Eddie Money Dead At 70
• UPDATED: Eddie Money, whose extensive catalog of radio-ready hits like “Baby Hold On,” “Two Tickets to Paradise,” “Shakin’,” “Gimme Some Water,” “Think I’m In Love,” “I Wanna Go Back,” and duet with Ronnie Spector, “Take Me Home Tonight” helped get us all through the ’80s relatively unscathed, died Friday morning, Sept. 13 at the age of 70. It was recently revealed that Money had been diagnosed with Stage 4 esophageal cancer.
As seen in Variety, a statement provided by his family reads, “The Money Family regrets to announce that Eddie passed away peacefully early this morning. It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our loving husband and father. We cannot imagine our world without him. We are grateful that he will live on forever through his music.”
Edward Joseph Mahoneywas born March 21, 1949, in Brooklyn, NY. His mother, Dorothy was a homemaker and his father, Daniel was a police officer. The New York Times reports thatMahoney began training at the age of 18 to follow in his father’s footsteps, while by night he was playing in a local rock band called the Grapes of Wrath. He soon dropped out of the New York Police Academy and moved to San Francisco in pursuit of rock stardom. After taking the stage name “Eddie Money,” he found that stardom in 1978, when “Baby Hold On,” from his eponymous Columbia Records debut album, Eddie Money, reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
If there was ever any doubt about the extreme affection that radio folks had for Money, look no further than our social media feeds over the weekend, which were absolutely loaded with vintage photos and heartwarming remembrances of a talented, regular guy who understood the importance of maintaining good relationships with the radio industry… and was just plain fun to hang out with. One of the best examples of Money’s “above-and-beyond” relationship with radio came from Dale O’Brian, co-host of Wake Up With The Wolfon Entercom Country WPAW (93.1 The Wolf)/Greensboro, who posted this Facebook memory that read, “Eddie was one of the BEST. He loved radio and radio people. He once missed a phone interview with me. I don’t remember what the circumstances were. But as he was leaving town the next morning, he called me at the station and apologized for missing it. He asked if it was OK if he came by the station to ‘make it up to me.’ How many other acts would do that? I’ll tell you how many… exactly ZERO.”
A reality television series about Money and his family, Real Money, debuted on AXS TV in April. The show chronicled Money’s home life and sadly, also revealed his cancer diagnosis. Money is survived by Laurie, his wife of more than 30 years; five children, Zachary, Joseph, Desmond, Julian and Jesse; and four siblings, Danny Mahoney, Kathy Cama, Peggy Tavis and Pat Brunette. On a brighter note, take a few minutes and enjoy this 1987 video of vintage Eddie Money performing “Two Tickets To Paradise” in front of an enthusiastic Bay Area home crowd.
