Grammy-nominated rocker Eddie Money, whose hits “Take Me Home Tonight” and “Two Tickets to Paradise” rocketed him to Top 40s fame, died Friday, three weeks after revealing he had stage four esophageal cancer. He was 70.
Fans posted a wave of condolences and memories on social media in response to news of his passing.
“It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our loving husband and father,” his family said in a statement, according you Variety. “We cannot imagine our world without him.”
Money, who last played a show on Long Island in March for his 70th birthday, had recently underwent minor heart valve surgery and postponed in June his tour and the release of his first new album in 26 years.
“I thought I was going in for a check-up and [the doctor] told me I have cancer,” Money last month told Rolling Stone magazine, which first reported the news and that the Sept. 12 episode of his AXS TV reality show, Real Money, will elaborate on the diagnoses as the show enters its second season.
The New York City native grew up in Plainedge before moving to California. Money was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
Money’s self-titled 1977 breakout debut album included the hits “Two Tickets To Paradise” and “Baby Hold On.” His third album in 1982, No Control, ushered in his first chart-topper, “Think I’m In Love,”
But it was the singer-songwriter’s sixth album in 1986, Can’t Hold Back, featuring “Take Me Home Tonight” in duet with Ronnie Spector, that became his biggest hit and got him a Grammy nod. His most recent album, Unplug It In, dropped in 1993.
He is survived by his wife and three children.
