Complete List Of The Raspberries Songs From A to Z

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Raspberries emerged from Cleveland’s unusually fertile late-1960s rock scene, bringing together musicians whose earlier groups included Cyrus Erie and the Choir. The classic lineup of Eric Carmen, Wally Bryson, Jim Bonfanti, and Dave Smalley combined British Invasion melody, hard-edged guitars, carefully arranged harmonies, and an unapologetically clean-cut presentation that contrasted sharply with much of the era’s rock culture.

The band’s self-titled debut arrived in 1972 after producer Jimmy Ienner helped bring its demo to Capitol Records. Raspberries featured a raspberry-scented scratch-and-sniff cover sticker and reached number 51 on the Billboard album chart. Its defining single, “Go All the Way,” climbed to number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the group’s signature recording, while “Don’t Want to Say Goodbye” offered an early look at the ballad writing that remained important throughout the catalog.

Fresh followed later in 1972 and became the band’s highest-charting album, reaching number 36 in the United States. “I Wanna Be with You” and “Let’s Pretend” extended the group’s run of radio success, while album tracks including “If You Change Your Mind,” “Nobody Knows,” and “Drivin’ Around” demonstrated how effectively Raspberries could move between exuberant rock and carefully constructed pop.

The third album, Side 3, appeared in 1973 with a tougher sound. “Tonight,” “I’m a Rocker,” “Ecstasy,” “On the Beach,” and “Money Down” placed more emphasis on the band’s guitar attack without abandoning the vocal arrangements and melodic detail that distinguished its earlier records. Internal tensions nevertheless intensified, and Smalley and Bonfanti left before the next album.

Scott McCarl and Michael McBride joined Carmen and Bryson for Starting Over in 1974. The album included “Play On,” “Rose Coloured Glasses,” “Cry,” and “Overnight Sensation (Hit Record),” which reached number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. Raspberries ended their original run in 1975, leaving four studio albums that became increasingly influential as later musicians and critics embraced the power pop label.

A partial reunion produced the six-song Refreshed EP in 2000. Recorded without Carmen, it featured Bryson, Smalley, and McCarl on new songs including “Would You Say Yes Again?,” “When Is Your Dream?,” “Pop Teasers,” “Someone Like You,” “Love in My Eyes,” and “Rock ’N’ Roll Kids.”

The classic Carmen-Bryson-Bonfanti-Smalley lineup reunited at Cleveland’s House of Blues in 2004 and continued with additional performances in 2005. Those shows led to Live on Sunset Strip in 2007 and Pop Art Live in 2017. Along with live versions of the band’s original songs, the reunion releases preserved performances of material associated with the Beatles, the Who, the Searchers, and the Choir.

Eric Carmen died in March 2024 at age 74. That August, Cleveland and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honored Carmen and Raspberries with the city’s Music Keynote to the City, while August 11, Carmen’s birthday, was declared Eric Carmen Day. The recognition reflected how strongly the band’s brief original career continued to resonate more than five decades after “Go All the Way” first reached the charts.