{"id":1091,"date":"2019-09-14T14:54:50","date_gmt":"2019-09-14T18:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/?p=1091"},"modified":"2019-10-29T20:21:16","modified_gmt":"2019-10-30T00:21:16","slug":"eddie-money-rock-star-gracious-honest-and-always-entertaining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/eddie-money-rock-star-gracious-honest-and-always-entertaining\/","title":{"rendered":"Eddie Money, rock star: Gracious, honest and always entertaining"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Eddie<\/a>

Eddie Money performs on July 4, 2018, at the Camden Waterfront Freedom Festival in Camden, N.J.
(Photo by Patti Myers)<\/p><\/div>\n

In the early 1970s, Eddie Money, mostly broke and trying to make it in the music business, was dating a woman who was a student at the University of California, Berkeley. But the woman\u2019s mother didn\u2019t like her daughter hanging out with the young musician.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was in a sorority and her mother didn\u2019t want her to be involved with a rock star, so to speak,\u201d said Money.<\/p>\n

So Money wrote a song about the experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was about being broke and going with a rich girl at the time, which was good for me because she moved out of the sorority house and her mother didn\u2019t know it,\u201d he said. \u201cShe was living with me in North Oakland and paying my rent. And she was also bringing steaks home for the icebox, which was fantastic. So it all worked out great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh, and the song worked out great, too. Money wrote the words and Jimmy Lyon wrote the music. They titled it \u201cBaby Hold On\u201d and it was the lead single off Money\u2019s self-titled debut album \u201cEddie Money,\u201d released in late 1977.<\/p>\n

After performing in various clubs around the Bay Area, Money had finally attracted the attention of rock impresario Bill Graham, who agreed to be Money\u2019s manager. Graham, a Holocaust survivor who was born Wulf Wolodia Grajonca in Berlin, Germany, had emigrated to the United States from Russia before the rise of Nazism. He eventually became known as a concert promoter in the psychedelic music scene of the late 1960s at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. The Fillmore turned out to be one of the proving ground venues for bands like the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Big Brother and the Holding Company, which at the time featured Janis Joplin as its lead singer.<\/p>\n

By the mid-1970s, Graham had become a promoter of large outdoor benefit concerts and a manager for some artists. And he liked Eddie Money.<\/p>\n

\"(Photo<\/a>

(Photo by Patti Myers)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cBill Graham was a fantastic guy. He actually walked out of Russia with 500 kids and 250 of them died of starvation on the way to Paris,\u201d said Money. \u201cHe was really into the Grateful Dead and was friends with Janis Joplin. Jerry Garcia would always be on the couch sleeping in Bill\u2019s office. Bill was a big Dead freak.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Money, Graham liked living vicariously through Money and his life as a rock star, but wanted Money to tone it down a bit in the beginning. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe wanted me to sit on a stool and sing cocktail songs, some bullshit like that. He didn\u2019t like my spins. But he liked me and knew I was a good writer and an entertainer,\u201d said Money.<\/p>\n

When it came time to record the \u201cEddie Money\u201d album in 1977, it would basically be a studio version of Money\u2019s live show at the time, which had been honed by the band\u2019s club performances in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n

The album would be recorded at the Record Plant in Los Angeles. Bruce Botnick would produce and Andy Johns would be the engineer. Botnick had produced the \u201cL.A. Woman\u201d album for The Doors in 1970, the band\u2019s last album with Jim Morrison as lead singer. Johns had engineered several Rolling Stones albums, including \u201cSticky Fingers\u201d in 1971, \u201cExile on Main Street\u201d in 1972 and \u201cGoats Head Soup\u201d in 1973; and a series of Led Zeppelin albums including \u201cLed Zeppelin II\u201d in 1969, \u201cLed Zeppelin III in 1970, \u201cLed Zeppelin IV in 1971, \u201cHouses of the Holy\u201d in 1973 and \u201cPhysical Graffiti\u201d in 1975.<\/p>\n

