Eric Carr

Paul Charles Caravello (July 12, 1950 – November 24, 1991), better known as Eric Carr, was an American musician.

Born as Paul Charles Caravello on July 12, 1950, to Albert (1927–2022) and Connie Caravello (1929–2010), Carr was of Italian descent.

He grew up at 1043 Belmont Ave. in the East New York section of Brooklyn in New York City.

Because his father worked most of the time, Carr did not see that much of him, and "never went to a baseball game or that kind of stuff" with his father.

He spent a lot of time alone in his room, playing with toy soldiers and toy monsters.

Caravello attended the High School of Art and Design.

He planned at first to be a cartoonist, then changed his mind quickly thereafter and decided to study photography.

According to him, he ended up wasting "absolutely every day of high school. I got no work done, did nothing to further my career, wasted time, and wound up getting drunk in the darkroom with my friends all the time. We never got caught because we could see through the one-way glass whenever a teacher would come. It wasn't like I was getting drunk every day, you know. Half a cup of vodka in those days was enough to get you drunk."

However, he has described himself as overall "a real good kid. I didn't do anything to make trouble."

In February 1964, Caravello watched the Beatles performance on The Ed Sullivan Show and was immediately captivated by the group, particularly Ringo Starr.

He collected several books and pots from the kitchen to create a makeshift drum kit and began teaching himself how to play drums.

Caravello was one of only two students in his high school who had long hair, mostly due to his love of the Beatles.

He recalled that "I used to Dippity-Do my hair down, to make it stay flat. I used to have a Beatles haircut, but my hair's curly, so I couldn't get it to lay flat like the Beatles'. So I'd get the stuff Dippity-Do, drench my hair with it, and I'd take a piece of my Mom's nylon stocking, tie a knot in one end, and pull it over my head like a burglar. I was sleeping like that for probably two years with that on my head every night."

Sometime in 1965 he joined his first band, The Allures.

They played a blend of Latino music and Beatles songs.

The Allures did not last long, perhaps only a few months.

Caravello then asked his friend in junior high school, Thomas, to join him on bass while they looked for other musicians.

Shortly after staring high school he met John, who was interested in learning to play the guitar.

The three young musicians called the group The Cellarmen because they practiced in Caravello's cellar.

Thomas and Caravello soon began working as a team and eventually wrote two Beatles-inspired songs, "Your Turn to Cry" and "I Cray at Night."

The drummer felt confident in the band and soon designed stylized lettering of the band's name and printed The Cellarmen on the front of his kick drum.

However, the band broke up in late 1965 or early 1966.

In March 1966, Caravello met keyboardist Victor Cohen and bassist Dave Bartky.

Guitarist Bob Pryor joined the band within a few weeks.

They played cover songs and their goal was to become good enough to play in the clubs.

They practiced several times a week and soon had considerable number of songs ready.

They kept The Cellarmen name because at the time they did not have enough money to purchase a new kick drum skin.

Besides, the band still practiced in Caravello's cellar, so the name was appropriate.

The Cellarmen's first gig was in August 1966.

They were strictly a cover band playing popular music of the times.

Caravello graduated from high school in 1967.

At around that time, riots started to occur in New York City, followed by white flight that started to make his neighborhood more predominantly African-American.

Caravello stated that this was not a concern to him, because "I never had any problems with anybody, I had black friends, and I never grew up thinking in those kinds of terms.".

Caravello purchased small drum kit that consisted of snare, kick, and a tom.

The kit had a black oyster finish that was similar to Ringo's kit.

Within a few months he added a floor tom.

He was the drummer for the rock band Kiss from 1980 until his death in 1991.

Caravello was selected as the new Kiss drummer after Peter Criss departed.

He created the stage name "Eric Carr" and designed his on-stage Fox persona.

He remained a member of Kiss until his death from heart cancer in 1991.