Eddie Money, ‘Two Tickets to Paradise’ singer, dies at 70

Edward Joseph Mahoney, American singer and songwriter better known as Eddie Money, passed away on Friday in Los Angeles, California.

His passing on was announced in a statement issued by his family. He passed away aged 70.

“The Money Family regrets to announce that Eddie passed away peacefully early this morning. 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,” it read.

Last month, the veteran singer-saxophonist had revealed he was battling stage 4 oesophagal cancer.

“What I don’t want to do is I don’t want to keep the fact that I have cancer from everybody. It’s not honest. I want to be honest with everybody,” he had said.

“I want people to know that cancer [treatment] has come a long way and not everybody dies from cancer like they did in the Fifties and Sixties. Am I going to live a long time? Who knows? It’s in God’s hands.”

Money was born on March 21, 1940, in Brooklyn, New York but grew up in Long Island. He spent two years as a New York City police officer before deciding to take on a career in music.

In Berkeley, California, he spent some time with local musicians of the San Francisco club scene where he met Bill Graham, music promoter in 1976. Graham would become Money’s manager helping him achieve multi-platinum album sales in the 1980s.

Money inked a deal with Columbia Records, which distributed his self-titled album in 1977.

Money’s collection of hits include 1978’s ‘Baby Hold On’, which peaked at No. 11 on the US chart, and ‘Two Tickets to Paradise’ (No. 22), followed by ‘Maybe I’m a Fool’ the following year (No. 22), ‘Think I’m in Love’ (No. 16) and ‘Shakin’ (No. 63) in 1982.

He also released ‘Take Me Home Tonight’, his highest-charting song in 1986, which reached No. 4 and ‘Walk on Water’ (No. 9) in 1988.

Money also dabbled into drug and alcohol abuse during his period of dominance; nearly dying of an overdose that left him unable to walk for a year.

Eventually working his way back to performing live, Money was featured on a 2016 episode of ‘Oprah: Where Are They Now?’ That led to the series ‘Real Money,’ which debuted on AXS TV in 2018 and was on its second season.

Money’s music was considered blue-collar at its core, which led him to be featured on ‘The King of Queens’ in 2002, where he performed a selection of his hits for friend and star Kevin James.

Money is survived by Laurie, his wife, and five children.