Happy Birthday Eric Carmen

Classically trained pianist and singer/songwriter Eric Carmen, who's proffered such fave hits as "All By Myself," "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again," "Change of Heart," "She Did It," "I Wanna Hear It From Your Lips," "Hungry Eyes," "Make Me Lose Control" and "Go All the Way" with the Raspberries, turns 61 today.

His songs were also hits for Celine Dion ("All By Myself"), Shaun Cassidy ("Hey Deanie," "That's Rock and Roll"), Mike Reno & Ann Wilson ("Almost Paradise") and Peter Cetera & Crystal Bernard ("I Wanna Take Forever Tonight"). Olivia Newton-John also recorded his "Boats Against the Current."

I interviewed Eric for Billboard for my AirWaves radio column in April 2000. See a readable version here.