Friday, September 13, 2019

In Memoriam: Eddie Money, plus Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson Hit Up Madrid, Spain



"What I don't want to do is, I don't want to keep the fact that I have cancer from everybody," Money continues.  "It's not honest.  I want to be honest with everybody.  I want people to know that cancer's come a long way and not everyone dies from cancer, like they did in the '50s and '60s.  Am I going to live a long time?  Who knows.  It's in God's hands.  But you know what, I'll take every day I can get.  Every day above ground is a good day." - Eddie Money on axs.tv

The 80's were a great time, weren't they?  The birth and rise of the music video and MTV.  And Eddie Money was a great part of this cultural shift.  Who hasn't heard at least a few of his most famous tunes - Two Tickets to Paradise (which he wrote) and Take Me Home Tonight, featuring Ronnie Spector.   If you watch the video clip, Eddie's eastern accent is wonderful and unaffected, even though his bios say he moved from NYC and his career as a cop, to pursue music in California.  

His real name was Edward Joseph Mahoney (now I see where he got the name 'Money' lol), born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island.  A member of an Irish Catholic family with a brother, father and grandfather who were cops, Eddie was also training to be a cop for a couple of years at the New York Police Academy.  He sang at night clubs in the evenings and at the age of 19, left New York for the state of California to pursue a career in rock and roll.  He joked about leaving police training:

 "My hair was getting really good in the back, so I quit the police department," he said with a big laugh.  "I couldn't see myself in uniform for 20 years in short hair." [edit.] - Eddie Money in "From the Vaults: Eddie Money Bigger in Minnesota Than In L.A." the Duluth News Tribune
 
Music was calling him and the rest is history.


 
I did not know that he played Mimi's ex-husband on The Drew Carey Show and was also on The King of Queens.  Married in 1989 to wife Laurie, Eddie relays this story (true or not?  Come on, Eddie!) how he met his wife:

"It was in Nashville," Money said.  "She was beautiful.  I was singing 'Two Tickets to Paradise'.  Tears were streaming down her face.  I looked down and she said, 'You're standing on my fingers!'" - Eddie Money is a Survivor of Good and Bad Times, the Herald Courier.

Ha, he sounds like quite the comedian, doesn't he?  About Keith Richards (Eddie and his band opened up for the Rolling Stones early in his career):

 "I was standing at the urinal one day next to Keith Richards," Money said.  "I asked him, 'What guitar did you play on Lady Jane'?" - Eddie Money, the Herald Courier.

 Eddie lived the life of a rock and roller.

 "I had a girl in every port," Money said.  "I drank a lot of alcohol.  I did cocaine.  Never did heroin.  Drank a lot of booze.  Wrecked a lot of cars.  I was snorting South American countries during the 1980s.  I overdosed twice, one that the public knows about and one they don't." - Eddie Money, the Herald Courier.

 Eddie met Laurie in 1985 and he wanted a family, but Laurie said he needed to stop living his hard life if she was going to stay with him.  It was this ultimatum that Eddie credits for getting him to change his ways. In 2001, he would enter a 12-step program and eventually, sobriety.  He and Laurie married in 1989 and they had five children.  

Eddie settled down and his wife and children joined him on the road.  

"You turn around one day and you've become a father.  It's like, 'Whose kids are these?  Wait! They're mine!' - Eddie Money at the age of 47, to People magazine. 

 Eddie and his family (including eight dogs) would go on to have a television reality show that debuted on AXS cable network in 2018, called Real Money.  It was this show that aired the episode last night (Sept. 12) where Eddie announced his diagnosis, which actually was made last fall.

From the Duluth News Tribune in 2010:

Q: Are there recordings that you wish you had never done?
A: I never really liked "Take me Home Tonight." But I do like Ronnie Spector (of the Ronettes, who sang with him) and having Ronnie Spector on the record was really cool. The only reason I like the song is because everybody loves it. Songs that I do that make people feel good, I like doing.

Q: What do you have planned for your Duluth show?
A: A new song. I'm proud of this song. We just finished it. All the money I am making I'm going to give to the widows of the Iraq and Afghanistan war. The song is called "One More Soldier Coming Home." It's a song about a fallen hero that comes back in a box. But it's a beautiful song. There are a lot of people out there (in the audience) with kids over there.

Q: What do you think MTV did for your career?
A: I was the first rock star on MTV because nobody was making videos in those days, and Bill Graham (former promoter) decided to make a video for me. All of a sudden I got on MTV. They played the hell out of me. Then they threw me into VH1 land. I look back at those videos and I look like a singing shoe salesman. Apollonia (of Prince fame) was in "Shakin' " before she did Purple Rain.


This interview from 2012 appeared on my timeline yesterday and showed that Eddie knew his baseball, too.  He wasn't just blowing wind when he said he was a fan of the Kansas City Royals because he knew that (at the time) they had just come off of a successful road trip.  It's great to hear him reminisce about Ebbets Field and tell Joel Goldberg about the challenges of singing the national anthem.  Eddie was a real musician.  When he talked about singing, he sounded human, didn't he?  He was concerned about clinkers and bad choices, but knew how to approach the anthem. Even for a short interview, this one was insightful.


