Part 1
It’s hard to write a hit. But from the moment he had one, the critics savaged Eddie Money.
It started with “Baby Hold On.” The lyrics were not intellectual enough for the cognoscenti. But the music was undeniable, you heard it once and got it whereas so much vaunted stuff, then and now, you listen to over and over again and still don’t get.
Then came “Two Tickets To Paradise.”
Now that was a smash right out of the box. Great title, great track, great, emphatic chorus:
“I’ve got two tickets to paradise
Won’t you pack your bags, we’ll leave tonight”
This was 1978. When airline travel was still expensive. When you didn’t hop on a plane to go to a show or a game, you were stuck at home, dreaming, of what could possibly be, and Eddie Money was opening the top of your brain and filling you with hope, and isn’t that what we all need to get by?
But then people started commenting on his weight. Said he ate too many cheeseburgers. Sure, the cover of Money’s debut was stylized, but it fit right in with the era, which might be one reason disco killed rock and then the whole business imploded until MTV resuscitated it.
And that wiped a lot of acts out.
But not Eddie Money. He made the transition. First came “Think I’m In Love” and “Shakin.” And there’s not a soul alive who was conscious in the eighties who does not know “Shakin’,” the video was all over MTV. Even bigger was “Take Me Home Tonight,” featuring Ronnie Spector, this guy brings back an original and he’s the butt of jokes…why?
Now I bought the debut. Got a promo for two bucks the week it was released, and played it into the ground. It made me feel good.
But not as much as “Unplug It In.”
It was 1992, “Unplugged” was flourishing on the now totally dominant MTV. Not that Eddie Money was cool enough to be featured, but he released his own acoustic live album, that positively ROCKED!
You see in ’92, labels sometimes sent cassettes. At this point vinyl was almost done, in promoland anyway, and I got one of those little Philips creations and pushed it into the Alpine and immediately got into the groove, from the very first note of “Gimme Some Water,” the opening cut. This was an album track from Money’s mostly hitless second LP “Life For The Taking.” Oh, “Maybe I’m A Fool” made it to number 22 on the singles chart, but at this point no one was listening to Top Forty, AOR ruled, and you didn’t need a pop hit to go platinum, as “Life For The Taking” did.
Now the studio take of “Gimme Some Water” was a studio concoction, slick, kinda like Bon Jovi’s “Blaze Of Glory.” You were watching the movie, but in this ’92 acoustic take you were LIVING IT! You felt like you were at the gig, it was immediate, engrossing, it made me feel alive, just after my father died.
That’s a weird thing, a parent passing. My father had terminal cancer, but when he left this mortal coil I still was not prepared. Little music sounded good, but “Unplug It In” did, because it exuded the feeing of being alive, embracing the excitement of the moment, the power of rock and roll.
And track 2, “She Takes My Breath Away,” continued the energy. Originally from Money’s 1991 LP “Right Here,” featuring writers like Mutt Lange and Diane Warren in search of an impact, it did not make one. The end of this live recording amped up the power. The original was the same song, but it was studio intimate. The live version, once again, was for everybody, you know the feel of a singalong.
But the piece-de-resistance was “Trinidad.” A redo of the opening cut of Money’s third LP “Playing for Keeps,” from 1980, the live iteration has a distinct groove that gives the illusion you’re all in a small club together:
“She calls my name
To come on back to hold me
Trinidad
Trinidad, Trinidad, Trinidad
Trinidad”
The only person I ever knew from Trinidad was Roger Ames. Who went to college in Canada. But we’re all eager to be called back to the good times of yore, those memories call to us, they’re what we think about when we put our head on the pillow.
And I’d have it down. Push the button to flip the cassette. Know how much to hold the fast-forward and reverse buttons to hear these three songs over and over. I distinctly remember listening to them on my ride back from that April day at Mt. Waterman, skiing locally, taking time off, grieving, and now after expending energy on the hill I had the sunroof open and the music blasting and…
I was smiling.
That’s what Eddie Money’s music did, make you smile.
Part 2
And then we became friends. He had an AXS show. I asked him to do a podcast. He invited me to his interview and show at the Grammy Museum. He told me what I thought was an anti-Semitic joke, about his wife shopping, and then when I cried foul it turned out he had a Jewish mother, which is something I never expected, but now it made sense, Eddie Money was haimish, you met him and you were immediately his best friend. He whispered in my ear, he’d e-mail me, like we knew each other from way back when. But maybe we did, we both grew up praying to the god of rock and roll. And Eddie was over the hump, the drugs were in the rearview mirror, and then the cancer caught up with him.
