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In 1977, Eddie Money captured the hearts of music fans worldwide with his breakout hit “Two Tickets to Paradise.” Columbia Records had an amazing track record in the 1970s, finding rock and roll artists that would set the world on fire. Born Edward Joseph Mahoney, he changed his name to Eddie Money for his showbiz career.
Eddie’s hoarse vocal style and ability to merge rock and pop into a spectacular sound scored millions of fans. Eddie Money’s debut album spawned three massive hits. In a matter of months, a new rock star was born. Eddie was no one-hit or one-album wonder. Over the next decade, Eddie Money released rock and roll albums filled with pop-rock gems that soared across the Billboard music charts.
From 1977 to 1999, Eddie Money released ten albums. Most of Eddie Money’s chart success occurred in the late ’70s and the decade of the big ’80s. The 1990s did not serve Eddie Money as well when the sounds of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden overtook the pop-rock sound of artists like Eddie Money. In 2007, Eddie Money released a comeback album of covers dedicated to the sounds of the 1960s. However, Eddie Money was one of the most popular solo artists in rock and roll. Our Top 10 Eddie Money songs list reviews some of his biggest hits.
Eddie Money passed away in 2019 due to esophageal cancer. His millions of fans miss him. Thanks, Eddy, for the wonderful music you left us with.
# 10 – We Should Be Sleeping
We start our Top 10 Eddie Money Songs list with the big 80’s sound of “We Should Be Sleeping.” A bit reminiscent of Robert Palmer’s “Addicted To Love,” Eddie’s “We Should Be Sleeping” defines the sound of 1987. The song was the fourth single released from Eddie Money’s platinum album Can’t Hold Back. The album performed solidly, reaching number 20 on the Billboard 200 in the United States and number 34 on the Canadian RPM charts. Recorded between 1985 and 1986, Can’t Hold Back was produced primarily by Eddie Money and Richie Zito.The album was recorded at various locations including One On One Studios in North Hollywood, California. Richie Zito’s polished production gave the album a crisp, accessible rock sound that helped it break into the mainstream
# 9 – Walk On Water
Eddie Money’s “Walk On Water” was released on his Nothing To Lose album. The record was released in 1988. The song was the opening track on the album. Once again, Eddie Money’s “Walk On Water” represents the big sound of the ’80s. The drums are high in the mix, bathed with heavy reverb. Keyboards dominate, and the backing vocals have that cheerleading quality that we heard time and time again in the 1980s. It’s a great song, a big production, and a sign of the times.
# 8 – Shakin’
Eddie Money’s “Shakin’“ dominated MTV in the early ’80s. It is a great track that was released on one of Eddie’s best albums, No Control. Great slick guitar work punctuated by a rollicking Eddie Money vocal made this an early favorite for our Eddie Money songs list. Listen to Ralph Carter on bass set the rocking groove on this one that shakes it all up.
# 7 – You Really Got A Hold On Me
Eddie Money covered many famous songs in his career, but this one was always our favorite. Eddie Money’s cover of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” was released on his debut album in 1977. It was placed as the second track on the album and lined up nicely right behind the smash hit “Two Tickets To Paradise.” Eddie Money brought a fresh sound to a song written by a Motown legend and then covered by The Beatles.
# 6 – Gimme Some Water
Every artist has a song that’s a fan favorite, and this one gets the vote of many. It is a fun song that takes Eddie Money’s enthusiasm to the top of the hypermeter. The song “Gimme Some Water” was released on the Life For The Taking album in 1979. The album was Eddie Money’s follow-up to his smash debut album. “Gimme Some Water” was never released as a single. The album’s two singles, “Can’t Keep A Good Man Down” and “Maybe I’m A Fool,” had only minor success on the charts. However, Eddie Money’s following albums would prove that he would not be just a one-hit wonder
# 5 – I Wanna Go Back
Continuing with our Eddie Money songs list, we turn to the mid-1980s. In 1986, Eddie Money issued an album that would see the release of four singles, three of which made our top 10 Eddie Money songs list. Eddie Money and Richie Zito produced the album Can’t Hold Back. The great song “I Wanna Go Back” was written by Billy Satellite. That band released the song on their debut album in 1984. Nonetheless, Eddie Money’s version in 1986 broke the Billboard Top 20, peaking at number 14.
# 4 – Take Me Home Tonight
Not many people may realize that Eddie Money’s most successful single was a duet. Released in 1986 off the Can’t Hold Back album, the single “Take Me Home Tonight ” reached the number 4 position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop music charts. Eddie Money performed the duet with the legendary singer Ronnie Spector. The song used the hook from Ronnie Spector’s famous song “Be My Baby.”
The performance served as a comeback for Ronnie, who had initially found fame with the Ronettes and was retired then. A year later, Ronnie Spector recorded an EP produced by Joey Ramone. From then on, Ronnie Spector would find herself involved in various projects that kept one of music’s most cherished voices in the spotlight.
# 3 – Two Tickets To Paradise
Many fans may argue that “Tickets To Paradise” was Eddie Money’s most famous song. It’s a point we won’t argue with. However, as anyone who has read many of our lists already realizes, the top 10 songs list is just an exercise in subjectivity and fun. We love this song. It’s the song that turned us all onto Eddie Money. It blew us away in early 1978 when it became a monster hit. It forced us all to go out and buy the album.
Imagine buying an album. Remember those days? So, if you want to argue that this should be placed in the number one spot on our top 10 Eddie Money songs list, please let us have it. We love it. We just happened to love two Eddie Money songs a little more.
# 2 – Baby Hold On
Eddie Money’s great song “Baby Hold On“ was the follow-up single to his debut single, “Two Tickets Two Paradise.”The song opened side two of the record. When listening back to Eddie Money’s album to create this list, we were reminded of just how great his debut album was. The song was written by Eddie Money and his guitarist Jimmy Lyon. The song reached the number 11 spot on the Billboard Top 100.
# 1 – Think I’m In Love
It may surprise the casual Eddie Money fan that we chose “Think I’m In Love” as the number one song on our Top 10 Eddie Money songs list. However, die-hard Eddie Money fans have always gone crazy over this one. The song’s intense verses gave way to a kicking, driving chorus that caught your attention the first time you heard it.
It’s simply a fantastic song that defines the concept of pop rock. Legendary studio guitarist Chuck Kirkpatrick plays a guitar solo in the middle of the song that sounds like a Lynyrd Skynyrd guitar solo. This makes sense because the song was produced by Tom Dowd, who produced many of the great Lynyrd Skynyrd and Allman Brothers albums.
Tom Dowd also produced Eric Clapton, The Eagles, J. Geils Band, and many others. Eddie Money’s song does not sound southern at all, but the production is top-notch because of Tom Dowd. The song had great commercial success. “Think I’m In Love” became a top-10 Billboard hit.
Updated October 6, 2024