Eric Carmen, who became iconic as a frontman for the Raspberries in the 1970s and also had a strong solo career with hits "All By Myself" and "Hungry Eyes," died in his sleep over the weekend at age 74. 

“It is with tremendous sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of Eric Carmen,” his wife, Amy Carmen, wrote on the singer’s website. “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.'”

The last quote came from the song “Love Is All That Matters,” from his 1977 solo album “Boats Against the Current.”

No cause of death or exact date has been announced so far.

Starting out

With the Raspberries, Carmen had such Beatle-esque hits as “Go All the Way,” as well as “I Wanna Be With You,” “Let’s Pretend,” “Tonight” and “Overnight Sensation.”

The band's sound was a counterpoint to the heavier, progressive rock and glam rock trends of the time.

Carmen got his start as a child musician with classical training, then entered the Cleveland rock scene where he began to make his mark.

Because the scene was limited to certain players that basically rotated to different bands, Carmen was able to form the Raspberries with relative ease since all the players had been rotated through for years at that point.

Its success was short-lived, however, and it broke up in 1974.

Making a comeback

Carmen's biggest solo hits were "Hungry Eyes" from the "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack in 1987 and "All By Myself," which was featured in Nicole Kidman's "To Die For" and redone by Celine Dion in the mid-1990s.

In 2000, Carmen joined Ringo Starr's All Star Tour and sang many of his hits with the Raspberries as well as solo hits.

"Go All the Way" made a big comeback when it was featured on Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack.

Carmen got a lot of pushback for his conservative political views and stopped corresponding on social media in 2016, around the time he married wife Amy.

His contributions to music were great despite his politics, or maybe because of it.