While The Raspberries never exactly made it to household name status, the ’70s rock/power pop band was hugely popular with other musicians of the era, like John Lennon and Keith Moon. They had plenty of fans, too: The Raspberries’ biggest hit, “Go All the Way,” went all the way to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was later ranked among Spin magazine‘s “100 Greatest Singles of All Time.”
Another classic Raspberries track, “Overnight Sensation (Hit Record),” didn’t break the Top 10, but it did manage to peak at #18…and inspired a number of covers, including one by former Runaways’ lead singer Cherie Currie and her twin sister, Marie Currie, on their 1980 album, Messin’ With the Boys.
According to Eric Carmen, lead singer for The Raspberries (who later had a huge solo hit with “All By Myself”), the inspiration for “Overnight Sensation” came to him almost like scenes from a movie in his mind.
“‘Overnight Sensation’ was like the first video that I ever saw in my head,” Carmen explained in the liner notes for The Raspberries’ compilation album, Greatest.
“It was written very theatrically,” he continued. “The first scene was, you can picture Abbey Road Studios, this great, huge dark room with a real high camera and this one spotlight on the singer and it was like this guy singing in his living room, thinking about the music business: ‘I know it sounds funny but I’m not in it for the money…'”
“So, he gets through the first verse and the first group of background vocals come in and the room lights up and gets a little bit bigger, and by the time you get to the first full-blown chorus it’s like, ‘Baboom!’ Visually, I was trying to get on a record what I was seeing in my head,” Carmen added.
Years later, the Raspberries’ original version of “Overnight Sensation” is still considered a classic. Ultimate Classic Rock‘s David Swanson described the song as “epic,” calling it “probably the Raspberries’ most adventurous record.”
“Taking a somewhat Phil Spector, kitchen sink approach, it’s a mini-symphony packed into a five minute song,” Swanson continued. “Overflowing with vocals, percussion, guitars, drums, saxophones, pianos, you name it, the song is a majestic slice of pop music.”
Six years after The Raspberries released “Overnight Sensation,” the song was recorded by the Currie sisters. Cherie was pursuing a post-Runaways solo career at that point, and after Marie joined her onstage during a Japanese promotional tour, they had the idea to make an album together.
In an interview with People in 1980, the sisters opened up about the project and growing up in the fast lane (they were nicknamed “Double Trouble” in high school).
“We smoked in the bathroom like normal kids, but got caught more often,” noted Cherie, with Marie admitting, “We’ve learned more out of school than in.”
Unfortunately, the Currie sisters didn’t have a huge hit with “Overnight Sensation” (or anything else, really).
Related: 1972 Hit Song, Featured in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Almost Famous,’ Became One of the ‘Greatest Singles of All Time’