                    
If we all could turn the clock back and do a few things different.  There's always something, right?  Here's Eddie again from the Duluth News Tribune,

Q: What do you think now about your long-ago past with drug abuse?
A: I look at it like it was a big mistake. Why did I ever do that? Why? Because everyone else was doing it, that's why. I was just in the herd. I wasn't a leader of the pack. Everybody was snorting coke, everybody was smoking pot, everybody was drinking vodka. Everyone was running around with a thousand women. One night I got really drunk and someone gave me this (drug) that I thought was OK and it wasn't. It was a really lethal barbiturate. It put me out like a light (killing a nerve in his leg.) I couldn't walk for 11 months.

Thank you for the music, Eddie.  What a wonderful gift and what a crazy life you must have led.  But you sound like a great guy and what fun it would have been to talk to you and listen to all of your stories.  I love your NYC accent and may you continue making that great music in heaven.


 

                                                   The Money family on Real Money















I had no idea at the time this was Apollonia:





















Q: What do you think your contribution to rock 'n' roll has been?
A: I gave them some great songs. I love seeing people getting off. Now they are nostalgic about it because it was way back when. When they were younger, "Baby Hold On" or "Shakin'" came out. It brings you back to a certain time or a certain place in your life when things were different. (Being a writer of music) you become kind of immortal in a way. I run into housewives all the time that are drunk. And I always stop and take a picture. Where would I be without my fans?


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

How do you follow that reflection on a very small slice of someone's life?  Someone who lived a life like that?  He seemed to be a bones-bared, lay it out there kind of guy. Bless his heart.

Well, we'll touch upon a few other items.

• Guess who looks like they're back on the west coast?  Mr. Austin.  First, someone was photographing him in the Grand Teton mountains of Wyoming, where he proceeded to perform all types of acrobatics in the water in a sudden flurry of social media activity.









A post shared by Austin Nichols (@austinnichols) on

Then, he attended Oceana's Sea of Change on September 6, 2019 in Laguna Beach, CA. 




Remember, Austin was supposed to be there last year in July and we had similar-type photos, plus this tweet from his account, instead of providing us an up close shot of the ocean view!


 
Aaaaand, we had a new Austin interview with another Jaustin reference/comparison to living in a foreign country.  Imagine that!  Seriously though, Austin was promoting This Close, which began its second season on the Sundance Channel this past week.

It was a cornucopia of Austin!

Hmmmmm...now what could be different this time?  Well, this time, the hubs is stateside, that's what.  Unlike last year, which was the #SummerOfJake.  And around that week and a half or so when Jake seemed to have vaporized from stage door action, we also had a flurry of activity with Big Sis, Maggie and Peter.  On September 6, they made an appearance at the Adeam Spring/Summer 2020 Dinner in NYC.  


 
This came after Maggie's appearance on Seth Meyers (he's kind of Mr. Reliable for the Gyllenhaal's, isn't he? hmmm) September 3.  Here's Big Sis wearing her sunglasses at night...



And Jake?  Where was he around this time of Austin and Maggie's high visibility?  Well, as we said before, certainly not being seen anywhere around the stage door like he had been since Seawall/A Life opened.  At least according to Instagram.  *wink*  But there was the big news about Sony and Marvel and the big break up and all of that.  Here's the chairman & CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Tony Vinciquerra, with his "at the moment".


 

So allll of this was going on during the week that was following Labor Day weekend and the time of year when, *cough*,  many schools begin.  Narnia's jus' sayin'.....

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

And Liam Payne was performing in Madrid, Spain today at the Coca-Cola Music Experience Festival and Louis Tomlinson will be performing on the 14th.  In addition to singing a set, Liam and the fans sang Happy Birthday to Niall Horan who turned 26 years old on the 13th. 


Here is the lovely Liam Payne making the fans so happy and thanking all for their support.   The crowd looked huge. Supposedly, over 30,000 in attendance. Sold Out on both days!


Many fans had footage of Bedroom Floor and Little Things.  Someone reported that his set list consisted of :  Bedroom Floor, Get Low, For You, Promises (by Sam Smith), Little Things, Stay (Post Malone), Drag Me Down, Polaroid, Familiar and Strip Me Down.  He obviously made those in attendance extremely happy and they have been expressing their support and love on twitter all evening.  Liam has a new release coming called Stack It Up on September 18. 

 And yes, Niall Horan turned 26 today.  Narnia extends a very Happy Birthday to him and best wishes for another year of good health, safety and many blessings. He's a model you know! *grin*


Louis Tomlinson will appear at the Coca-Cola Music Experience Festival tomorrow, Sept 14 and his night should be as exciting as Liam's., if not more due to his lack of touring and Sony/Syco sabotaging his music releases for the last three and one-half years.  Louis, however, released his new music video "Kill My Mind" to the world today. We here at Narnia heard a collective scream of excitement, not only for the song, which is great, but for the clues hidden throughout the video. Take a look and you will see what we mean. Lots of gay (rainbows and a Pink Panther cutout). Along with a shout out to Harry. That's our guy! There were already a 1,000 reasons to love Louis. Now, we have a few more added to the list.


