Almost thirty years later and his passing still makes me sad. I never met the man and don't know his family, but I'll be damned if he didn't seem like a genuinely great guy. Maybe it was the new energy and life he injected into a beloved band that was becoming staid and falling apart at the seams. Maybe he simply was the antithesis of Gene or Paul. Maybe he embodied the ethos of the working class which denizens of Cleveland, like me, worship. Maybe he actually was a great guy.
Today in 1950 Paul Caravello was born in Brooklyn. Inspired by Ringo Starr and the rest of the Beatles, he was a grinder and multi-instrumentalist, playing in local bands and not too proud to play in cover bands along the way. Rock, funk, disco, punk, it didn't matter. If the music moved people he would play it. Flirting with success, opening for Stevie Wonder and Nina Simone, but never really finding success, Paul Caravello was about ready to pack it in and take George Thorogood's advice to get a hair cut and get a real job.
And then Peter Criss quit.
Like another working class Detroit kid would later talk about, this was Mom's spaghetti. Opportunity only comes once in a lifetime and Paul Caravello wasn't about to miss his chance to blow. Seasoned, knowledgeable and confident, he showed up and showed out at the audition to replace Peter Criss. He knew the KISS catalog better than Gene, Paul, or Ace and didn't hesitate in correcting them and taking the lead. Obviously, he got the job or else we would be discussing Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain" album which was released today in 1971.
Paul Caravello took on the stage name Eric Carr at this point and adopted the persona and makeup of The Fox. He chose the name to keep with the three-syllable pattern of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, and Ace Frehley. I'd like to say Carr came charging out of the gate but he was burdened by having to play on a real piece of shit KISS concept album called "The Elder" in 1981. That record was hot garbage but may have provided the inspiration for the character Morpheus in The Matrix movies.
Fast forward to 1982 and the release of "Creatures of the Night" and you will begin to hear Eric Carr's impact on KISS. Where Peter Criss provided competent drumming, Carr performed as if he were playing a lead instrument. Thunder in the vein of a John Bonham or Keith Moon rained down and instantly took KISS into a much heavier direction. Songs like "Saint and Sinner", "I Love it Loud", "War Machine", and "Creatures of the Night" took KISS into a more metal direction and signaled a rebirth of the band.
Carr would perform on six proper albums as well as a few reissues and greatest hits, including "Lick It Up", "Animalize", "Asylum", "Crazy Nights", and "Hot in the Shade". In February of 1991, Carr began to feel sick and was ultimately diagnosed with heart cancer. As everyone agrees, fuck cancer, but heart cancer? Come on, man. As he was battling that bitch, KISS moved forward with Cleveland's own Eric Singer replacing Carr on drums for the excellent 1992 album "Revenge".
Despite a valiant fight, Carr passed at the age of 41 on November 24, 1991.