In addition to Money and Lyon, the band for \u201cEddie Money\u201d would include saxophone player Tom Scott, who had played with George Harrison, Paul McCartney, the Beach Boys, Rod Stewart, the Grateful Dead and Steppenwolf, among others; and former Steve Miller Band members, bassist Lonnie Turner and drummer Gary Mallaber.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a wonderful record to make at the Record Plant in L.A.,\u201d said Money. \u201cWhen I was in the studio, Aretha Franklin was in there and Rod Stewart was in there, some really big people. Every time I turned around, Aretha Franklin was trying to get me to eat. \u2018C\u2019mon honey, have some more of this cornbread.\u2019 It was a good time to be alive and the record was a lot of fun to make.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Not only was the single \u201cBaby Hold On\u201d featured on the album, but the record would also include another of what would become a classic rock single from the era, the Money-penned \u201cTwo Tickets to Paradise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought the first single off the album should have been \u2018Two Tickets to Paradise.\u2019 I wrote that song on Manilla Avenue, which was in North Oakland. I wrote it on a piano and it\u2019s a great song. I just sat down and wrote it. I knew that \u2018paradise\u2019 rhymed with \u2018tonight.\u2019 Who wouldn\u2019t want two tickets to paradise?\u201d said Money. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t about anybody in particular, not really. It was about getting away. Two tickets to paradise can be taking a plane to Hawaii or a Greyhound bus up to the Redwoods. I didn\u2019t take a girl to Hawaii but I did take one up to the Redwoods back in 1976. A girl I\u2019m very happy I didn\u2019t end up with, by the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"(Photo<\/a>

(Photo by Patti Myers)<\/p><\/div>\n

Despite \u201cBaby Hold On\u201d and \u201cTwo Tickets to Paradise\u201d being the big hits off the album, neither one of them was the first song to be recorded when the sessions started at the Record Plant.<\/p>\n

Money thought it was a good idea, and Graham and Botnick agreed, that the album should have a song that was recognizable to audiences. So the band recorded its version of \u201cYou\u2019ve Really Got a Hold on Me,\u201d written by Smokey Robinson, which became a Top 10 hit for the Miracles in 1962. The Beatles also covered it on their second album, \u201cWith the Beatles\u201d in 1963.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to do something that was more of a cover tune than to dig right in to my material. I wanted to throw something to the wolves,\u201d said Money. \u201cSo we did \u2018You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me\u2019 and I took out the \u2018hold me, squeeze me, please me\u2019 lines. I did it different than the Beatles and I did it different than Smokey Robinson. I ran into Smokey four years later and he said he liked my version better than the Beatles. And I said, \u2018I like my version better than your version.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Another song included on the album, also co-written by Money and Lyon, was called \u201cJealousys\u201d and was about Money\u2019s early struggles when he first moved to California. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was in a group called the Rockets. All these guys lived at home and they drove their parents\u2019 cars. They all lived at home like I did when I was living on Long Island with my parents,\u201d said Money. \u201cI was living in North Oakland, borrowing everyone else\u2019s car and living on canned ravioli and fuckin\u2019 powdered milk. I had nothing. That song was all about how tough it was coming up.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it came time to shoot the photo for the album cover, Money decided to wear a suit that he had purchased at a thrift store because it was a \u201cdead guy\u201d suit from the 1940s and he liked the way it looked.<\/p>\n

But it was a long photo shoot and Money eventually ran out of patience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey took a million pictures. But I got so tired of taking pictures,\u201d said Money. \u201cI finally said, \u2018Here\u2019s your fuckin\u2019 album cover. I lit up a cigarette and bang, sure enough, that was the album cover they picked. If you look at all my early album covers, I\u2019ve got a cigarette in my hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEddie Money\u201d was released in December 1977. Three singles were released from the album: \u201cYou\u2019ve Really Got a Hold on Me\u201d got good airplay, but failed to crack the Top 20 singles chart; \u201cTwo Tickets to Paradise\u201d reached No. 22 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles and No. 14 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles; and \u201cBaby Hold On\u201d ended up doing the best, reaching No. 11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles, No. 5 on the U.S. Cashbox Top 100 singles, No. 4 on the Canadian RPM singles and No. 41 on the Single Top 100 in the Netherlands. The album itself peaked at No. 37 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and No. 24 on the Canadian RPM albums chart.<\/p>\n

