b. Edward Joseph Mahoney, 2 March 1949, New York City, New York, USA. Legend has it that Brooklyn native Edward Mahoney was a New York police officer when first discovered by promoter Bill Graham (he was, in fact, a NYPD typist). Nevertheless, under Graham’s managerial wing, Mahoney became Eddie Money and produced two hit singles in ‘Baby Hold On’ and ‘Two Tickets To Paradise’ from his self-titled debut, to begin a career that saw him maintain arena-headlining status in America with a series of consistently fine R&B-flavoured AOR records. His 1978 release Life For The Taking produced two more hits, ‘Rock And Roll The Place’ and ‘Maybe I’m A Fool’, as Money built a strong live reputation that freed him from the constraining need for radio or MTV airplay to sell albums or concert tickets, although the hits continued to come. The mid-80s release Where’s The Party? saw a slight dip in form, but Money stormed back with perhaps his best 80s album, Can’t Hold Back, producing three huge hits in the title track, ‘I Wanna Go Back’ and ‘Take Me Home Tonight’, where his warm, soulful vocals were augmented by Ronnie Spector. His first release of the 90s, Right Here, saw Money move away from the keyboard-dominated sound of preceding albums towards the rootsier feel of his early work, producing another hit with a cover version of Romeo’s Daughter’s ‘Heaven In The Backseat’.
Money’s commercial fortunes waned during the 90s, and by the middle of the decade the singer had been dropped by Columbia Records. He resurfaced on the CMC International label at the end of the decade, releasing a new studio album, Ready Eddie.
