ou never really hear anything controversial about Edward Mahoney.
No, he’s never been the one to attend lavish Hollywood parties, be on the cover of the latest National Enquirer boasting extramarital affairs or be the rock star who throws furniture out of hotel windows.
Mahoney, better known to most as Eddie Money, is truly the hardworking man's rock star and staying out of the spotlight has done nothing but help him sustain his long lasting career.
Writing non-complicated songs about mostly love relationships and having a good time, Money was and has always been a straight ahead rock ‘n roller, touring and putting out a string of power rock pop songs and platinum albums since the late-70’s.
Of course, rock stardom doesn't come without at least one vice and Eddie Money suffered the typical scenario of drugs and alchohol abuse.
Just last year Money completed rehab and got his licesne reinstalled at the age of 59.
The former NYPD cop, turned hit making rocker whose hits include: “Take Me Home Tonight”, “Shakin’”, “Two Tickets To Paradise”, “If I Could Walk On Water” and more still continues to tour and record today.
Eddie Money recently released the covers EP Wanna Go Back (2007), featuring his tribute to classic soul hits such as “Higher & Higher” and “Hold On, I’m Comin’”
In addition, the musical about the rockers life, Two Tickets To Paradise - The Musical, hit theatres in New York this past summer,. portraying Eddie Money’s transformation from cop to rocker and how he dealt with the changing eras in music and the music business throughout his career.
Written by popular Long Island playwright, John Blenn, the musical features 8 new tracks and a host of the fellow Long Islanders hits.
We caught up with one of the hardest working men in showbusiness and chatted with him about the musical, his current acoustic Christmas show and more!
S&S/James: Hello is this Edward Mahoney?
EM: Who's this!?
S&S/Raina: It's James & Raina with Souls & Sounds and KFSR radio. Howyadoin' Eddie?
EM: Hey what's goin' on guys? Where are you guys callin' from?
S&S/James: Sacramento. Hey you sounded pretty tuff there when you answered the phone! Raina said, "Hey he sounds real 'Long Island street tuff'". (laughs)
EM: (laughs) Well a lot of people have this cell phone number plus I get a lot of prank calls you know. It's good to hear you guys, how's everything goin' at the station?
S&S/Raina: Pretty good, pretty good. We know that you're be coming to Harlow's here in Sacramento on December 10th?
EM: It should be a great show, I gotta tell ya. I got members of Tower Of Power, members of Lydia Pence's group. I've got a really good little band together it should be a lot of fun.
S&S/James: Sounds pretty good, that's an all star cast there.
S&S/Raina: I hear this will be an acoustic show?
EM: Yeah! It's gonna be an acoustic Christmas show, doin' a couple Christmas songs. We're workin' on another one now called "On A Clear Night" and we're gonna be doing not just all Eddie Money stuff but we're gonna do Cream's "I'm So Glad", we're gonna do "Rattlesnake Shake" by Fleetwood Mac, it's gonna be a good show.
S&S/James: Wow, you know we had seen you a few months ago in Vallejo and then the night before in Santa Cruz. Just excellent! You really connect to the working man really well.
EM: Well thank you so much. You know, I don't go to Rod Stewart party's and hang out with The Rolling Stones I hang out with the guys that work on my car and you know, the guys who paint my house we go out and play pool together you know what I'm sayin'?
S&S/James: Yeah, yeah I totally felt that and it was one of the best shows I've seen. And I love how you put your daughter (Jesse Money) on background vocals, she's really good.
EM: She's like working with the Britney Spears people right now..I dont know what she's doin' but she's got some really good songs, she's really very talented I'm very lucky to have her.
S&S/James: We thought she was one of the best contestants on the MTV show The Cradle Of Rock. We were hooked on that!
EM: Yeah, yeah, what was it called? Rock The Cradle. I mean, Olivia Newton John is a good friend of mine and I liked Chloe [Olivia's daughter], she's a sweetheart of a girl, but I actually thought my daughter was a little more talented. But I'm her father, what can I say you know?