First he told me it was gone.
But then it came back.
But he was checking up on me, on my pemphigus. The subject line of his e-mail was “How you feeling?” He was the kind of guy who cared. Oh, he could self-promote, although he had a sense of humor about himself, but I genuinely felt he did care, and to tell you the truth, very few people do, especially rock stars, they tend to be narcissistic and socially awkward, they let the music do their talking.
But not Eddie.
This is what he wrote:
“Thanks Bob
Could be better
Esophagus Cancer stage 4
Leaked into my liver n lymph nodes
No pain n hopeing for the best
Glad you like the new material
I’m excited about a second season of “Real Money” AXS tv show ) and releasing the new cd
Kids are good and I’m still doing shows
How is your health
Good, I hope
At the usc Cancer Treatment Center right now ….in God’s hands
Lost 40 pounds
People say I look great
Go figure. .huh Bob
I know you must know how famous your column is ….the power of the pen …. i have people excited we’re communicating
I just hope your in good health
Eddie $”
And then, nine days later, on March 13th of this year, Eddie wrote:
“Hush on my illness
Please. Feeling pretty good
Doing a pod cast with Louie Anderson
Will announce it like Alex Trubeck
Short, sensitive with a positive vibe
Although ALEX is in worse shape than me
E$”
And then he went dark.
I thought about Eddie, figured he was doing well, figured I’d hear from him if it was otherwise, but then Peter Paterno told me the curtain was falling.
And today he passed.
Which is strange, because he was so alive, he was a funny dude, a good hang.
And the music lives on.
And when I first saw the news this AM, it didn’t shock me completely, I knew he was sick. But as the day wore on and the e-mail came in, all I could hear in my mind was “Trinidad,” it kept playing in my head.
God took Eddie Money home tonight. They took him back to Trinidad. The music lives on, but 70 is too damn young.
The Big C knows no bounds. If it can get Steve Jobs, it can get you. Sometimes you beat it, sometimes you don’t. But I know if Eddie were here now, he’d tell you to spin his records and do your best to have fun, that was his goal, to inspire you to grab hold of this rock life, chuck off the straight world, stop being a policeman and cut loose.
Eddie certainly did!
Responses from Bob’s readers. Please note, these comments are unedited for grammar or content.
Dear Bob,
My name is Cindy FitzGerald. I’m the “ritzy sorority” girl Ed mentions in one of his interviews regarding the genesis of Two Tickets.
Anyway, I am not so ritzy but Eddie and I have had an almost 50 year love affair. Baby Hold On and Two Tickets are about my mother trying to split us up. Save A Little Room, a very prescient song, also written for me.
I created the brand Eddie Money, suggesting to him that just dropping the ‘ah’ from Mahoney was fairly honest and everybody likes money, right?
One reason I write is that I was aware of your column in which you thought Eddie was anti-Semitic, but I only just yesterday saw how that had all rightfully been remedied.
You wrote a beautiful tribute.
There is no nicer guy than Ed and as you might imagine I am totally broken-hearted. Those early songs were real life for us, and Ed would often give my mother credit for his career.
She helped, but it was his talent, his very hard work, a bit of luck and timing (Bill liking him), and you know what…it was his destiny. It really was.
Best wishes to you,
Cindy
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Thanks for your remembrance of Eddie Money. Like anyone who was in radio during a certain period, I had multiple encounters with him. And for most of it, I wasn’t even in a large market. EVERY radio friend I have on Facebook posted a picture of themselves with Eddie. He visited every station. He called everybody. He remembered names. A radio pal noted that he could have been a VP of promotion for Columbia because he GOT promotion better than anyone. Old-school promotion. Shaking hands and kissing babies. Mentioning station call letters and jock’s names when he was on stage in their city. And always saying thanks for the airplay.
The critics may not have understood, but we did.
Bonus points for mentioning “Unplug it In.” He did a promo show for my radio station at that time – with that ‘unplugged’ band – and it was awesome. “She Takes My Breathe Away” is my all-time fave.
John Michaels
Minneapolis
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Great column on Eddie. He called me with Jerry Blair on the line. He sang, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” in honor of my name.
He was upset and disappointed the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame snubbed him. He asked for help.
