Born Edward Mahoney, March 21, 1949, in New York, NY; son of a police officer; married; wife's name, Laurie; children: five. Education: Attended the New York Police Academy. Addresses: Home--Berkeley, CA. Record company--Wolfgang Records, P.O. Box 429094, San Francisco, CA 94142-9094.

Rock singer Eddie Money's personal life has garnered him almost as much attention as his successful albums of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Seeming to come out of nowhere with his 1977 self-titled debut, Money had actually been a fixture around the San Francisco rock scene for several years. With the assistance of a big name concert promoter, he attained major-label stardom. But the temptations of such notoriety almost caused the singer to join that pantheon of young dead rock stars whose ranks had grown rapidly during the drug-fueled '70s. After staging a comeback with his successful 1982 album No Control, Money's career again seemed to grind to a halt during the rest of the 1980s as his forceful, edgy rock songs got lost in the shuffle of the burgeoning new music scene. Then, in 1995, the middle-aged rocker's career was resurrected once more.

Money was born Edward Mahoney on March 21, 1949, in New York City. His father, a police officer, relocated the family from Brooklyn to Long Island when Money was just a youngster. To the dismay of his parents, he began singing in rock bands while still in high school. He stayed out of the Vietnam War by enrolling in the New York Police Academy and continued to sing in local combos while serving as a police cadet. Soon, however, Money's antiestablishment philosophy and growing interest in the world of rock and roll clashed with the beliefs of his parents' generation. "I grew up with respect for the idea of preserving law and order, and then all of a sudden cops became pigs and it broke my heart," Money told Rolling Stone reporter Mikal Gilmore in 1978. "It was just a goddamn shame that getting high was illegal." One day he typed up a written defense of a certain unnamed drug on police stationery and found himself booted out of the academy.

Deciding to make a go of a career in music, Money relocated to the San Francisco Bay area, where he was finally free to grow his hair long. He sold blue jeans and got his first big break when he joined Big Brother and the Holding Company, singer Janis Joplin's backing band, shortly after her demise. In 1975, after singing for a number of years in different bands--and rearranging the Mahoney surname into "Money"--he became involved with popular Bay Area concert promoter Bill Graham's management company. The two had met after Money performed in a battle of the bands at one of Graham's venues, and the elder statesman of rock quickly became a friend, manager, and mentor to Money. Graham helped him negotiate a recording contract with Columbia Records. The singer's first release, 1977's Eddie Money, catapulted him to overnight stardom.

Money's gravelly voice and the accessible, hard rock sound of the self-titled debut spelled AOR success. His backing band featured musicians fresh from their work with the Steve Miller Band, best known for their hit "Keep On Rocking Me, Baby." The first two singles from Money's first record, "Baby, Hold On" and "Two Tickets to Paradise," reached Number 11 and Number 22 on the 1978 charts respectively. Heavy touring followed, including opening dates for the legendary rock band Santana, but the excesses of the rock and roll lifestyle seemed to lead Money into some well-publicized trouble. After recording and touring for two follow-up albums, Life for the Taking and Playing for Keeps, Money finished a late 1980 tour, was admitted to a Bay Area hospital, and then disappeared from the public eye for over a year. Initial press accounts reported that the singer was suffering from food poisoning, but rumors soon circulated that his affliction was drug-related.

In 1982, nearly a year and a half later, Money discussed the entire incident with Rolling Stone reporter Greg Hoffman. At a party one night back in 1980, after drinking heavily, the singer snorted a substance on a mirror that was being passed around the room. Money assumed it was cocaine, but it was really a synthetic barbiturate. He nodded off and spent the next 14 hours lying on his leg, severely damaging a nerve. The incident also brought temporary impairment of his kidney function. The ordeal helped Money look at his lifestyle a bit more closely. "I can't believe I was hanging out with and respecting people who let me lay dying for fourteen hours," he told Hoffman.

