Questlove Instagram – Man….3 powerhouses in music passed away today but man….the voice of #EricCarmen was the voice I remember in terms of remembering anything. Traveling on the road with my parents 73…74…..75….76—-in anywhere places like Morgantown West Virginia or Portland Maine or Muncie Indiana or Canton Ohio or Erie Pa Those one Holiday Inn towns with one Diner that closes at 8pm with the college theater that might show a double feature of Benji & Freebie and The Bean Kids walking around with “Keep On Truckin” iron ons or the fudge spot next door has something called “Turtles” but your teeth aren’t developed yet. But on the jukebox at the bar Eric Carmen is guaranteed to play…..those jukeboxes in the diner at your table? Carmen is on. See how you can just entertain yourself exploring any and everything you want on your iPhone? Imagine a time where all your entertainment was an AM radio pop station…..& this song comes on like EVERY HOUR. They played #AllByself (which was way more iconic) but don’t sleep on this either But if one voice/song were to represent my childhood living in a cramped car traveling to various niteclubs. Eating fast food fries, spending hours in the record department at Sears, hanging round the shopping center….riding the miniature horse go round for a quarter outside of some Woolworths in the Midwest? This song was guaranteed to be on almost guaranteed to be followed up by Melissa Manchester’s #IThinkWeCanMakeItOneMoreTime or #JaniceIan’s At 17 The softest of rock was all you heard in the midwest. I was kinda happy for Eric to get a new lease on life with #HungryEyes when Dirty Dancing came out But if there ever was a voice for the pre yacht rock soft AM format music? It was Eric Carmen. Rest In Melody Eric Carmen