New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Eighties hitmaker Eddie Money died on Friday following complications from stage 4 esophageal cancer. He was 70 years old.
"The Money family regrets to announce that Eddie passed away peacefully early this morning," his family said in a statement. "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."
Biography:
Edward Joseph Mahoney (March 21, 1949 - September 13, 2019), known professionally as Eddie Money, was an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who had success in the 1970s and 1980s with a string of Top 40 hits and platinum albums. Money is well known for songs like "Baby Hold On", "Two Tickets to Paradise", "Think I'm in Love", "Shakin'", "Take Me Home Tonight", "I Wanna Go Back", "Walk on Water", and "The Love in Your Eyes".
Eddie Money was born Edward Joseph Mahoney into a large Irish Catholic family in Brooklyn, the son of Dorothy and Daniel P. Mahoney. He grew up on Long Island. His grandfather, father, and brother were members of the New York City Police Department and he himself was an NYPD trainee for a period of time. In 1968, Money moved to California.
After moving to Berkeley, California, Money became a regular at city clubs. He secured a recording contract with Columbia Records. In the late 1970s, he charted with 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 "Think I'm in Love" and "Shakin'". His career began to decline after an unsuccessful album in 1983 and struggles with drug addiction.
Money made a comeback in 1986, and returned to the mainstream rock spotlight with the album Can't Hold Back. "Take Me Home Tonight", a duet with Ronnie Spector, peaked at no. 4 in the United States. "I Wanna Go Back" reached no. 14, and "Endless Nights" peaked at no. 21. Can't Hold Back was certified platinum. Money followed that album with Nothing to Lose (1988). That album featured the Top 10 hit "Walk on Water" (1988) and the Top 40 hit "The Love in Your Eyes" (1989).
Since 1992, Money traditionally opened the summer concert season for DTE EnergyMusic Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan. In January 2010, he performed a medley of his hit singles during the halftime performance at the Liberty Bowl.
Money wrote and performed original songs for the films Americathon (1979), Over the Top, Back to the Beach (both 1987), and Kuffs (1992), along with the television series Hardball (1989-1990).
Health issues led Money to cancel his summer tour in July 2019. He had developed pneumonia while recovering from heart valve surgery. While planning to hit the road later that year, he was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer during what he thought was a "routine checkup". Money died on September 13, 2019.
Money made several television appearances on American sitcoms. He played himself on an episode of the sitcom The King of Queens in May 2002, which also used his name.
In 2012, Money appeared in a GEICO insurance commercial in which he owns a travel agency and sings "Two Tickets to Paradise" to a family that wants tickets for a vacation.
A reality television series about Money and his family, Real Money, debuted on AXS TV on April 8, 2018.
Money married his wife Laurie Harris in 1989. They had five children: Zachary, Jessica, Joseph, Julian, and Desmond. He "made his home" in the Bay Area and performed often in San Francisco's clubs.
Money joined a 12-step program in 2001. Of his addiction, he said that he came to the realization that he did not need drugs or alcohol for his "quick wit".
On August 24, 2019, Money, a long-time smoker, revealed that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer. He died from the disease at his home in Los Angeles on September 13, 2019, at age 70. The family statement read in part, "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."
Discography:
• Eddie Money (1977)
• Life for the Taking (1978)
• Playing for Keeps (1980)
• No Control (1982)
• Where's the Party? (1983)
• Can't Hold Back (1986)
• Nothing to Lose (1988)
• Right Here (1991)
• Love and Money (1995)
• Ready Eddie (1999)
• Wanna Go Back (2007)
• Brand New Day (2019)
