1973: Let's Pretend

As we trek back to the spring of 1973, I am reminded of this mid-charter by The Raspberries. Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio and fronted by Eric Carmen, “Let’s Pretend” was more of a pop hit than their two previous singles – both of which I purchased in 1972. While “Go All the Way” peaked at #5 and “I Wanna Be With You” charted at #16, “Let’s Pretend” did not keep the momentum and only made it to #35.

I liked the band as they had a Beatlesque sound – especially with “Go All the Way” – in fact, I bought that single based on the fact that someone told me they sounded like The Beatles. The single was not yet being played on Pittsburgh radio, but that didn’t take long to happen.

Enough with the previous singles, “Let’s Pretend” came from the band’s second album “Fresh.” It was their fourth single and fourth highest charting single being bested by 1974’s “Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)” that made it to number 18. “Let’s Pretend” cold opening was a DJ’s nightmare as there was no intro to front sell the tune. Perhaps this influenced its overall performance as it isn’t really a bad song.

All in all, The Raspberries released 10 singles prior to their break-up in 1975. Of those, six failed to chart in the Top 40 with three failing to chart at all. “Let’s Pretend” is indicative of the ballad sound made popular with Eric Carmen’s solo career from 1975 to 1988.