Money's recuperation and hiatus from the public eye was spent working on a fourth album, released in the summer of 1982. Titled No Control, many of the tracks explore the demons that had led him down the wrong path. "You know why this record is so good?" he queried Hoffman in the Rolling Stone interview. "It's so good because I worked my balls off and because I almost killed myself. Half the people in the country probably think I'm dead, but I'm not dead. I'm back!" Of the album's best-known single, "Think I'm in Love," High Fidelity contributor Chuck Eddy opined that the song's "traction comes from how the initial mythological acoustica lures you siren-style toward the hard-boiled fuzz riff, which comes and goes." Another track, "Shakin'," features guitar work as "murderous as anything radio has accepted this decade," asserted Eddy.

In the Rolling Stone interview with Hoffman, Money attempted to explain the problems in his recent past as a split between who he was originally--Eddie Mahoney, working-class kid from Brooklyn--and who he became after overwhelming success--the rock star known as Eddie Money. He showed Hoffman his still-damaged leg. "Eddie Mahoney didn't do this to himself, Eddie Money did this to Eddie Mahoney. The big rock star with the Mercedes and the half a million dollars in the bank almost ruined what I really am. It took me a lot of years and a lot of work to get what I wanted, but it took Eddie Money only a couple of days to almost throw it away."

Money recorded a series of albums for Columbia during the 1980s, including 1984's Where's the Party, the 1986 effort Can't Hold Back, and Nothing to Lose, released in 1988. A greatest hits package followed the next year, but Money had taken a break to concentrate on family life. He got married, and within a few years he and his wife were expecting a fifth child. This period of Money's life was also marked by tragedy, however, when longtime friend Bill Graham died in a 1991 helicopter accident. An eighth studio album, Right Here, arrived in the same year, with the track "I'll Get By" dedicated to the late Graham. In 1992 Money released an acoustic effort entitled Unplug It In. Reviewing the work for Entertainment Weekly, David Browne declared that its "clunky, heartfelt renditions" of Money's best-known songs emit "more charm and warmth" than most pop acts. The singer also began playing small club dates of acoustic sets.

Money's career took an unexpected turn in 1995 when Graham's surviving namesake management company reactivated the Wolfgang Records label (a defunct imprint of Columbia originally started by Graham)--and Money became the first artist in their repertoire. Issuing Love & Money in the spring of 1995 heralded a comeback of sorts for Money. The record's first single, "After This Love Is Gone," was lauded as "a chugging, rock-edged pop ballad" by Billboard magazine. Two other tracks--"Died a Thousand Times" and a cover of '70s soul singer Isaac Hayes's "Run Your Hurt Away," with its lyrics about resurrecting one's life--seemed to best reflect the renewal of Money's career and personal life.

by Carol Brennan

Eddie Money's Career

Signed with Columbia Records, 1977, and released self-titled debut album; signed with Wolfgang Records (a reactivated imprint of Columbia), 1995.

Famous Works

Further Reading

Books

Visitor Comments Add a comment…

over 12 years ago

Alway's love those tones, I was 17 in 1977, and had the first album, and then came the sex. Thanks man.

about 13 years ago

Just saw you in Vicksburg Mississippi 9/10/2011 and you ROCK. It was a small venue and it felt like you were personally singing each song to us in our living room. Your older songs brought back many memories of days past and I love your new song dedicated to our soldiers. Im so glad that you came and even more glad that I got to see you in Concert.

over 13 years ago

Hi Ed...You performed at John Burns Park in Massapequa Park LI.. It was fantastic. 7000 fans loved you on July 19th 2011.After an hour of signing autographs and posing for pictures,we met. You vividly remembered our close friendship dating to when we were 10 year old boys back in Woodhaven, Queens, and graduating from St. Elizabeth's in 62'...THANK YOU for being a nice guy!Matt

almost 14 years ago

Eddie, Man, what a great concert tonight in Memphis!! I was seventeen when your first record came out and you still rock!! Your music has been an integral part of my life since then. Your music is real, it's intense, and it's just as good today as it was 36 years ago. Thanks for the memories. My wife and I will be in Greenville, Ms to see you on Feb. 19th. Lookng forward to seeing you then!!

