Godspeed Eddie Money

Eddie Money, who had a string of pop rock and power pop hits from the late Seventies into the Eighties, died today at the age of 70. Recently he had experienced several health problems, including heart valve surgery and pneumonia. In August it was announced that he had stage 4 oesophageal cancer.

Eddie Money was born Edward Joseph Mahoney on March 21 1949 in New York City. He grew up in Long Island and followed his father, a police officer, into a career in law enforcement. He was a police officer for two years before he decided to pursue a career in music. In the late Sixties he moved to Berkeley, California. There he friended several local musicians and played at local clubs. In 1976 he met renowned promoter Bill Graham, who became his manager. He signed with Columbia Records.

His self-titled debut album was released in 1977. The album went to no. 37 on the Billboard album chart and produced two top forty hits: "Baby Hold On" (which peaked at no. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100) and "Two Tickets to Paradise" (which peaked at no. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100). His second album, Life for the Taking (released in 1979) performed even better, peaking at no. 17 on the Billboard album chart. It produced one hit song, "Maybe I'm a Fool," which went to no. 22 on the Bilboard Hot 100. He closed the Seventies with the album Playing for Keeps. It tid not do as well as his second album, peaking at no. 35 and produced no top 40 hits.

At the start of the Eighties Eddie Money would see his greatest success. The album No Control peaked at no. 20 on the Billboard album chart. It produced the hit "I Think I'm in Love," which peaked at no. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "Shakin'," which received a good deal of airplay on FM stations. The success of Eddie Money's albums in the Eighties would vary wildly. His follow up to No Control, Where's the Party?, peaked at only no. 67 on the Billboard album chart, but his album Can't Hold Back would peak at no. 20. That having been said, he would have a string of hit singles. "Take Me Home Tonight," which featured Ronnie Spector, proved to be his biggest hit single, going all the way to no. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other hits included "I Wanna Go Back" (which went to no. 14), "Endless Nights (which went to no. 21), "Walk on Water" (which went to no. 9), "The Love in Your Eyes" (which went to no. 24), and "Peace in Our Time (which went to no. 11).

While Eddie Money's career was going strong in the Eighties, it would falter in the Nineties. His album Right Here, released in 1991, only peaked at no. 160. He would have one hit from the album, "I'll Get By," which peaked at no. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. His final four albums (two more released in the Nineties, one released in the Naughts, and one released in the Teens) failed to chart. "I'll Get By" would be his last major hit.

Starting in the late Nineties he made a few guest appearances on TV shows as himself. He appeared on the sitcom The Drew Carey Show in 1999, The King of Queens in 2002, and The Kominsky Method in 2012. In 2018 he appeared on the reality show Real Money, centred on Eddie Money and his family.

I have always thought that Eddie Money was both underrated and underappreciated. It is true that his oeuvre consisted primarily of basic pop rock songs with little to challenge the listener. That having been said, they were catchy and quite memorable. What is more, he was something of a pioneer. Following The Raspberries and Dwight Twilley, Eddie Money was the first artist to have hits performing pop rock and power pop (Cheap Trick were recording artists at the time, but would not have a major hit until "Surrender" in 1978). This put Eddie Money at the forefront of the pop rock./power pop boom of the late Seventies and early Eighties that produced such artists as Cheap Trick, The Romantics, The Knack, Rick Springfield (who, like Cheap Trick, had been recording for a while but would have first major hit with "Jessie's Girl" in 1981), and others. Unlike many of the pop rock and power pop artists of the late Seventies and early Eighties, he would have sustained success throughout the decade, producing several top forty hits. There can be little doubt that much of Eddie Money's success was due to his personality. Mr. Money had a good sense of humour that was not only reflected in interviews, but in his stage performances and music videos as well. Indeed, his self-deprecating sense of humour made him much more likeable than many rock stars of the time. While some might dismiss Eddie Money, then, for a generation he will always remain one of the best and most enjoyable pop rock performers of all time.