"The Raspberries" Premium Unisex T-Shirt

They Wore Matching Suits, Wrote Songs About Sex, and Got Banned from Radio. Cleveland, 1970. This Was Power Pop Before Anyone Called It That.

The Raspberries formed in Cleveland in 1970 with a deliberate, almost defiant commitment to melody at a moment when rock was moving toward excess and distance. Matching suits. Coordinated stage outfits. Explicitly Beatles-influenced presentation. Enormous hooks. Eric Carmen was the primary songwriter and vocalist, and the band's debut single "Go All the Way" hit #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972 — after being banned by many radio stations for being too sexually suggestive. The irony being that the Raspberries were among the most wholesome-looking bands of the era. The presentation and the content were in constant productive tension.

Todd Rundgren produced their debut album and understood immediately what they were going for: the drum sound, the guitar crunch, the wall-of-sound density layered under Carmen's vocal. "I Wanna Be with You," "Let's Pretend," and "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" followed. The band broke up in 1975, at Carmen's insistence, while they were still commercially viable. He wanted a solo career.

His first solo single, "All by Myself" (1975), adapted the main theme from Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 for pop. It hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Celine Dion's 1996 cover introduced it to a generation that had never heard of the Raspberries. Robin Zander of Cheap Trick has cited Carmen and the Raspberries directly and repeatedly as foundational to what Cheap Trick became. The lineage is clean and documented.

Power pop as a genre label came later. The Raspberries were already doing it.

Also in the collection: See our full Classic Rock collection.

Premium Quality

• Bella + Canvas 3001 — Premium unisex tee, true to size
• Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton — Exceptionally soft from the first wear
• Classic unisex fit — Relaxed, versatile, works for everyone
• Tear-away label — Clean comfort, all day

Made to Order

For environmental and quality reasons, this tee is made specifically for you after you order. Please allow approximately one week for production. Tracking information will be sent as soon as it ships.