Songoftheday 1/27/14 - I hear it from my friends I hear it on the street, I hear it in the air here and there everywhere and from everyone I meet...

Eric Carmen - "I Wanna Hear It From Your Lips"
from the album Eric Carmen (1985)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #35 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 4

Today's Song of the Day is by singer/songwriter Eric Carmen, who got his big break as the leader of the power-pop band The Raspberries. The Ohio-based group had a top-10 hit in 1972 with "Go All The Way". They only lasted a few years, as Eric left in 1975 to start a solo career, and released his self-titled debut, which scored his biggest hit to date, "All By Myself", which went to #2 in the US and #12 in Britain. Its follow-up, "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again", made it to the top of the adult-contemporary radio chart the following year.

In 1985, Eric Carmen switched labels to Geffen Records, and released another self-titled set as his fifth album. The first single from the set, "I Wanna Hear It From Your Lips", was a midtempo seductive number written by Carmen with Footloose guru Dean Pitchford with cool backup vocals and a video featuring his extra-luscious hair...

"I Wanna Hear It From Your Lips" became Eric's sixth solo top-40 pop hit in America in March of 1985, while reaching #10 on the adult-contemporary (or "easy listening") chart in Billboard. I admit I loved this song on its release, buying the vinyl album when it came out (the first of his I owned). Maybe it was the hair.

Up tomorrow: Rocky-style rockers get a buzz.