The 'All By Myself' singer - who first rose to fame as a member of the Raspberries before finding success as a solo artist - died in his sleep over the weekend.

In a statement on her husband's website, his wife Amy said: "It is with tremendous sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of Eric Carmen.

"Our sweet, loving and talented Eric passed away in his sleep, over the weekend.

"It brought him great joy to know, that for decades, his music touched so many and will be

his lasting legacy.

"Please respect the family’s privacy as we

mourn our enormous loss."

Carmen's widow concluded her statement with a line from his 1977 song 'Love Is All That Matters', which featured on his album 'Boats Against The Current'.

She added: "Love Is All That Matters... Faithful and Forever."

Raspberries found success with their debut self titled album back in 1972, with single 'Go All The Way' climbing up the charts.

The song was later banned by the BBC over its sexually suggestive lyrics, although it later found renewed popularity on the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' soundtrack.

The band split in 1975, and Carmen embarked on a solo career.

His most memorable hit is 'All By Myself', which Celine Dion later covered with huge success, while the song also featured in the opening scene of 2001 romantic comedy classic 'Bridget Jones's Diary'.

He also had hits with the likes of 'Almost Paradise', which was on the 'Footloose' soundtrack, and 'Hungry Eyes' from 1987's 'Dirty Dancing'.

Leading tributes to Carmen on X (formerly Twitter), KISS legend Paul Stanley wrote: "Awful News. Eric Carmen has died. Although known to many for writing radio hits like 'All By Myself' and others, Eric was a true rocker at heart.

"His voice had elements of McCartney and Steve Marriott. The Raspberries did shows with us. A killer band live and I loved their records."