C.J. Snare, frontman and main songwriter for Firehouse, wrote the hit "Love of a Lifetime" before joining the band. The song was Firehouse's most successful single, reaching number five on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1991.

To watch Snare performing the song with Firehouse, go to YouTube. The comments below the video are a really nice tribute to Snare as well. Here's one of them: "Rest In Peace CJ. Glad that I met you 3 years ago on the 30th anniversary of Firehouse debut album performance. Very cool guy!"

The photo in this episode's thumbnail is of Snare onstage in 2008. Here's the attribution and link to the license: By Kate Patten — originally posted to Flickr as IMG_3444, CC BY-SA 2.0.

In the chapters, you'll see a photo of Snare taken in 2009 by Snarebear with this link: Own work, CC BY 3.0. Both images are available on Wikipedia.

This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, wrote and recorded about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.

Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.

Eric Carmen, whose aunt was a member of the Cleveland Orchestra, had a natural talent for music even as a kid. In 1970, he founded the Raspberries, known for their hit single "All the Way," which reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972.

He launched a successful solo career in 1975 with such hits as "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" and "All by Myself." In the chapters, you'll see two of his album covers, one of which also is used in this episode's thumbnail.

You can go to YouTube to listen to Carmen singing "All by Myself" from "The Definitive Collection" album.

Carmen's songwriting continued to thrive in the 1980s, co-writing popular songs like "Almost Paradise" for "Footloose" and "Make Me Lose Control" for "Dirty Dancing."

He died in March 2024. No cause of death was given. The February 2025 issue of Rolling Stone has an intriguing piece about Carmen. It's written by Andy Greene, who spent six months doing the interviews for it. The story is titled "ALL BY HIMSELF" and subtitled "Eric Carmen was a power-pop genius behind songs like ‘Go All the Way’ and ‘All by Myself,’ but the musician’s perfectionism, personal demons, and obsession with conspiracy theories haunted him until his still-unexplained death."

This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.

Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.

Steve Lawrence had a successful solo career with four top 10 hits in the early 1960s: "Pretty Blue Eyes," "Portrait of My Love," "Party Doll," and "Go Away Little Girl." The latter reached number one in 1962.

Lawrence, who died in March 2024, was best known as half of the singing duo Steve & Eydie with his wife, Eydie Gormé. They were married for 56 years, remarkable longevity for a show-biz couple.

The image in the thumbnail is of Lawrence's double CD "Winners!" / "Come Waltz With Me."

The photo at the end of the chapters is credited to CBS Television. It's from Steve & Eydie's 1975 special "Our Love is Here to Stay." Their sons are in the picture as are Gene Kelly and his son and daughter. You can find this public domain photo, along with its caption, on Wikimedia Commons.

There are a few recordings on YouTube of Lawrence doing "Go Away Little Girl." Here's one of them.

Carole King and Gerry Goffin originally wrote the song for Bobby Vee, but it became a hit for Lawrence. You can listen to King singing it here on the demo recording.

Donny Osmond's version also became a #1 hit in 1971, the first time a song reached number one by different artists.

This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written and recorded about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.

Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.