As usual, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is out of touch, elitist, and full of shit. It’s a shame.
Dorothy Carvello
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The best looking girls in town lined up to see The Eddie Money Band at the Longbranch and the Keystone in Berkeley during the mid 70s. Eddie Money was a star before he had hits, it was obvious.
Tony Gottlieb
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Bob,
Back in my L.A. days, before Nashville pulled me away, I had the good fortune to be Talent coordinator for “Pepsi’s, Hitline USA”…YES! Rock Line, was an early gold standard during our beginning days – in the late 80’s, but Hitline USA soon became the greatest, thanks to Z100 & KIIS. We had some of the best artists ever, Janet Jackson, Who was our First! From there, every Sunday night, for many years, the greatest of the great of that era, Cher, Bette, Stevie Wonder, The Bangels, Robert Plant, Sting, Celine Dion, Elton, Paul McCartney, and so on, 52 weeks a year, the same quality of greatness, including the equally great, Eddie Money. As a matter of fact, I believe Eddie’s three visits to Hitline USA, was more then any other artist? (maybe a tie with Donny Osmond?) Eddie just loved talking to “normal Folk.” What else can I say? Not only a great talent, but a sensational human being! It was just wonderful being in the same room with him.
So long Eddie…Won’t be too long to say hello again?
Barry Freeman
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Thank you, Bob. Saw Eddie $ a couple summers ago on LI, tons of energy, so positive. Though not an extreme fan, I thought some of his tunes were magic. Guess I am one of what he called his “ladies from the ‘80s.” Will miss him.
Cheers,
Flo Kaczorowski
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Sad day for Money fans. Thanks for sharing your very personal story. Listen to “Life for the Taking” folks.
Steve Krasnowski
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Hi Bob
Show me the Money. Beautiful. So many people responded to your personal tribute to him. We need more of that love.
Michael Des Barres
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star. Very tongue in cheek and funny. If you haven’t seen it I think you would enjoy it.
Lisa Gregory
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I remember when Eddie broke up in Canada – I was working at CBS Records at the time. Canada loved him and his songs were great. Fast forward all these years and I had a chance to spend some time with him when we were doing his show on AXS TV. He was humble, grateful for his success, loved what he did and loved his family. Down to earth, still passionate about making music and full of creative ideas and of course ever the joker. He was a great talent and songwriter. RIP Eddie – honored to spent some time with you. You and your songs will live on forever.
Kim Garner
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As a kid my specialty was collecting 45 singles w rare bsides. Or ones that had single only remixes. One of my faves was TWO TICKETS TO PARADISE, the main difference was right before the chorus Eddie sang w urgency “Get your things” I got 2 tickets…” A small change from the album version but one my friends always noticed in college.
Joe Mock in PDR
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It was the mid-80’s and I was working a session in Lafayette Ca when the control room door opens and it’s Eddie, fresh from a session over at Fantasy Studios and he says “Chauncey, call your bank and make some room in your checking account!” lol. He proceeded to play us a rough mix of “I Wanna Go Back” and I was thrilled of course and he was so proud that he nailed it.
Ed was like that… quick with a joke but always delivering the goods.
I last spoke to him a few months ago and he sounded so positive I figured if anyone could beat the big C, my bet would be on the Money Man.
Eddie was one of a kind.
RIP brother.
Danny Chauncey
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Loved Eddie. interviewed him
when i was on the air in Toledo
He was hilarious.
I think i remember having a
white out with him at an abrams convention.
neil
oops i must add this
i can’t remember how long ago it was but i was driving to my office at SBK or EMI listening to
Howard on KROCK. He had Eddie Money in the studio doing a great Stern interview.
He then plays a parody…
“I’ve got 2 fingers in paradise”
i laughed so hard that i had to pull over.
I’d been a Stern Fan as far back as DC101. but that Eddie Money interview put me in Howard land forever.
Neil Lasher.
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I’ve been reading your blog for 15 years but never written. I know I’m late, but I have an Eddie Money story to share.
I’m an audio tech and spent 10 years doing studio work in Atlanta, mostly commercial rap music. I had enough of that lifestyle and moved into live events, working for a company that produces the NASCAR pre-race ceremonies and any concerts that happen at the tracks. Their specialty is getting a large stage and sound system on and off the track very fast… Anyway we are all used to working with successful artists, mostly classic rock and country. And most of the employees are musicians.
