- Included among the Record Descriptions of Favorite Albums (Part 1).
- Raspberries is the debut album by the Raspberries and includes “Go All the Way” and another charting single, “Don’t Want to Say Goodbye”.
Raspberries – Raspberries (1972): The Cleveland power-pop band called Raspberries had their roots in the Choir, one of the bands that I wrote up in Wikipedia early on, and also in Cyrus Erie, just the third Under Appreciated Rock Band that I wrote about on Facebook. When Eric Carmen, a fan of the band in its early years, auditioned to join the Choir, he was rejected and instead became a member of Cyrus Erie (which was named for a brand of tractor, Bucyrus Erie). Eric Carmen turned his hurt feelings into revenge by stealing away their best musicians; and before long, Cyrus Erie was widely regarded as the best band in the Cleveland area.
The tug of war between the two bands went on for a while; but ultimately and ironically, the Raspberries were formed by Eric Carmen with three core members of the Choir: Wally Bryson, Dave Smalley, and Jim Bonfanti. The Raspberries released several albums in the early 1970’s and had a number of hits, notably their million-selling #5 hit “Go All the Way”. The band is remembered for their intelligent pop craftsmanship; and they are cited as influences by artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, Paul Stanley of KISS, Tom Petty, Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses, Jack Bruce of Cream, Ringo Starr, and Courtney Love of Hole. The Raspberries reformed in 2004 and were the first performers when the House of Blues opened a venue in Cleveland. Raspberries is the debut album by the Raspberries and includes “Go All the Way” and another charting single, “Don’t Want to Say Goodbye”. The album featured a raspberry-scented scratch-and-sniff label on the front cover, a relatively new invention at that point in time.