
Eddie Money
Photo by Donna Ward/Getty Images
Eddie Money, Hit Rock Singer & Entertainer, Dies At 70
Eddie Money, the unmistakable voice behind hits such as "Two Tickets To Paradise," "Walk On Water," and "Take Me Home Tonight," has died at age 70. The sad news comes just four weeks after he announced that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer.
“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.”
The New York native began his long journet to rock stardom in 1968, when he decided to pursue music professionally following two years of service as a Brooklyn police officer. After moving to the Bay Area, Money piqued the interest of promoter Bill Graham, who signed Money to a management deal that led to a deal with Columbia Records.
Money arrived on the airwaves in the late '70s with his distinctive blue-collar rock & roll vocals, the perfect balance of rock attitude and pop polish. His self-titled debut album came out in 1977, featuring "Two Tickets To Paradise," and a string of hits followed, such as "Baby Hold On" and "Maybe I'm A Fool" from 1978's Life For The Taking.
Money's career experienced a resurgence in 1986 when he returned with Can't Hold Back, featuring his hit duet with Ronnie Spector "Take Me Home Tonight." The song earned Money a GRAMMY nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male.
He continued to tour and release new music over the next two decades. In 2016, Money participated in GRAMMYs On The Hill, meeting with Congress on Capitol Hill to advocate for issues important to music creators.
While filming the second season of his own reality series on AXS, "Real Money," the singer's received his cancer diagnosis. In July of this year, he was forced to cancel his remaining tour dates due to pnemonia, and he announced his diagnosis publicly just last month.
The music world morns the loss of one of its most remarkable rock voices, and Money's memory lives on in the music he shared.
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