So the company started hiring “Name” acts to perform at our Christmas party each year. Someone affordable but recognizable. And a group of employees would be the backing band, and get to play rock star for a night. They’ve hired artists like Dee Snider, the guy who currently sings for Foreigner, etc. Well my 1st year at the company they hired Eddie Money. He was getting $15,000 to do 5 songs, not having to pay a band or crew, with all expenses covered. Easy money. So we rehearsed for a few weeks leading up to it, then he joined us for sound check/ rehearsal the afternoon of the party. Obviously, our “band” was not great, and in previous years the hired talent saw what they were working with, made the most of it and cashed the check quickly. But Eddie was different. He was in no hurry to get up on stage and do half-ass versions of his hit songs. He starts trying to whip the band Ito shape, calling out individuals who were messing up, making people tune their instruments, and kept everyone there hours later tham expected. He ruffled a lot of feathers, hurt some feelings, and turned the party into a job, but I totally respected him. Creating a hit song is not easy, and having a lifelong career in music is nearly impossible. And I understood that these songs were his babies. He had been nurturing them and loving them for decades, and he was not going to see them treated like that. Eddie Money caused our boss to stop hiring artists to perform at the company party, because most of the guys didn’t want to risk being told they sucked again, but he totally earned a fan in me that day.
Joel Mullis
Charlotte, NC
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I would not have a future without Eddie Money.
I played my group’s first show this year in a t-shirt shop in Boston, MA. Eddie saw a video from the show.
The second show was opening for Eddie in a theater in Pennsylvania. He asked me about my family. Told me I would’ve made my grandfather proud if he was there to see me. He brought tears to my eyes. He watched us from FOH and side of stage.
He had us open again in NH. Told me to call him. I get on the phone and I hear “Sammy! How are you?!” followed by a string of one liners and a “so I’m gonna come out and introduce you tonight.” We walk out on stage together. He introduces me and then the band. We play our set and he watched from the side of stage. He gave us his dressing room. Opted to take the lesser of the two. Later in the night he plays his set and calls me up to sing 2 tickets with him and the band. When the show ended, he left early after saying goodbye to me. Directly after I went to the merch table. After some time passed, his fans became furious. They had never gone to a show where he didn’t come out and greet them, sign t-shirts, shake hands. I couldn’t tell them, but by that time (April 12th) more than the years alone were getting to him. The cancer had spread through much of his body. Much like my own uncle Bob who was grabbed by cancer less than a year before, Eddie’s body was shutting down. But still he performed. He performed for his audience when he could barely stand. And I mean this. Literally. And he played and gave everything he had out on that stage like only a man who had given his life to music could. Eddie performed until the cancer literally rendered him incapable. Until he could not sing or play his saxophone.
Eddie was my hero. He showed me what it truly meant to be an artist. To be captivated by the music, the audience, the entire experience. He showed me how to play live. He showed me how to treat an audience. I learned many of my life’s greatest lessons from Eddie, not the least being how to treat other people. We need to take care of each other. And that’s what he did.
Eddie took me on when I had nothing. Anything and everything I will have in my career is because of Eddie Mahoney.
Though none of us can live forever, truly indelible art can. And so, in a way, so too will Eddie.
Rest In Peace Eddie. You were loved.
Sam Haiman
Redwood Honey
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Eddie.. what a character. First of all, he invented Blue Steel…look at almost every picture he ever took. “Kimmy, ya gotta suck your cheeks in when they take your picture.” There will be thousands of tributes written, and stories told, because if you were only around him for a minute, he gave you a story. I was around him for years, played on a bunch of records of his, produced a few, so the stories are plentiful.
His frantic energy was too much for him to sit for the more tedious aspects of producing. One time while I was comping some drum takes, he said ‘hey Kimmy, give the the keys to your caww, I’m going to go wash your cawww.’ OK…. figured he wanted to get out and drive down to the carwash, get some air, burn off some energy. About an hour later, I look outside, and Eddie has the big sponge mitts on, he has a couple of buckets, a hose; not only has he washed both my cars, my neighbor came by and he offered to wash HER car. Bewildered, she asks me “why is Eddie Money washing cars in your driveway?”
His instant fix for any mood swing or low energy? “Kimmy, I can’t think right now. I need a SlimJim and a Coke.”
