Eddie Money will perform his signature hits, including “Baby Hold On” and “Two Tickets to Paradise,” at the Hillsdale County Fair on Sept. 29.
Money, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native, began performing music in the late 1960s after a brief stint as a police officer; he’d played since high school.
“You know, all the football players were getting the chicks,” he said. “I was a third-string soccer player. Rock ‘n’ roll was the best way to get women. Now I do it for the living room furniture.”
He moved from New York to Berkeley, Calif., where he began to play at local clubs.
“I remember seeing Eddie playing in Sprawl Plaza at Berkeley in the early 1970s,” Professor of Economics Gary Wolfram said.“He was playing out of his case for tips. There were a number of clubs in Berkeley. One was Keystone Corner, and we would go there. He would play there; a lot of bands would play there.”
Money secured a contract with Columbia Records in the mid-1970s, and broke onto the music scene with two of his biggest hits, “Baby Hold On” and “Two Tickets to Paradise” later in the decade.
In the 1980s, he moved to the MTV music scene with two music videos, “Shakin’” and “Think I’m in Love.” A Top-40 musician throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s, Money continues to roll out new hits today. His latest album, “Wanna Go Back,” was released in 2007.
Reminiscing about past performances, Money said, “rock ‘n’ roll keeps you young. We have a great time out there. We’ve written a lot of great songs, and it’s been a lot of fun. I have a lot of great fans. I mean, they’ve been listening to my songs since they were kids.”
He also said that he has performed at many venues, such as Madison Square Garden and the DTE Energy Music Theatre, but the performance that stands out to him is the US Festival, a three-day concert in 1982 sponsored by Steve Wozniak of Apple Inc.
“Oh, The Police were there, everyone was there. There were 650,000 people, the largest audience in rock and roll history. I played that,” Money said.
Money also spoke about his music, saying that what he plays today is no different than any other rock-and-roll found today.
“It’s loud rock ‘n’ roll. It’s a universal language, and it’s here to stay.”
“You know, the music world is ‘follow your heart.’ You just gotta get out and go for it, man. Get out and go for it,” Money said. “God made it easy for people like us. Johnny Cash said that his music was just ‘three chords and the truth.’ That’s it. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
“If I were you, I’d spend the 19 bucks and go see him,” Wolfram said, encouraging students to attend Money’s concert at the fair. “It’s worth going and seeing.”
Money expressed enthusiasm about the concert.
“They love me in Michigan,” he said. “It’s a section of the country where we have a lot of great fans, and I like that, because I like Motown, I like Nugent, I like Kid Rock. It’s my adopted state. I like playing fairs too. I’m a fair kinda guy. Families come and listen to my music. I love the food, and I love the cotton candy.”
Money also wanted to thank everyone for picking up his music.
“Tell everyone to come down,” he said. “Because I’ve got two tickets to paradise, and I’m bringing everybody.”