Part of the success of the \u201cEddie Money\u201d album \u2014 and for some subsequent Money albums \u2014 was because Money was admittedly \u201cthe poster child for promotion\u201d of his own records.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was nothing that I wouldn\u2019t do to get on the radio,\u201d said Money. \u201cIn fact, there was a female DJ out of Pittsburgh and she was thinking about adding \u2018Baby Hold On\u2019 to the playlist in that market. I went there and she was good looking, so we got a little thing going. That\u2019s how I got on the radio there. She was cute, I was young and handsome. She liked the record, I liked her and the next thing you know \u2014 bang, it was No. 17 in that market.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the fans appeared to like his music, the critics, however, weren\u2019t crazy about it, according to Money. Part of it, he believes, was that he was living the rock and roll lifestyle and burning a lot of bridges while doing it. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI never did shows drunk. I wish I could have because I was such an alcoholic in those days. But Bill Graham put the fear of God into me. I did one show drunk with the Marshall Tucker Band and Bill just reamed me out. So I never drank before work, but after work, I\u2019d be drinking like crazy,\u201d said Money. \u201cThen I\u2019d be getting up in the morning with a really bad hangover, calling them [the critics] up and saying, \u2018I\u2019m going to blow up your car, I\u2019m going to fuck your wife.\u2019\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Another reason, Money believes, he had difficulties finding a solid niche in the late 1970s was because he was trying to serve two different audiences.<\/p>\n

On weekdays, he\u2019d be in San Jose or Fremont, California, playing disco bars and then on the weekends, he\u2019d play his original compositions in venues that were more rock and roll-oriented. He believes the weekday gigs might have affected his rock and roll fans by the time he recorded his second album, \u201cLife for the Taking\u201d in 1979, featuring the single \u201cMaybe I\u2019m a Fool,\u201d which reached No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles early that year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat song \u2018Maybe I\u2019m a Fool,\u2019 it alienated a lot of my rock fans. \u2018Eddie is going disco.\u2019 But I knew it was going to be a hit. I was chasing the radio,\u201d said Money. \u201cIt had a disco beat and it had disco strings and a lot of my fans were going, \u2018What the fuck happened to Eddie Money? He\u2019s got \u2018Life for the Taking,\u2019 which is a great song, and then he\u2019s got \u2018Maybe I\u2019m a Fool.\u2019 But you know what, it was the same thing. Back in the 1970s, on the weekdays, Sundays through Thursdays, I\u2019d be playing disco bars and then I\u2019d be playing rock gigs on the weekends. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo when I put the second record out, it had a couple of disco songs on it. Am I suppose to apologize for that? No. I was chasing FM radio with \u2018Life for the Taking\u2019 and I was chasing AM radio with \u2018Maybe I\u2019m a Fool,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cI remember when I was No. 1 in airplay on both AM and FM. I did good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eddie Money died this week, on Sept. 13, 2019, of complications from a recent heart valve replacement surgery. He had been diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer and was battling that at the time.<\/p>\n

Those folks I know who have interviewed Money over the years \u2014 I spoke to him on Oct. 20, 2015, for a chapter in \u201cThe Vinyl Dialogues Volume III: Stacks of Wax,\u201d as detailed above \u2014 all agree that he was gracious with his time and honest with his storytelling. My experience with him was the same.<\/p>\n

I asked him if he had any regrets in his career, and he was as honest with that question as he was with all the others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been to jail, I\u2019ve been to college and I\u2019ve been to rehab. What the fuck haven\u2019t I done?\u201d he said. \u201cIt was an amazing time. I was a rock star. I had a fuckin\u2019 blast.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the early 1970s, Eddie Money, mostly broke and trying to make it in the music business, was dating a woman who was a student at the University of California, Berkeley. But the woman\u2019s mother didn\u2019t like her daughter hanging out with the young musician. \u201cShe was in a sorority and her mother didn\u2019t want […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":1160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[32,88,296],"class_list":["post-1091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tvdbook","tag-baby-hold-on","tag-eddie-money","tag-two-tickets-to-paradise"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1091"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1161,"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091\/revisions\/1161"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}