He calls 411 directory operator (remember those?).. it goes like this. “hello, this is operator 324, what number can I get you?” to which he replies, in full radio promo voice, “Hey 324!!” (like it’s really her name) “it’s Eddie Money, the MONEY MAN! I’m looking for some Italian food, what have you got for me?” Even for the directory assistance operator, he was ‘on.’
I remember when Laurie was pregnant with their first child, he was so nervous. What a blessing that all ended up being. She give him such a beautiful family, and a centering purpose.
Ironic that he passes from esophageal cancer, he never even liked hot coffee. It always had to cool down.
Kim Bullard
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Thanks so much for this amazing piece on Eddie.
I was running a record store in Mt. Kisco, New York when his debut album came out. Right away I knew he was something special.
Years later my band opened for him in Atlantic City. Backstage I got to say hello to him; he acted like he was opening for us and he’d been waiting to meet me. A more selfless gentleman in rock & roll I’ve never met. I told him “Shakin'” was the the single greatest strip club song ever written and told him all the rock musicians owed him a huge debt of gratitude. He cracked up and told me I made his day.
Then I saw him at The Chance I’m Poughkeepsie a year or so later and he brought a hometown friend of his up to play drums on “Wanna Be A Rock ‘n Roll Star,” announcing to the crowd that his friend did, indeed want to be one. Here was a real star letting a childhood friend sit in on one of his biggest hits, who was not a pro musician, it was obvious, to let him fulfill his dream for a few minutes.
He was real, and he was a good soul, which I’ve seen precious few of in my 44 years playing rock music professionally.
Thanks for putting the lump in my throat, and reminding me of who he truly was.
With Gratitude,
Scott Sobo
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In 2014, I booked Eddie Money on a couple West Michigan television shows where he and his daughter, Jesse (a fantastic singer) performed a song (I believe was written by Chuck Alkazian) about a soldier coming home from war. I was also Eddie and Jesse’s transportation to and from the stations. After both television appearances, Eddie asked if I wanted to grab some breakfast. I immediately ran through a list in my mind of nice restaurants in the area. Before I could suggest one, Eddie pointed to a restaurant and said,”lets eat there.” Never heard of the place, nor saw the place until that moment. In sum, Eddie’s eggs were served too runny for his liking, toast was served at room temp, and a waitress was shoving a pen and food order ticket into his face for an autograph. After two failed attempts to get the eggs and toast right, Eddie politely gave up and signed the autograph for the waitress. It’s now time to pay and I’m thinking Eddie will cover breakfast since he invited me. Nope. Instead, Eddie asked if I would pay for breakfast because he had no cash on him. I’m now thinking, how cool is this? I’m taking Eddie Money to breakfast. At the show that evening, I was talking with some of Eddie’s band mates and shared my breakfast story. They laughed and said, “you fell for it.” Then proceeded to explain Eddie regularly uses the “no cash on me” tactic to get the other person to cover his meal. I tried rationalizing the situation but the guys in the band knew him best and concluded by saying, “at least now you know for the next time.” Sadly, there won’t be a next time. And if there were, I would fall for the ruse again just to be around Eddie’s positive energy and humor. Every time I hear Trinidad, my mind transports me back to the first time I heard the song and feel of that summer.
Chris Petras
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Bob:
I’m a former Columbia Records rep and handled southwest promo based in Phoneix for just under 15 years. I was new at the label as Eddie landed there and like all the promo people, the Money stories are endless. As an east coast Philly guy who worked radio and records there, Eddie and I hit it off immediately.
I picked him up at his hotel on a Saturday morning to head out to do a few radio station visits to push his show that night. Sure, it was odd to do that on a Saturday, but no PD wanted to turn down the opportunity to have him on air. On this particular day, he walked out of his hotel carrying a baby in a car seat and a diaper bag. When asked, he said, “I’ve been a pain in the ass to my wife this week and decided to give her the day off.”
We put the baby in the backseat of my Honda and were on our way.
After the last radio visit, it became obvious the baby needed a diaper change, but of course, Eddie was out of them. We hit a convenience store and he bought diapers, baseball cards and a soda. As he was leaning into the back seat of my 2 door Accord, a guy jumps out of his car, knocks on the window and says, ‘Hey, aren’t you Eddie Money?” Eddie calmly looks up from the dirty diaper and tells the guy it is him but that it wouldn’t be the best time to shake his hand. Eddie cleaned the kid up, went in to wash, came out with more baseball cards, shook the guy’s hand and signed one of the cards for him. It was one of those moments that seems frozen in time for me even now as I mark 50 years in this business.
