Hungry Eyes

1987 single by Eric Carmen
"Hungry Eyes"
Single by Eric Carmen
from the album Dirty Dancing: Original Soundtrack from the Vestron Motion Picture
B-side"Where Are You Tonight"
ReleasedOctober 1987 (US)
Recorded1987
StudioBeachwood Studios (Beachwood, Ohio)
Genre
  • Pop rock
  • soft rock[1]
Length
  • 4:11
  • 3:49 (single version)
Label
  • RCA
  • Arista
Songwriter(s)John DeNicola · Franke Previte
Producer(s)Eric Carmen
Eric Carmen singles chronology
"The Rock Stops Here"
(1986) 		"Hungry Eyes"
(1987) 		"Make Me Lose Control"
(1988)
Music video
"Hungry Eyes" on YouTube

"Hungry Eyes" is a song performed by American musician Eric Carmen, a former member of the band Raspberries, and was featured in the film Dirty Dancing (1987).[2] The song was recorded at Beachwood Studios in Beachwood, Ohio in 1987. "Hungry Eyes" peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 3 on the Cash Box Top 100 in 1988. The power ballad[3] was not released commercially in the UK, but it managed to peak at No. 82 in January 1988, having charted purely on import sales.

Songwriters Franke Previte and John DeNicola wrote the song, as well as another hit from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life".[4]

Background

Eric Carmen, the performer of "Hungry Eyes", had been the vocalist of the Raspberries. In 1975, he released his first solo album Eric Carmen in 1975, spawning the worldwide hit "All by Myself", but subsequently faced declining chart fortunes.

"Hungry Eyes" was written in 1984 by John DeNicola and Franke Previte, and originally recorded by Previte's band, Franke and the Knockouts for their album Makin' the Point, but did not appear on the album until its reissue in 1998. Jimmy Ienner, Raspberries' producer, asked Carmen to sing this song for the Dirty Dancing album because he was familiar with Carmen's musical style. Carmen was initially hesitant to produce a song for another film soundtrack because he believed that soundtrack music died "horrible deaths".[5]

The song, only his second Top 40 song of the 1980s, represented his biggest hit since "All by Myself". A few months after the success of "Hungry Eyes", Carmen released the Ienner-produced "Make Me Lose Control", which also hit Top 10 in the US.

Music video

The music video featured Carmen with Sally Steele in a short scene in a café at the end. Steele later founded Vegas Rocks! Magazine, though she is not the main actress in the video, whose identity is unknown.[6]

Releases

The song was released commercially on 7" vinyl in many countries; plus, a 3-track 12" maxi single and 2-track cassette were produced. CD singles were a relatively new format; however, a 2-track Japanese mini CD single was commercially released in 1988.

Track listing

7" vinyl single - UK/US
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hungry Eyes"Franke Previte, John DeNicola3:49
2."Where Are You Tonight"Mark Scola3:59
12" vinyl single - UK
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hungry Eyes"Franke Previte, John DeNicola3:49
2."Where Are You Tonight"Mark Scola3:59
3."(I've Had) The Time of My Life (Full Length Film Version)"Donald Markowitz, Franke Previte, John DeNicola6:49
Cassette single - US
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hungry Eyes" (Song on side A1 and B1)Franke Previte, John DeNicola3:49
2."Where Are You Tonight" (Song on side A2 and B2)Mark Scola3:59
CD single - Japan
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hungry Eyes"Franke Previte, John DeNicola3:49
2."Where Are You Tonight"Mark Scola3:59

Charts

Weekly charts

1988 weekly chart performance for "Hungry Eyes"
Chart (1988) Peak
position
Australia (Australian Music Report)[7] 4
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 9
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[9] 2
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[10] 6
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)[11] 53
Europe (European Airplay Top 50)[12] 15
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 10)[13] 6
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[14] 12
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15] 16
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[16] 18
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[17] 10
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 6
UK Singles (OCC)[19] 82
US Billboard Hot 100[20] 4
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[21] 2
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles[22] 3
US Contemporary Hit Radio (Radio & Records)[23] 6
US Adult Contemporary (Radio & Records)[23] 1
West Germany (Official German Charts)[24] 17
2017 weekly chart performance for "Hungry Eyes"
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[25] 52
2019 weekly chart performance for "Hungry Eyes"
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Hungary (Single Top 40)[26] 28
2024 weekly chart performance for "Hungry Eyes"
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Canadian Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[27] 15
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[28] 74
US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[29] 13