S&S/Raina: Jesse is definitely on her way up. She's a great performer!
S&S/James: She was A LOT more talented! She was the best female vocalist there!. We thought it would be her and Crosby [Loggins] at the end.
EM: Yeah, I don't know what happened, but you know TV is a lot more different than real life you know what I'm sayin'?
S&S/James: That's true.
S&S/Raina: You know Eddie, we want to go back to the beginning as a lot our readers and the listeners may not know how you started out. Could you go through a tiny bit of that?
EM: Well I was in a rock band in high school. A group called The Grapes Of Wrath and we played shows with Billy Joel when he was in a group call The Hassles...
S&S/James: Nice!
EM: ...way, way back. Then I joined the police department when I got out of high school 'cause my father was Patrolman Of The Year and my brother was in Vietnam. I quit the police department because I couldn't see myself being in uniform for 20 years of my life. I have a lot of respect for cops and emergency service workers and fireman--they work really hard you know. But it just wasn't my cup of tea. Got into music, I turned the page and never looked back guys.
S&S/James: What made you take that first step into music? Did you always just play on the side as a hobbie and then decide to get into it?
EM: Well, The Grapes Of Wrath weren't really that good, I guess I was the best member of that band and I'd wrote "Two Tickets" and "Baby Hold On", started playing with a couple of lead guitarist who had played with John Lee Hooker. Next thing I know I was playing with Tom Petty, opening up for The Rolling Stones and The Who...all kinds of good gigs, it's been a lot of fun.
S&S/Raina: Let's go back to the mid-80's, in 1986 when you kind of had a resurgence with "Take Me Home Tonight". Was that great or what? You had been gone for a few years then that song hit and got you back in the groove...
EM: Well yeah "Take Me Home Tonight" I gotta thank Ronnie Spector who was married to Phil Spector. What a maniac that guy turned out to be (laughs) but Ronnie helped me out, we did that really great video together. Then we had "I Can See The Love In Your Eyes", and "I'll Get By, "One Chance" and "Wanna Go Back". But yeah Ronnie Spector and "Take Me Home Tonight" was a big hit for me and put me back. Man, I had 26 songs in the Top 100 guys, you know?
S&S/Raina: Great, great songs.
S&S/James: And they were all "feel good" songs.
EM: They're always gonna have stuff to air on the radio.
S&S/Raina: Is there an album of yours that's favorite?
EM: Well actually my favorite is Love & Money, which was not really a big hit record for me. It didn't have any hits on it but it was a great record, I enjoyed it a lot. But I think the first record was good and the No Control album was great too. I'm just glad people know my music. My voice is in pretty good shape, I quit smoking, I'm still not a fat pig, I still look okay on stage.
(laughs)
S&S/James: Your voice has not changed at all! It was great to see you two nights in a row, in two different towns.
EM: Well come on out to Harlow's and do some shakin' with The Money Man, its' gonna be a lot of fun guys.
S&S/Raina: Oh yeah...we'll be there for sure! Can you tell us a little bit about The Two Tickets To Paradise Musical?
EM: Oh, yeah, I wrote that musical a couple years ago. It takes place in the late 60's like Hair or Godspell and I wrote a bunch of Broadway songs for it. The whole play is about me quitting the police department and moving out to California, meeting Lori and having a drug overdose...it's very autobiographical. We'll see what happens...
S&S/Raina: Is it still running?
EM: Actually, it will be running again in the next...I don't know. I have to work on it and do some changes. It's really a great play, it's got some great music in it. Its got my songs and a bunch of new Broadway songs in it. I'm very excited.
S&S/Raina: Sounds good. Just to wrap it up here, what's next for Eddie Money?
EM: I got a lot of shows coming up and I'm trying to help my daughters career out. And I would like to get this play on Broadway.
S&S/Raina: Alright. Well thanks for taking the time!
EM: Hey, you guys were great. Love Sacramento...talk soon!
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EDDIE MONEY
The Working Man's Rock StarY