Every label promo person, jock or promoter who worked with him has their Eddie stories too. It was impossible to spend time with him and not leave laughing.
We loved the the guy.
Bob Conrad
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Hi Bob, He was a regular guy, that became a rock star. a friend of mine owned a italian restaurant in San Ramon (East Bay, pretty affluent suburb in Nor Cal). Eddie lived near by and was a pretty regular customer before he got sick. It was an old fashion place that had entertainment right out of the American song book, and an older clientele that dressed up for a night out of dinner and some dancing.
My friend the owner, was old school Italian and would sing Sinatra and Jerry Vale covers sometimes with the band. He would get Eddie to join him on stage, and always ready to please Eddie would. Eddie knew all the words to all the American song book classics. Not many other rock stars, I suspect did. The customers loved the guy.
alan segal
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Good morning, Bob,
Thanks so much for the extraordinary article about one Edward Mahoney. I co-wrote the lyrics for Shakin. Eddie discovered my lyric writing through a mutual friend Alan Pasqua, the keyboard genius. He said to me “They say my lyrics are sexist, so I wanna woman to write ‘em ya know, from her point of view.” I tweaked a few lines to make Rosanna more powerful. Give her agency, whatever the hell that is.
Eddie was funny, self-deprecating and oh so talented. As the song was going to be published on the No Control album, he called me one morning at 8 am to sort out percentages. He was fair and generous. Together with Ralph Carter, we three share ownership of that song. It’s like owning a piece of history.
Whenever there is an earthquake, we get a bump in royalties. Not bad.
Here’s hoping Eddie is rockin’ the main stage in paradise.
Best,
Elizabeth Myers
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Great tribute, Bob. It’s always about the songs. Worked with him several times over the years and always left with the impression of what a kind and grateful person he was. Going miss him not being around.
Doug Daniel
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Everyone is talking about Eddie this weekend – he deserves the attention.
I only worked with him once but will never forget that day.
He was warm, friendly, and generous with his time with everyone on site.
Eddie had many fans and friends up here in Canada.
He was a real mentsch.
Barry Garber
Montreal
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Having been Eddie’s agent for over 20 years (most of those without management) I have more than a few memories. In fact, there was never a dull moment! Everyone has a funny Eddie Money story. Most people know how unpretentious he was, (“It’s Eddie Money, ya know, the singer?”) and that he had his struggles. But it was Eddie’s heart that made me want to work hard for him and do whatever I could to protect him.
Around 6 years ago I got a note from a nurse who said she had a hospice patient whose last wish was to see an Eddie Money concert again. The patient was a fairly young woman in her 40’s with an advanced disease and was not expected to live much longer. When Eddie heard about his “biggest fan” and her request, he immediately pulled out all of the stops to give her an immersive experience. Myself, my assistant, the tm, the production team at Pine Knob and her caregiver worked excitedly all week to figure out how to arrange for the ambulance to deliver her to the venue and set her up comfortably at the side of the stage to watch the show. At one point, unexpectedly, Eddie wheeled her gurney onstage and introduced her to the crowd. Her caregiver let us know two months later, that the woman passed away but that Eddie had given her a joyful wondrous bon voyage that only he could deliver. In this industry full of ulterior motives and focused on making money and taking credit, he gave all of us the opportunity to make a life altering difference in someone’s life. Eddie made a connection with everyone; every assistant he prank called, every fan that loved his music, everyone he told an off color joke to…everyone he met. Aren’t our connections to other people the essence of life that make it worth living?
I’m so proud of who he was and so honored to have been a part of some of it. RIP my dear, dear, friend. You will be missed.
Christianne Weiss
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Hi Bob…
Eddie and I went back to 1980. We got it trouble together, ate together (Eddie was a fantastic cook) we played and wrote songs together. And we did it the good old fashioned way, got together in a room and let it flow… we wrote “So cold Tonight” off of a riff Ed was blowing on his sax in his family room. When we got pushback Ed said “fuck them,” he loved it. It lead me to play guitar in a different way on the track.
