{"id":6189,"date":"2010-12-16T21:27:23","date_gmt":"2010-12-17T02:27:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=6189"},"modified":"2010-12-17T10:42:13","modified_gmt":"2010-12-17T15:42:13","slug":"gonzo%e2%80%99s-gems-%e2%80%9cshakin%e2%80%99-with-eddie-money%e2%80%9d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=6189","title":{"rendered":"Gonzo\u2019s Gems: \u201cShakin\u2019 With Eddie Money\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Sam \u201cGonzo\u201d Gonzales<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s 1982, I\u2019m sitting in a pizzeria waiting for my pizza and I\u2019m listening to Eddie Money\u2019s \u201cThink I\u2019m In Love\u201d on the jukebox for the second time in ten minutes. When the song finished, I considered playing it for a third time. Could I? Would I? What would the pizzeria patrons scattered around the room think of me? Would they think of me as odd? The answer came five minutes later when I dropped the necessary coins into the jukebox, and yes\u2026 played it again! The audacity of me!<\/p>\n

I looked around the pizzeria and noticed the strange looks. \u201cKeep it up, folks\u201d, I thought to myself. \u201cI\u2019ll play the song again. Do not tempt me.\u201d I did truly love the song and the album that it was on. In fact, it was at that point in time that I decided I would track down all of Eddie Money\u2019s albums. I was on a mission now to search out all of Eddie Money\u2019s music and ended up purchasing all four of his albums. I recorded them to cassette tape so that I could have them in my car\u2026 easy access\u2026 easy Money.<\/p>\n

Eddie Money was born Edward Joseph Mahoney on March 21, 1949 in Brooklyn, New York. During high school, Eddie sang in a rock group called The Grapes Of Wrath. Deciding to follow in his father\u2018s footsteps he pursued a career in Law Enforcement, but continued singing at night. Eventually, Eddie gave up Law Enforcement and moved to Berkeley, California in search of the rock and roll dream. He changed his name to Eddie Money and began playing Bay Area clubs. Noticed by rock impresario Bill Graham, he was signed to his management company and a record deal with Columbia Records followed.<\/p>\n

In 1977, Eddie Money recorded and released his self-titled debut, \u201cEddie Money\u201d. The album, chock full of great rock songs, had a healthy dose of energy and Eddie racked up his first two hits with \u201cTwo Tickets To Paradise\u201c and \u201cBaby Hold On\u201c. The other standouts were a cover of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles\u2019 \u201cYou\u2019ve Really Got A Hold On Me\u201d, the smoldering \u201cSo Good To Be In Love Again\u201d and the Gem \u201cWanna Be A Rock \u2018N\u2019 Roll Star\u201d, whose opening lyrics I can totally relate to: \u201cEver since I was young I\u2019d sing and I\u2019d hum those crazy songs I heard on the radio, rock \u2018n\u2019 roll melodies drove me frantically, soon I\u2019d be tappin\u2019 on the table\u2026\u201d.<\/p>\n

Next up, 1978\u2019s \u201cLife For The Taking\u201d. Eddie successfully replicated the formula of his debut and \u201cLife For The Taking\u201d spawned the hits, \u201cCan\u2019t Keep A Good Man Down\u201d and \u201cMaybe I\u2019m A Fool\u201d. \u201cMaybe I\u2019m A Fool\u201d has a laidback pop-disco sound to it with Eddie playing some nice sax. My other favorite tracks are the pop-disco \u201cLove The Way You Love Me\u201d, with it\u2019s up-tempo approach, the western-tinged \u201cGimme Some Water\u201d, a song about an outlaw running from a posse and the Gem \u201cRock And Roll The Place\u201d. \u201cRock And Roll The Place\u201c is a nice little sequel to \u201cWanna Be A Rock \u2018N\u2018 Star\u201c from his previous album.<\/p>\n

Released in 1980, \u201cPlaying For Keeps\u201d is the glossiest sounding Eddie Money album and his weakest. It lacked the energy and drive of his two previous albums and it ended up with no hit singles. But there are a few high points on the album. There\u2019s the reggae-tinged \u201cRunning Back\u201d, the pop-drenched \u201cMillion Dollar Girl\u201c and my favorite album cut, the Gary Glitter-sounding rocker \u201cGet A Move On\u201d. Eddie\u2019s popularity was waning around this time and sadly he was about to hit a major roadblock.<\/p>\n

Years of rock and roll excess lead to a drug overdose in 1981 when Eddie took Phenitol, a barbiturate, after drinking large amounts of alcohol. Eddie went into a semi-catatonic state and fell asleep on his sciatic nerve. After recovering from his overdose he was physically affected and couldn\u2019t walk for a whole year and remained hospitalized. Eddie worked his way back with intense rehabilitation and eventually made his way back into the studio using a walker to get around. He began working on his next album with gusto and a new lease on life.<\/p>\n

