Eddie Money may be one of the great underestimated musical performers of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Born in Manhattan in 1949, in the middle of the Boomer generation, Eddie harbored notions of being a police officer like his father, uncle, and brother, but instead got into music, spending some time rocking New York with a couple of local bands. Born Eddie Mahoney, he changed his name to Eddie Money in 1968, after moving to California to pursue a music career.
He started out playing clubs in the Bay Area, and in 1977, won a contract with Columbia Records. The rest is history – and here are seven great songs from that history. I couldn’t narrow it down to six.
Gimme Some Water (1978): Wow. One of Eddie’s earlier hits, this is a fun one with a western theme reminiscent of The Grateful Dead’s “Mexicali Blues” or some of Pure Prairie League’s stuff.
Take Me Home Tonight/Be My Baby (1985): This is one of Eddie’s most successful tunes, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. It’s a classic Eddie Money song, featuring Eddie’s vocals, sung Jim Nabor-like out of the side of his mouth.
See Also: Start Your Weekend Right With Six Groovy Songs From 1968
Two Tickets to Paradise (Live, 1987): This may be the song Eddie Money is best known for. It spins the tale of a broke guy who manages to scrape enough to take his girlfriend on a trip – and which of us hasn’t been in that happy situation a time or two? Boy, howdy, if I ain’t ever faced just that, and scrimping and saving that money was sure worth it – paradise, even.
Think I’m In Love (1982): This one made it to #16 on the Billboard Hot 100, which was pretty good for one of Eddie’s earlier hits. This song showed up, oddly, in the David Spade movie “Joe Dirt,” which may well be a dubious distinction. The official video – a Dracula theme with a twist, and creative music videos, new in this time frame, made music just that much more fun.
See Also: Start Your Weekend Right With Five Great '80s Music Videos
I Wanna Go Back (1984): Originally a Billy Satellite tune from 1984, Eddie Money’s cover of this fun song actually beat out the original group’s version on the charts. Personally, I thought Eddie Money’s version was the better one; it seems a lot of ‘80s rock & roll fans felt the same way. Billboard described the song as a “hard rock ballad that capsulizes grown-up regret,” and that’s probably as good a description as any.
We Should Be Sleeping (1987): This is a fun song with a driving, fun beat. It seems like the kind of song that was made for late ‘80s radio – but, amazingly, it never really went anywhere, not making the charts at all. But I liked it, and I’m not really one to pay too much attention to what’s making the charts.
Shakin’ (1982): Finally, my personal favorite of Eddie’s tunes, this one accompanied by a fun video featuring the lovely Appolonia Kotero. “Shakin’” is a great song, rollicking, fun, and fast; it elicits images of a youth a lot of people who grew up in the ‘70s and ‘80s will find familiar – fast cars and pretty girls. What could be better than that?Sadly, Eddie is no longer with us, having died of complications of esophageal cancer in 2019. Eddie fit the stereotype of a rock & roll star perhaps a little too well; he made no bones about his pot-smoking and held the dubious honor of being the first American rocker to overdose on fentanyl, in a 1980 incident that caused nerve damage on Eddie’s left side, leaving him with a permanent limp; that and his heavy smoking no doubt contributed to his death.
Do you have any Eddie Money hits to suggest? As always, the comments are all yours.