His vocal tracks were often ones I’d grab on the fly, when Ed wasn’t paying attention I’d get his best work, his performance. And Eddie was all about performance. When he’d get too focused on a vocal he’d think about it too much and when Eddie, or any artist for that matter, starts thinking too much it’s time to call it a day. But when you got Ed in the place where he both believed in the song and felt comfortable he’d throw down that performance and all of a sudden it was “Eddie Money” Full on!
We wrote a ballad he loved called “Turn The Light Off” and he fought for it like a champ. The vocal performance is all Eddie and yes, he’s singing a pop ballad, strings and all! I love how he sang the end line where you can hear his accent on “Lay Down Next To Me” as Ed sings it, “Lay Down Next Ta Me.” We got blowback, Eddie said “fuck em'” again.
Ed once cooked a leg of lamb on an Easter Sunday as we worked. The smell around the studio was insanely good. And like he did everything else, Eddie cooked big as there was enough to feed everyone and a second helping. Of course, Ed cooked a feast!
I have a difficult time with how quickly he went. Then it reminded me of all of the other early risers we’ve lost in the past few years.
Eddie worked his balls off! He was always busy busy and would often go and go without a break. But that’s Ed, 100% or nothing.
You’ll miss him, I’ll miss him, promoters will miss him; hell, Don Rickles will miss him. Yet for those of us who knew past the man of 10 million jokes we won’t forget how he’d break any and all silence with another good one we actually never heard before… and Bob, there are times in any recording session, during any song, baseball game (he’d give me the daily sports rundown better than any professional announcer – along with the stats). There are times during any project, mix and and in life we all just need one fuckn thing to loosen it all up and let it flow again –
One BIG Laugh!
Eddie’s was one of the best!
Thanks Bob –
frankie sullivan
ps – onboard in air wifi sucks.
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Hi Bob-
First time, long time. And with that you know I was in radio a long time. I got the bug at 7, had my FCC license at 14 and was a PD at 21.
I knew I’d never be able to provide for my family on a radio salary so I went into IT in the 90’s with this thing called the Internet. But I always had the radio bug. Up until three years ago I would do the morning show at WRFY in Reading, record shows for the oldies stations that run on HD2 signals and from there I’d go to my full time job as an IT person. It was 12+ hour days for years. I left radio in 2016 and now just do my IT work.
But the reason for my note: “hey man”! Eddie Money! When I was still full time in radio in the 90’s Eddie was playing a local venue called The Silo. Being an R&R reporting station and just north east of Philly we had a pretty good history with artists stopping by. I’ll have to share my Foreigner story sometime.
This day it was the Money man. He came into the studio, shook my hand and sat down. He worked the room like he was everybody’s best friend. A small group had gathered in the studio and he welcomed every one of them. We did our first break and it was radio magic. So natural, if you didn’t know you’d swear we were a morning team that had been together for years.
After each segment he’d ask to use the phone. Calling one of his friends to say: “yo! Did you hear that? How’d I sound?” Full of life. Full of energy. When Eddie and I talked on-air it was just us. I had his undivided attention. It was one of the few times I felt so much respect from an artist. He interviewed me as much as I did him. Took a genuine interest in my path.
I was in 9th grade when “Think I’m In Love” came out. And it was that time I was falling for a girl. As he was leaving I said Eddie / between you and Donnie Iris you helped me figure out love. Thank you.
He hugged me and said / that’s fucking beautiful man. Let’s chat again.
That was pre email and I’m not sure he would have remembered that interview, but I can tell you for 60 minutes straight that man treated me like one of his best friends.
RIP Eddie. Thanks for helping me out in life more than once.
-Scott St. John
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As a concert promoter and co-founder of the Long Island Music Hall off Fame, i’ve had the pleasure of working with Eddie many times over the years.
He was inducted into the LIMHoF in 2008 along w Lou Reed, Al Kooper etc., and he played our Great South Bay Music Festival in 2009, and again just recently in 2018 with his daughter and son.. and killed like no time had passed!
The Brooklyn boy was the definition of a Long Island, blue collar, down to earth artist. Attitude, balls, demeanor, and hysterical, rated XX, NY sense of humor. He was “musician-artist-nuts” in the best sense of the word(s). I have a number of personal experiences that we laughed (or negotiated our way) through, none of which I can repeat at this time.
But it’s his talent and music that brings us here. No bullshit, just great songs performed by a hard working, “born-to do it” rocker!
Damn I wish I could repeat those stories!!
Jim Faith
Great South Bay Music Fest
Co-Founder,
LI Music Hall of Fame