Eddie came back strong, releasing one of his most potent albums, 1982\u2019s \u201cNo Control\u201d. One listen to the album and you sense a strong autobiographical undercurrent throughout the entire album. The album produced two of his biggest hits, \u201cShakin\u2019\u201d and the Gem, \u201cThink I\u2019m In Love\u201d. The song \u201cNo Control\u201c is a chilling account of his overdose, \u201cPassing By The Graveyard (Song For John B.)\u201d was a song written about John Belushi after his passing, and \u201cMy Friends My Friends\u201d is a gorgeous ballad, soaked with melancholy, about old friendships. It was Eddie\u2019s most personal and hardest rocking album!<\/p>\n

So, while I was busy annoying pizzeria patrons with repetitive plays of \u201cThink I\u2019m In Love\u201d, my brother Gilbert was busy discovering Eddie Money for the first time. Gilbert and his friend Eddie were cruising around town in Eddie\u2019s \u201cwork in progress\u201d, a gold 1972 Caprice. Eddie popped \u201cNo Control\u201d into his cassette player and \u201cShakin\u2019\u201d blared out of the speakers. \u201cWho\u2019s that?\u201d Gilbert asked. It sounded different. It sounded really good. \u201cEddie Money.\u201d his friend replied. Gilbert didn\u2018t know who Eddie Money was. He had been an \u201coldies\u201d guy up to that point, but that changed quick, he was an Eddie Money fan now.<\/p>\n

Eddie Money followed up with 1983\u2018s, \u201cWhere\u2019s The Party?\u201d. \u201cWhere\u2019s The Party?\u201d is a noticeably weaker album than his previous effort. This album is lackluster and has less catchy songs than it\u2019s predecessors. Some songs, like \u201cClub Michelle\u201d, \u201cThe Big Crash\u201d and \u201cLeave It To Me\u201d standout, but there are no big hits on this album. It was Eddie\u2019s lowest charting album to date.<\/p>\n

Eddie bounced back in 1986 with the album, \u201cCan\u2019t Hold Back\u201d. This album went platinum and it featured Eddie\u2019s biggest-selling single, \u201cTake Me Home Tonight (Be My Baby)\u201d, a duet with Ronnie Spector of the famed 60s girl group \u201cThe Ronettes\u201d. Ronnie is introduced in the song by Eddie singing, \u201cJust like Ronnie sang\u2026\u201c and she sings a portion of her Ronette\u2019s hit, \u201cBe My Baby\u201d throughout the song. Also a hit was is the wistful, \u201cI Wanna Go Back\u201d, a song about going back in time to celebrate old glory days. The keyboard laden \u201cStranger In A Strange Land\u201d is also one of my favorite Eddie Money songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing To Lose\u201c, released in 1988, continued in the same vein as his previous album. Same approach, same sound. \u201cNothing To Lose\u201d kicks off with \u201cWalk On Water\u201c, another Top 10 hit and Eddie\u2019s last big hit. The two other standout tracks were the poppish \u201cThe Love In Your Eyes\u201d and the menacing \u201cDancing With Mr. Jitters\u201d. \u201cThe Love In Your Eyes\u201d is a beautiful and melodic song. I\u2019m very surprised that it was not a hit for Mr. Money. The album finishes off with the daunting \u201cDancing With Mr. Jitters\u201d and it finds Eddie adding some tasty sax.<\/p>\n

Released in 1989, Greatest Hits: Sounds Of Money had all Eddie\u2019s hits with three newly recorded songs. Of the three new songs, \u201cLooking Through The Eyes Of A Child\u201c and \u201cPeace In Our Time\u201d are the solid tracks. \u201cLooking Through The Eyes Of A Child\u201c is about unrequited love and is both catchy and beautiful as Eddie sings, \u201cShow me the way to your heart\u2026 send me a wise man\u2026 or a book about love\u2026 my breath has been taken\u2026 I\u2019ve been shaken\u2026\u201d. \u201cPeace In Our Time\u201d is a wishful song about building heaven on earth and finding peace in our time. \u201cPeace In Our Time\u201d proved to be Eddie\u2019s last hit.<\/p>\n

Sometime in 1994, my brother Gilbert attended an Eddie Money concert at the Hard Rock Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. Gilbert, wanting to hear \u201cPeace In Our Time\u201d, kept shouting for the song over and over throughout the concert. Finally, towards the end of the concert, Eddie Money told the crowd, \u201cWe\u2019ve got some maniac out in the crowd who wants to hear a certain song. We\u2019re gonna make everybody happy and play it for you guys.\u201d They broke into \u201cPeace In Our Time\u201d and my brother suddenly realized, \u201cHey, that maniac was me!\u201d.<\/p>\n