Great evolution in sound for Louis and we look forward to his time on stage Saturday the 14th.  Knock 'em out, Louis!

 Everyone enjoy your Saturday! This was mainly published with the intent to pay a respectful and solemn tribute to the great, legendary Eddie Money, but I also ended up having fun learning more about his personal history and appreciating him more than ever.


 pic sources: Daily Fail, zimbio, Listal, den of geek, Chicago 
                    Concert Reviews, Allmusic, Pitchfork, steemit, TV
                    Insider, Duluth News Tribune
our playlist:  Two Tickets to Paradise - Eddie Money
                     Take Me Home Tonight - Eddie Money ft. Ronnie
                                                               Spector
                     I Wanna Go Back - Eddie Money
                     Peace in Our Time - Eddie Money
                     Endless Nights - Eddie Money
                     Shakin' - Eddie Money
                     We Should Be Sleepin' - Eddie Money
                     I Think I'm in Love - Eddie Money
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5 comments:

prairiegirl said...

Of course, one has to ask why it's "okay" for Austin to visibly be placed in LA. That usually means he's not, lol.

And as the great M&M pointed out, we know Austin was in LA towards the end of July for the TCA's, which were held in Los Angeles. That is the one event that was pretty legit looking with a definitive date stamp. Everything else (the Instagram stories and tweets), those can be filmed any time. So did Austin stop through Wyoming on his way to L.A. on his way to the TCA's? That mustache he has going on is being used to date stamp him because it looks like he needed it for the show, This Close. But does he need it now?

And we know that the whole Oceana appearance doesn't necessarily have to be legit either when all you have is a few pictures of Austin in front of a back drop.

So it's very possible Austin and the kids aren't even in the States right now, but across the pond. ;-)

Saturday, September 14, 2019 at 10:52:00 AM CDT
destiny said...

First Eddie Money, now Rick Ocasek. And how eerie that they were both 70 years young.

I think that is the first picture I've seen of Maggie with Peter in years. I was really beginning to think he'd disappeared off the face of the earth.

Sunday, September 15, 2019 at 8:34:00 PM CDT
prairiegirl said...

Hey Destiny, how are you, it's great to see you. I know, I saw Ric was trending on Twitter and couldn't believe it.

I loved many of the Cars' hits and one of Ric's singles as well. They were such a big part of the 80's music scene too, much like Eddie was.

You really don't see much of Peter anymore. He works on a lot of projects and he & Maggie put in an obligatory "social" public appearance now and then, when they need to place Maggie somewhere (usually in NYC) or they want to try and remind everyone they're "married".

What was telling was Peter didn't attend Maggie's final season premiere for The Deuce.

And then he attended the US Open with a longtime friend, Maggie not in sight. That also was interesting.

They're leading separate lives, but periodically will make a joint apperance or release something like that whole "selling the brownstone" video.

Sunday, September 15, 2019 at 9:14:00 PM CDT
Methodical Muser said...


Just wanted to do a shout out to Mr. Tomlinson. He smashed it yesterday in Madrid. Check out YouTube and enjoy his performances. Absolutely, brilliant. And, Harry was everywhere in those lyrics. Songs about surviving the challenges of a relationship under pressure. Two people against the world and still in love after all these years. One of my favorite songs, among many is called, Defenseless:

I come runnin' to you
Like a moth into a flame
You tell me "Take it easy"
But it's easier to say
Wish I didn't need so much of you
I hate to say, but I do
We're sleeping on our problems
And we'll solve them in our dreams
Wake up early mornin'
And they're still under the sheets
I'm lost in my head
I'm spinning again
Tryin' to find more to say to you

[Pre-Chorus]
Been up all night
All night you’ve known my lines
But it’s only the truth
Been up all night
Not sure how to say this right
Got so much to lose

[Chorus]
Never been so defenceless
Never been so defenceless (Oh woah)
You just keep on building up your fences (Oh woah)
(But I) never been so defenceless (Oh woah)
(Oh woah, oh woah)
(Oh woah, oh woah)
(Oh woah, oh woah)


You don’t have to keep on being strong
For me and you
Acting like you feel no pain
You know I know you do
And you can't get inside
If you're lost in your pride
You don't have a thing to prove

[Pre-Chorus]
Been up all night
All night you’ve known all my lines
But it’s only the truth
Been up all night
Not sure how I'll say this right
Got so much to lose

[Chorus]
Never been so defenceless
Never been so defenceless (Oh woah)
You just keep on building up your fences (Oh woah)
But I, never been so defenceless (Oh woah)
(Oh woah, oh woah)

[Bridge]
I'm not asking too much
(Never been so defenceless)
I'm too tired to be tough
Just wanna be loved by you

Sunday, September 15, 2019 at 10:05:00 PM CDT
prairiegirl said...

There will be a post today, but it'll be a little later. I'm finishing it up.

Sunday, September 22, 2019 at 10:54:00 AM CDT

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