Eddie Money
Eddie Money |
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Eddie Money (born Edward Joseph Mahoney, March 2 1949) is an American rock musician and singer who found success in the 1970s and 1980s with a string of Top 40 hits and platinum albums. His musical style is characterized by his recognizable vocals and catchy melodies, and his numerous MTV music videos throughout the 1980s.
After following in his father's footsteps and training to be a police officer in the early 1970s, Money began to take an interest in music, and eventually gave up his career as an officer altogether in favor of becoming a musician. He moved to Berkeley, California and became a regular at area clubs, where he eventually got enough attention to secure a recording contract with Columbia Records. Later in the decade, he experienced numerous charting singles such as "Baby Hold On" and "Two Tickets to Paradise". Money continued his successes and took advantage of the MTV music video scene in the early 1980s with his humorous narrative videos for "Shakin'" and "Think I'm In Love", but his career began to fail him after several unsuccessful releases in the mid 1980s, accompanied by his struggles with drug addiction.
Money made a remarkable comeback only two years later in 1986 and returned to the mainstream rock spotlight with the album Can't Hold Back, which featured a Ronnie Spector duet with "Take Me Home Tonight", which reached the Top 10, along with the hit "I Wanna Go Back". Money followed the album with another Top 10 hit "Walk on Water", but his career began to fade out during the later part of the decade. During the 1990s and 2000s, Money continued to release numerous compilation albums along with several albums featuring new material, but by this time, his fans had long abandoned him for better music. Today he still tours regularly, often accompanied by other successful rock acts from his era, and has also made several television appearances on American sitcoms.
Biography
Early life
Money attended the New York Police Academy in the early 1970s to become a typist for the New York City Police Department. He worked briefly at the NYPD, but soon found his calling as a singer. He moved first to Los Angeles, then to San Francisco where he joined with guitarist Jimmy Lyon to form the backbone of the distinctive Money sound. By 1976, he signed to CBS Records with the late promoter Bill Graham.
1970s
Eddie Money released his first album, the eponymous Eddie Money, in 1977. It reached #37 on the charts, and contained two of his most memorable hits; "Baby Hold On" and "Two Tickets to Paradise". Both songs entered the top 40. The next year he followed up with his second album, Life for the Taking, which featured more of a pop/disco sound to keep up with the trends of the late 1970s. The album charted higher at #17, but neither of its two singles; "Can't Keep a Good Man Down" and "Maybe I'm a Fool" entered the top 20.
1980s
Two years later in 1980, Money released his third album, Playing for Keeps. The album only reached #35 in the United States and yielded no Top 40 singles. Three years later, he released No Control, which included the hits "Shakin'" and "Think I'm In Love". The album hit #20 in the United States. Jimmy Lyon left Money after No Control.
Trying to duplicate the success of No Control, Money released Where's the Party in 1985. It became his lowest charting album to date at #67. A second comeback for Money came in the form of Can't Hold Back in 1986, which featured the single "Take Me Home Tonight", co-sung with Ronnie Spector, that reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album later went platinum.
In the late 1980s, the single "Walk on Water", from his 1988 album Nothing to Lose, featured a guest appearance from Lyon on lead guitar. Subsequent releases by Money have often failed to chart.
Present
Eddie still performs an average of sixty shows a year and has appeared on television shows such as The King of Queens as himself and The Drew Carey Show as Mimi's ex-husband. He currently resides in California and Florida, and is very active in his involvement with the St. Jude's Hospital. He has four sons and one daughter. He recently has appeared in concert around the Daytona Beach area and at a number of smaller venues, appearing with local musicians, including local rock legend guitarist Fred Felon. Eddie has now released his first studio album since 1999, Wanna Go Back. Money has opened the spring concert season at DTE Energy Music Theatre outside of Detroit, Michigan for a number of years. On February 24, 2004 Money performed the national anthem at a game between the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves at The Palace of Auburn Hills, in Detroit, Michigan.
Money in the media
Money's arguably most well-known hit "Two Tickets to Paradise" has been featured in numerous forms of media including video games, television, and movies. It was featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in 2003, and also in an episode of The Simpsons, to which Homer remarks "excellent guitar riff". The song also appeared in the film Operation Situation: Code Name Kill.
Shakin' is featured in the hit video game series Guitar Hero on the Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s edition.
Discography
Albums
- Eddie Money (1977) #37 US
- Life for the Taking (1978) #17 US
- Playing for Keeps (1980) #35 US
- No Control (1982) #20 US
- Where's the Party? (1983) #67 US
- Can't Hold Back - (1986) #20 US
- Nothing to Lose (1988) #49 US
- Greatest Hits: The Sound of Money (1989) #53 US
- Right Here (1991) #160 US
- Unplug It In - (1992)
- Love and Money - (1995)
- Good as Gold - (1996)
- Super Hits - (1997)
- Shakin' with the Money Man - (1997)
- Greatest Hits Live: The Encore Collection - (1998)
- Ready Eddie - (1999)
- Complete Eddie Money Live - (2000)
- The Best of Eddie Money - (2001)
- The Essential Eddie Money - (2003)
- Then and Now - (2003)
- Let's Rock and Roll The Place - (2003)
- Wanna Go Back - (2007)
Singles
| Year | Song | US Hot 100 | US M.S.R. | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | "Baby Hold On" | #11 | - | Eddie Money |
| 1978 | "Two Tickets to Paradise" | #22 | - | Eddie Money |
| 1979 | "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" | #72 | - | Eddie Money |
| 1979 | "Maybe I'm a Fool" | #22 | - | Life for the Taking |
| 1979 | "Can't Keep a Good Man Down" | #63 | - | Life for the Taking |
| 1979 | "Get a Move On" | #46 | - | Playing for Keeps |
| 1980 | "Let's Be Lovers Again" | #65 | - | Playing for Keeps |
| 1980 | "Running Back" | #78 | - | Playing for Keeps |
| 1982 | "Think I'm in Love" | #16 | #1 | No Control |
| 1982 | "Shakin'" | #63 | #9 | No Control |
| 1983 | "The Big Crash" | #54 | #17 | Where's the Party? |
| 1984 | "Club Michelle" | #66 | - | Where's the Party? |
| 1986 | "Take Me Home Tonight" | #4 | #1 | Can't Hold Back |
| 1986 | "I Wanna Go Back" | #14 | #3 | Can't Hold Back |
| 1987 | "Endless Nights" | #21 | #10 | Can't Hold Back |
| 1987 | "We Should Be Sleeping" | #90 | - | Can't Hold Back |
| 1988 | "Walk on Water" | #9 | #2 | Nothing to Lose |
| 1989 | "The Love in Your Eyes" | #24 | #1 | Nothing to Lose |
| 1989 | "Let Me In" | #60 | #30 | Nothing to Lose |
| 1990 | "Peace in Our Time" | #11 | #2 | Greatest Hits: The Sound of Money |
| 1991 | "I'll Get By" | #21 | - | Right Here |
| 1991 | "Heaven in the Back Seat" | #58 | #6 | Right Here |
| 1992 | "Fall in Love Again" | #54 | - | Right Here |