Eddie beefed up his sound and unleashed \u201cRight Here\u201d in 1991. The album sounds a little bit forced compared to the easy attitude of his previous albums. Still, there are some choice cuts here. \u201cHeaven In The Back Seat\u201d, originally recorded by the melodic-rock group \u201cRomeo\u2019s Daughter\u201d, starts the album off and it does a decent job of rocking. The second album track, \u201cShe Takes My Breath Away\u201d starts off acoustically and then picks up the pace as it injects more energy and attitude less than a minute into the song. And \u201cThings Are Much Better Today\u201d is the hardest rocking tune on the album. Not great, but pretty good.<\/p>\n

Four years later, Eddie recorded and released \u201cLove And Money\u201d. The album contains predominately more ballads than rockers. Since I gravitate to the rockers, this album is a little tedious for my taste. Don\u2019t get me wrong, I love a great ballad, but it has to really catch my attention. None of them catch my attention, but the songs that do are \u201cShe\u2019s Like A Movie\u201d, \u201cJust No Givin\u2019 Up\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m Comin\u201d. The songs rock with a good amount of energy and they remind me somewhat of Eddie\u2019s earlier stuff.<\/p>\n

The hits had stopped coming in the nineties, but it didn\u2019t stop Eddie from steadily touring. I was lucky enough to catch him in concert twice while stationed on the East Coast. In 1997, at a club called JAXX in Springfield, Virginia and in 1998, at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. The Pavilion concert had Eddie rocking out with other rock acts from his era. On the bill were Pure Prairie League, Foghat, John Kay & Steppenwolf and David Lee Roth. I have to honestly say, that each time I saw Eddie, he delivered the goods. He sang his heart out and what came across was that this was a man who truly loved performing.<\/p>\n

In 1999, Eddie recorded and released \u201cReady Eddie\u201d. This release sounded a little bit more stripped down than his two previous outings. I really want to like this album, but there is a lack of energy on it that stops me from doing so. I\u2019m guessing Eddie\u2019s passion for recording new material was waning by this time of the game. The first three tracks from the album, \u201cReady To Rock\u201d, \u201cDon\u2019t Say No Tonight\u201d and \u201cSo Cold Tonight\u201d are the songs I listen to the most.<\/p>\n

In 2007, eight years after his last studio release, \u201cWanna Go Back\u201d, a CD of 60s songs, was released. All the songs can be traced back to songs Eddie and his band, The Grapes Of Wrath, played during his high school years. First track up, and probably the best song on the CD, is \u201cAin\u2019t No Mountain High Enough\u201d, a duet with his daughter Jesse. Originally performed by Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye, Eddie and Jesse do a pretty good job with it here. The other 60s classics that stand out are The Soul Survivors\u2018 \u201cExpressway To Your Heart\u201d and Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels\u2018 \u201cJenny Take A Ride\u201d.<\/p>\n

Eddie Money didn\u2019t have a spectacular voice, but he managed to record catchy rock songs that were radio-friendly. He racked up eleven Top 40 hits in his career. After all this time, Eddie is still out there touring on a regular basis. If you get a chance to catch him live, treat yourself to a great rock concert. A quick check of Las Vegas\u2019 entertainment listings show that Eddie is due to bring his blue-collar rock to The Orleans Hotel & Casino on December 18 and 19. I think I\u2019m going to buy two tickets and invite my brother Gilbert to check out Eddie Money with me. And while Gilbert shouts for \u201cPeace In Our Time\u201d, I\u2019ll be shouting, \u201cThink I\u2019m Love\u201d. — Everybody rock and roll the place!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>(CDs) Eddie Money (1977) and No Control (1982)
\n(Songs) Two Tickets To Paradise, Baby Hold On, So Good To Be In Love Again, Wanna Be A Rock \u2018N\u2019 Roll Star, Love The Way You Love Me, Gimme Some Water, Rock And Roll The Place, Get A Move On, Shakin\u2019, Think I\u2019m In Love, Take Me Home Tonight (Be My Baby), Stranger In A Strange Land, Looking Through The Eyes Of A Child, Peace In Our Time, She Takes My Breath Away, She\u2019s Like A Movie, and So Cold Tonight<\/strong><\/p>\n

[youtube v\/NbhXmSBlS_U?fs]<\/p>\n

To Send \u201cGonzo\u201d A Suggestion For An Article On Your Favorite Musician or Group<\/a><\/p>\n

Advertise Now On RSR<\/a><\/p>\n

Purchase Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sam \u201cGonzo\u201d Gonzales It\u2019s 1982, I\u2019m sitting in a pizzeria waiting for my pizza and I\u2019m listening to Eddie Money\u2019s \u201cThink I\u2019m In Love\u201d on the jukebox for the second time in ten minutes. When the song finished, I considered playing it for a third time. Could I? Would I? What would the pizzeria […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2203,522,2205,2204],"class_list":["post-6189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-eddie-money","tag-music","tag-ronnie-spector","tag-take-me-home-tonight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6189\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}