about 14 years ago

Hi! - I'm Michael with the young rock band, ONE11, from Palm Desert, CA My band 'opened' for you and your band on Oct 14, 2010! You rocked the Palm Desert Civic Center amphitheatre - we highly respect you and your music! Your voice is unbelievable. You've had an amazing career and are an inspiration to me and my band. You rock and will always rock in our minds. - Michael from the ONE11 band Coachella / Palm Desert, CA

over 14 years ago

Just caught you in Tillamook-WOW what a hoot can't imagine you rockin and smellin cow poo but you did awesome!Your daughter is great too. I am a fan from the 80s and while sailing from AK to NZ with my family you kept me awake on many night watches! My kids made you their first concert and my hubby introduced you on stage in early 80's - what a run Eddie!

over 14 years ago

alright, does anyone know the name of eddies original manager?? i would very much like to know, due to the fact that my friend consistently and repetitively makes claims that his father was eddies original manager. he claims his dad was in berkley around the same time eddie hit big. please will someone provide me with some valid information. thanks

over 14 years ago

Warm summer night on the Charles River in Boston Saturday night with you rockin the crowd! What a great show. You haven't lost a beat in 30 (gulp) years. Thanks for all of the memories!

over 14 years ago

Once again you rocked the place in Miami Township Ohio. I was lucky enough to attend and count it as my 21st Eddie Money concert! I even got you to autograph my 1st t-shirt from 1983. Fell in love with your music in 1980 at the Cleveland World Series of Rock concert and nothin else comes close to replacing it. You're my boy, as always and never dissapoint me. Awesome concert! Your always fan, Patty May

over 14 years ago

all i have to say is that i have seen you in concert before and you are not only amazing, but you are in inspiration to me. like in your song wanna be a rock and roll star says "ever since i was young i'd sing and hum those crazy songs iv heard on the radio". well its not so much that i hear a ton of your music on the radio but all of my life you have been my favorite singer in the universe. I am from a small town in ohio called Lima. and my dream is to be able to meet you someday! which i highly doubt will happen though (sigh)... haha but i have every one of your albums at home and i know like ever song you have ever made... my favorite album i have to say is either playing for keeps, can't hold back, or no control. your songs mean a lot to me and the crazy thing is that the lyrics fit into what is goin on in my life. and they are a true pick me up when i am sad. which is why you are such an inspiration. whether you realise it or not your music made me exactly who i am today :) so thank you very much for that. im only fourteen and going to be a freshman next year, me and my bestfrend are huge fans. I am making a project for english where i have to make many many different informational forms to present about your musical career. it would truely be a dream come true if you would play a concert at our school even if it is a few songs... haha but for my project i have writen a biography, painted the "Eddie Money" album cover only changed it by hand drawing it, and painting it in color rather than black and white. i have made a cd of all of my favorite songs of yours and introduced my entire english class to your music, and your whole musical career. although there is still a lot to go it it is all going very well and the best thing about it is that i have such an awesome topic! -Your #1 Fan Forever, Kelly Williams

over 14 years ago

Back in the 70's my Uncle Danny Guvaro was a bass guitar player for Eddie. I have pictures when I was a kid, playing in my Uncle and Aunts back yard in San Leandro, and Eddie teaching me to shooting bow and arrows at the fence in thier back yard. My Aunt Jacinta still has many pictures of Eddie and I but sad to say Danny passed away many years ago. Hope Eddie keeps up the good music and thanks for some kool memories for a young kid that lost his own father at a very young age. Thanks again

