's Anglo-Catholic Church on K Street in Washington, DC. Within it, you can hear the very melody that inspired Never Gonna Fall in Love Again.

Here is that YouTube video. Enjoy!
Peace,
BMP