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Hungry Eyes"
Chart (1988) Position
Australia (ARIA)[30] 39
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[31] 88
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[32] 49
US Billboard Hot 100[33] 25
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[34] 7
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles[35] 30

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[36] Gold 250,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[37] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Eyeopener version

British dance music group Eyeopener covered "Hungry Eyes" and released it as a single on 8 November 2004.[38] Their version reached number 16 in the UK and number 25 in Ireland.[39][40]

Charts

Chart (2004) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[41] 25
UK Singles (OCC)[42] 16
UK Dance (OCC)[43] 15

Other versions

New Found Glory released their version on their 2007 album of film covers, From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II.[citation needed]

A reworked version with altered lyrics by James Radford appeared in a 2017 commercial for Sheba cat food in the UK.[44][importance?]

John Denicola, co-writer of the song, released his own version in 2019 on his debut album The Why Because on Omad Records. It reached number 22 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.[citation needed]

Tobacco covered the song in 2020.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "200 Greatest Soft Rock Songs". entertainment.expertscolumn.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  2. ^ Dennis Hunt (December 24, 1987). "Carmen Re-Sees Success With 'Hungry Eyes'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  3. ^ Stephen Lee Naish (2017). Deconstructing Dirty Dancing. John Hunt Publishing. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-78279-972-6.
  4. ^ "Hungry Eyes", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved February 3, 2014)
  5. ^ "Welcome to EricCarmen.com." Welcome to EricCarmen.com. N.p., n.d. Web. February 3, 2014.
  6. ^ Wolfie von Eyezen (November 1, 2022), Metal Vixen Sally Steele Dishes on the Sunset Strip, MetalSucks, archived from the original on 2022-12-02
  7. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 55. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. ^ "Eric Carmen – Hungry Eyes" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0947." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  10. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 8871." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  11. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 14. April 2, 1988. p. 27. OCLC 29800226.
  12. ^ "European Airplay Top 50". Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 11. March 12, 1988. p. 23. OCLC 29800226.
  13. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 10". DV. February 19, 1988. p. 44. ISSN 1021-8254 – via Timarit.is.
  14. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Eric Carmen" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  15. ^ "Eric Carmen – Hungry Eyes" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  16. ^ "Eric Carmen – Hungry Eyes". Top 40 Singles.
  17. ^ "SA Charts 1965–1989 (As presented on Springbok Radio/Radio Orion) – Acts C". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  18. ^ "Eric Carmen – Hungry Eyes". Singles Top 100.
  19. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  20. ^ "Eric Carmen Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  21. ^ "Eric Carmen Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  22. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending February 13, 1988". Cash Box. Archived from the original on February 8, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  23. ^ a b "The Back Page". Radio & Records. No. 723. February 5, 1988. p. 96. ISSN 0277-4860.
  24. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Eric Carmen – Hungry Eyes" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  25. ^ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  26. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  27. ^ "Eric Carmen Chart History (Canadian Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  28. ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  29. ^ "Eric Carmen Chart History (Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  30. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Singles for 1988". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  31. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1988 – Singles" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  32. ^ "Top 100 Singles of '88". RPM. Vol. 49, no. 10. December 24, 1988. p. 9. ISSN 0033-7064.
  33. ^ "1988 The Year in Music & Video – Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 52. December 24, 1988. p. Y-20. ISSN 0006-2510.
  34. ^ "1988 The Year in Music & Video – Top Adult Contemporary Singles". Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 52. December 24, 1988. p. Y-26. ISSN 0006-2510.
  35. ^ "The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1988 – Top 50 Pop Singles". Cash Box. December 31, 1988. Archived from the original on May 11, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  36. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Eric Carmen; 'Hungry Eyes')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  37. ^ "British single certifications – Eric Carmen – Hungry Eyes". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  38. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. November 6, 2004. p. 25.
  39. ^ "Eye Opener". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  40. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Hungry Eyes". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  41. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Hungry Eyes". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  42. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  43. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  44. ^ "Sheba - Karaoke Cat Hungry Eyes". ukadmusic.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018. [permanent dead link]
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