over 14 years ago

Hey Eddie!! I don't know if you remember from Island Trees. Probably not it's been a loooong time. You may remember the airport in 1987 - you were going to the 20 year reunion. I was there with my husband (just got married) and my 2 nieces. They recgonized you and I said that I knew you from high school so I came over and you said you did remember me and my nieces were sooooo excited to meet you. You asked if I was going back for the reunion - just got married and we were going on our honeymoon so I couldn't make it. You told me you would check on my nieces during the flight. When they arrived home, Long Island, they called and said you really did check on them and they felt sooooo special. Thank you for that!! I'm so happy for you - according to your website you are VERY busy and doing well. I'll check your tour dates for something close to me (Culver City, CA) and my family and I will come see you. Love your music!! Wish you and your family the very best! Pam fmly Palma Craddock

over 14 years ago

Eddie, Hi, my name is John Edwards, I believe you were friends with my father Bob Edwards and my grandfather Tommy Edwards. I think my father would have wanted you to know that he passed away on April 7, 2010. We are still making the service arrangements. My father has a picture of Rocky Mauzanio (the fighter) and my grandfather, he wanted you to have a copy. I would like to get the picture to you. If you would please let me know how I can do so I will. You can e-mail me at Stillnothegirl@aol.com. I will also let you know when and where his services will be if you'd like. Thankyou for taking the time to read this. I will be looking forward to hearing from you. With respect, John

over 14 years ago

ROCK ON EDDIE! You are the best. Check out http://omahanightlife.com/gallery/032610_harrahs/page/1 and see all you fans from Omaha & Council Bluffs, Iowa. Please come back and visit us again SOON! CB FAN

over 14 years ago

ROCK ON EDDIE. The Concert in Council Bluffs was fantastic. We are all still talking about it. Just went out to Omahanightlife.com to see all the great photos. You are a real stand up guy for being there for us even after the concert and we all enjoyed it tremendously! Come back and see us again - and again - and AGAIN!. Luv ya, CB Fan - LeAnna Mann

over 14 years ago

I've been a big fan since "Two Tickets" came out way back when. My son who is 17 has liked your music since he was about 4. I'd like to thank you for all the great music and memories.

over 14 years ago

Happy Birthday Eddie....counting down the days (6) til your in Council Bluffs. See you then. P.S.your one of my favorite artists to sing kareoke to.

over 14 years ago

Love,love,love your approach to music and the way it's delivered. Your birthday is March 21, mine is March 12. When you come to Detroit, and if you're available, I'll fix your whole crew and family my specialty - Tortilla Soup. If you have small children traveling with your troupe, my granddaughter, Erica will take them under her wing. An early and sincere 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Kindest regards to family Ro

almost 15 years ago

Saw Eddie in Siesta key florida...what a great show!! We where right on the stage...Not only is he awsum he is funny as hell to..

about 15 years ago

"Money-Man", Akron Ohio loves you! We saw your show last night at Tangiers' Nite Club, and everyone was on their feet. You pack the house when ever you're in town.

over 15 years ago

Saw the band at Rama in Ontario the end of May and it was fantastic. I would definately attend their concert again, but unfortunately, they don't come to Canada very often. Eddie - I thought you said you went Gold in Canada first - so bring back your music and band to us. Next time, I want back stage passes to meet you all....and Lee.

over 15 years ago

Saw eddie and the band at Casino Rama in Ontario Canada just recently. I would definately go see them all again. It was a great show - did not disappoint at all. I want back stage passes next time to meet ALL the band, especially Lee. LOL. come back to Canada soon! I am pretty sure you said you went gold in canada first.

over 15 years ago

Saw one of only 8 performanes of the World Premiere of his play "Two Tickets to Paradise". Performed in his hometown area on Long Island. He wrote the book and alot of new songs. The show is kinda of a cross between" Jersey Boys" and Movin Out. He was in the show narrating his own story. It was friggin awesome. He and the director discoverd this 15 year old high school freshman from right near his hometown to play "Young Eddie" and could this kid rock. He had Eddie's moves down and when this kid Jess (forget last name) sang "Shakin" it was just like back when Eddie first did it on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert. Awesome. If this show comes near you, See it, it was friggin unbelievable.

