Hungry Eyes

"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 #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #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 #82 in January 1988, having charted purely on import sales.

For the song of the same name by Merle Haggard, see Hungry Eyes (Merle Haggard song).
"Hungry Eyes"
Single by Eric Carmen
from the album Dirty Dancing: Original Soundtrack from the Vestron Motion Picture
B-side"Where Are You Tonight"
ReleasedNovember 7, 1987
Recorded1987
StudioBeachwood Studios (Beachwood, Ohio)
GenrePop rock, soft rock[1]
Length
  • 4:11
  • 3:49 (single version)
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
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

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] John DeNicola revamped "Hungry Eyes" for his debut album, The Why Because, released October 2019. "Explaining his version, DeNicola says, "I thought it would be fun to record 'Hungry Eyes' in a way that would set it apart from the Dirty Dancing version and decided to try to make it sound like a modern indie-rock band imitating an 80's synth-pop song."[5]

Background

Eric Carmen, the performer of "Hungry Eyes", had been the vocalist of the Raspberries. Carmen released his first solo album Eric Carmen, which contained the worldwide hit "All By Myself".

"Hungry Eyes" was his biggest hit and was written in 1984 by John DeNicola and Franke Previte. It was originally recorded by Previte's band, Frankie and The Knockouts for their album Makin' the Point. Jimmy Ienner, the producer of Carmen's band from his early career, The Raspberries, asked him to sing this song for the Dirty Dancing album because he was familiar with Carmen's musical style. Carmen was hesitant to produce a song for another film sound track because he believed that soundtrack music had "horrible deaths", but Carmen recorded a very popular song that can still be heard on radio stations and TV commercials.[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

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Platinum 600,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

The song appears in the 2016 film Sausage Party and the English dub of Bad Cat.

Cover versions

In 2004, British dance group Eyeopener covered "Hungry Eyes". Their house version reached #16 in the UK and #25 in Ireland. The song was their second of four singles with "Eyes" as the last word in the title.

A reworked version with altered lyrics by James Radford appears in a 2017 commercial for Sheba cat food in the UK.[30]

Greyson Chance covered the song in 2017 for the Dirty Dancing remake that was released that same year. The cover was released as a single and also on the film's soundtrack.

References
  1. "200 Greatest Soft Rock Songs". entertainment.expertscolumn.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-16. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  2. Dennis Hunt (December 24, 1987). "Carmen Re-Sees Success With 'Hungry Eyes'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. 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. https://www.popdust.com/john-denicola-2641052146.html
  6. "Welcome to EricCarmen.com." Welcome to EricCarmen.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Ultratop.be – Eric Carmen – Hungry Eyes" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  9. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 8871." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  10. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0947." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  11. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Eric Carmen" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  12. "Charts.nz – Eric Carmen – Hungry Eyes". Top 40 Singles.
  13. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Archived from the original on 2018-05-03. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  14. "Swedishcharts.com – Eric Carmen – Hungry Eyes". Singles Top 100.
  15. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  16. "Eric Carmen Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  17. "Eric Carmen". wweb.uta.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  18. "Eric Carmen Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  19. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 13, 1988". Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  20. "Offiziellecharts.de – Eric Carmen – Hungry Eyes". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  21. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  22. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  23. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Hungry Eyes". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  24. "UK Official Charts, November 20, 2004". Archived from the original on 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  25. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 4, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  26. Carolyn Hope. "Barry's Hits of All Decades Pop rock n roll Music Chart Hits". hitsofalldecades.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-28. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
  27. "Top 100 Hits of 1988/Top 100 Songs of 1988". musicoutfitters.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  28. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 31, 1988". Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  29. "British single certifications – Eric Carmen – Hungry Eyes". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  30. "Sheba - Karaoke Cat Hungry Eyes". ukadmusic.com. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
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