THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

625-Raspberries-Overnight Sensation (Hit Record.)

1974-It has never charted in the UK.

Best Bit-At 4.18. It’s ironic that the main reason that the song never became a hit record in the UK, was because radio stations wouldn’t play songs which were more than three minutes long.

The Raspberries were formed in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, in 1970, from the coming together of two local bands, ‘The Choir,’ and ‘Cyrus Erie.’ In total there have been seven different members come and go, with the ‘classic lineup’ consisting of Eric Carmen, (vocals, guitar, bass, and piano) Wally Bryson, (guitar) Dave Smalley, (guitar, and bass) and Jim Bonfanti (drums.) The group remained active until 1975, but then got together again in 1999, until 2000, with Wally Bryson reforming the band, without Eric Carmen, but with Dave Smalley, and Scott McCarl (bass.) They re-united one final time, with Eric Carmen back in the fold, to tour, between 2004-2005.

The discography of the Raspberries includes four studio Albums released between 1972-1974, and 10 singles released between 1972-1975, there are also at least three official compilation Albums, and two live Albums available. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, four of their singles reached the top 40, with ‘Go All the Way,’ charting the highest at Number 5 in 1972, and ‘Overnight Sensation (Hit Record,’) peaking at Number 18, while in the UK, none of their Albums or singles have ever charted. The majority of the songs recorded by the Raspberries were written by Eric Carmen, and it was resentment to the amount of input Carmen had, which led to the group splitting initially. Eric Carmen went on to have a very successful solo career, issuing six studio Albums between 1975-2000, and reaching the Billboard Hot 100 top 40 with eight of his singles between 1975-1988, with his debut single ‘All by Myself’ peaking the highest at Number 2 in 1975, that track was also his only UK top 40 entry, reaching Number 12. In 1996 the Canadian singer Celine Dion, did a cover version of ‘All by Myself,’ which made Number 4 on Billboard, and Number 6 in the UK. Another successful cover of an Eric Carmen song was by the American singer Sean Cassidy, who took the Carmen penned ‘That’s Rock ‘n’ Roll,’ to Number 3 on Billboard in 1977, but the best known song by Eric Carmen, and probably his biggest earner is ‘Hungry Eyes,’ (1987-Billboard Number 4 & UK Number 82) which has gained notoriety through being one of the most popular tracks that was chosen for the 1987 film ‘Dirty Dancing,’ (see also best songs 439) and it’s soundtrack Album, which has sold in excess of 32 million copies worldwide.

‘Overnight Sensation (Hit Record’) was the first of two singles released from the Raspberries fourth studio Album ‘Starting Over,’ from September 1974. and was written by Eric Carmen, with the production being by Jimmy lenner, who would go on to be the key music producer for the 1987 film ‘Dirty Dancing,’ and also be the co-executive producer of the soundtrack, along with Bob Feiden.

The Raspberries were particularly influenced by the British Rock group ‘The Who,’ (see also best songs 926-306 and 265) with Eric Carmen saying,’Pete Townshend coined the phrase ‘Power Pop’ to define what The Who did. For some reason it didn’t stick to The Who, but it did stick to these groups that came out of the 70’s, that played that kind of melodic songs, with crunchy guitars, and some wild drumming.”Power Pop’ is a subgenre of ‘Rock Music,’ and a form of ‘Pop/Rock,’ based on the early music of bands such as The Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. ‘Power Pop’ incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and cheerful sounding music, with lyrics that create a sense of yearning, longing, despair, or self-empowerment. Along with the Raspberries, other notable 1970’s artists who are considered exponents of ‘Power Pop’ include ‘Badfinger, and Dave Edmunds. The genre continued to flourish in the 1980’s, and 1990’s, and also into the 21st Century.

‘Overnight Sensation (Hit Record’) tells the tale of an aspiring singer/songwriter yearning to have a song of his get played on the radio, and make the charts. Perhaps when Eric Carmen wrote the song, he was despairing of ever breaking through to more substantial recognition. John Lennon (1940-1980) was a fan of the Raspberries, and was present at the recording of the Album ‘Starting Over,’ and although not credited, he is rumoured to have been involved in the mixing and production of ‘Overnight Sensation (Hit Record.’) Interestingly John Lennon called a track on his final Album ‘Double Fantasy,’ from 1980, (‘Just Like) Starting Over.’

‘Well I know it sounds funny, but I’m not in it for the money, no. I don’t need no reputation, and I’m not in it for the show. I just want a hit record, yeah, wanna hear it on the radio. Want a big hit record, yeah, one that everybody’s got to know.’