over 15 years ago

who is the girl in his video "If I could walk on water"?? Does anyone know??

over 15 years ago

saw you show last night at the emerald queen in tacoma washington, great show, i loved the three songs jesse did at the end, when is she going to set out on her own, she would sell some records for sure, got to hang out and party with all you guys at the hotel after the show and had a blast, great bunch of people. best free show i have ever seen. My buddy that brought me is an old timer and long time friend of Eddy and the family ( my buddy got me free tickets and back stage passes, keep on rockin, loved two tickets to paradise

over 15 years ago

Any show happening 4/23 or 24 in Vegas? I see on Eddie Money's tour schedule a gig on the 25th, the day we leave town. Is there a chance of a show in a smaller venue perhaps?

almost 16 years ago

I went to my first Eddie Money concert in Florida last weekend and had the time of my life. "I think I'm in love!" I can't believe he was the opening act for Rick Springfield. Eddie was funny, talented, and friendly with the audience, unlike Rick. I can't wait for his next concert in Florida!

almost 16 years ago

Hey, Saw your show last night in Albuquerque. Really enjoyed it and also thought your daughter Jessie was great! Thanks for a great evening of live music.

almost 16 years ago

The Money Man was GREAT this weekend! We saw him in Blioxi - HARD ROCK He opened up with Two Tickets ! And ended it with Shakin ! looked , sounded , and put on a GREAT SHOW. Eddie had a lot of friends from MISS and Louisiana in the house that night !!! 1-10-2009 THANKS MONEY MAN

almost 16 years ago

Hey Eddie , always liked your raw rock, real rock. you had the voice in te 'Grapes of Wrath" back then at Ryans. Time marched on Best to an old rocker ED M

almost 16 years ago

Eddie!!! I have been a fan for many many years! You had me when you released Baby Hold On....and I've been holdin' on ever since. Havent seen you in a few years, since you performed an outdoor concert in Biloxi, Ms. Got some great pictures of you and the band. Cant wait to see you in January '09!

about 16 years ago

Hope you make it to Pittsburgh!!!

about 16 years ago

YOU ARE STILL HOT AND ROCKIN!

about 16 years ago

Yes, Eddie. I still search for you late at night. Wanna Go Back? You were great in Denver, Phoenix, Minneapolis, etc. CH, Midwest Somewhere out There

about 16 years ago

Eddie, We saw your show in Asheville,NC last night. Great concert! You always give the fans more than their moneys worth. The only other time I saw you was in 94 Greenville,SC.doing the unplugged show. It was great also. I was actually in the opening act band. We all hung out back stage and you treated us really nice. Thanks!

about 16 years ago

Hey Eddie $, I have always been a big fan of yours. Your songs will stand the test of time. Last time I say you was at the State Theatre in Falls Church Virgina. I asked you about Glenn Symmonds...now he's your drummer again. I will see you at Cavert Hall in Baltimore this Saturday (25 Oct 08). I knew Glenn from the Untouchables back in So Calif. He gave me a drum lession too. Great drummer! We're meeting up for lunch before the show this Saturday. Your invited too! My treat. Robert

about 16 years ago

Eddie, Saw you at the outside concert at he Hard Rock Cafe in Niagara Falls, NY on 8-23-2008. It was the first time i'd seen you live after many times of trying. You and the band were incredible! Your daughter Jesse was also phenominal! That was my wife and I standing right in front of you in the first row up against the fence. Thanks for a great night and can't wait to see you next time your in the greater Buffalo, NY area. Your Fan and Friend, Bob

about 16 years ago

Yo Ed, I've alway's been a big fan. See you in Orlando at the end of the month. Mac

about 16 years ago

Why am I having such a hard time finding Eddie Money's lyrics?? I am searching desperately for the correct lyrics to Gimme Some Water and NO CONTROL!! I cannot seem to find them anywhere on the internet or anywhere else!! Can anyone help out??? THANKS!