I love power pop, and there’s no better power pop than the power pop produced by Eric Carmen and the Raspberries. Case in point: today’s classic song of the day, “I Wanna Be With You.” This tasty little piece of hyper-melodic songwriting, released in November of 1972, peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #10 on the Cash Box Top 100.
Power pop is an upbeat blend of rock and pop, obviously influenced by the Beatles, characterized by catchy melodies with great hooks, tight vocal harmonies, and an unrelenting ’60s-like beat. Most folks consider the Raspberries to be among the top three power pop bands, the others being Badfinger and Big Star. Obviously, there are other bands and individuals who produced notable power pop songs (most recently Weezer and Fountains of Wayne, two of my favorites), but these three groups were the most consistent and the most prolific in that genre.
Eric Carmen was in a Cleveland group named Cyrus Erie, which merged with another local group called the Choir in 1970. Carmen was the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, and also the group’s primary songwriter. He penned hits like “Go All the Way” and “Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)” for the group. After the Raspberries broke up in 1975, he had several hits of his own, including “All By Myself” and “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again.”
Interestingly, Eric Carmen said he based the song “I Wanna Be With You” on the guitar part on Todd Rundgren’s “Couldn’t I Just Tell You.” Carmen felt that Todd had ripped off parts of his song, “I Can Remember” for use in “I Saw the Light” and “It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference,” and thought he should return the favor. (Todd Rundgren is another notable purveyor of power pop tunes, in case you never noticed.)
Eric Carmen had a long and fruitful career as a performer and songwriter. He passed away in 2024 at the age of 74.
Back to today’s classic song of the day. Here’s today’s daily bonus video of the day, Eric Carmen and the Raspberries performing “I Wanna Be With You” live on the May 4, 1973, episode of The Midnight Special. Damn, that melody is so hooky I can’t get it out of my head—and can anybody help but sing along with those harmonies? This is what power pop is all about, and it is fine.
