EDDIE MONEY B & amp;B to play host to 'regular guy'

By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Eddie Money is all hyped up.
Nicotine gum will do that. After giving up cigarettes 10 days ago, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native is doing his best to make a living as a baby boomer artist who can still "rock and roll the place." Considering his blue collar roots -- his dad wanted him to follow in his footsteps as a cop but instead he left for the West Coast to find rock 'n' roll stardom -- Money keeps his name out there the only way he knows how: working as many dates as possible and performing his hits.
He rolls into Youngstown on Friday for a show at the B & amp;B Backstage. "I've had 28 songs in the top 100," said Money, calling from California. "When it comes to hits, I've had 'Walk on Water,' 'I'll Get By.' We've had a lot of great tunes." He added that his early '80s song "Shakin'" would have gone top five if he didn't use a derogatory term to describe a woman's body part.
"I made a lot of stupid mistakes when I was younger," Money said. Unfortunately, in the course of the phone interview, he used the same derogatory term, thus making the same mistake twice.
"Now, I got my head on pretty straight," Money said. "I've got my weight down, quit smoking cigarettes and I'm OK, playing some really crappy golf."
Part of Money's lasting appeal stems from his regular-guy status and working-class anthems such as "Baby Hold On" and "I Wanna Go Back." Perhaps the one crown jewel missing from his career is an invitation to join an exclusive club on the shores of Lake Erie.
Quotable
"I'll tell you the truth, I'd love to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," Money said. "But look at Lynyrd Skynyrd. These guys are great rock and rollers, and they're not letting them in the hall. I don't want to bad rap [anyone] but why the hell ain't I in the Rock Hall of Fame? Why would somebody like John Cougar get in and not me? I mean, come on. I don't want to end up dying of emphysema and my wife doing a speech [at the induction ceremony]. My wife gives some really s----- speeches. I don't want to be dead and in the ground and then they put me in the hall. What am I, the Pete Rose of rock?"
While "Gamblin' Man" Money, born Eddie Mahoney, awaits the phone call from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, he admits with pride that he is indeed already in the Long Island Hall of Fame, along with Blue Oyster Cult and Billy Joel.
Just like the title of his hit song "Can't Keep a Good Man Down," the 56-year-old singer believes as long as he gives it his all on stage, his fan base will be loyal. However, his motivation to perform all of his hits may surprise you.
"When I start signing T-shirts at the end of the night, you got to make sure everybody got a chance to hear what they wanted to hear because these women, they start b------- and moaning, 'I drove 100 miles per hour, I couldn't get a parking place, my husband got a DUI, you didn't play 'Baby Hold On,'" Money said. "I'm going, 'My God, I'm so sorry.' There is nothing worse than hearing these women b---- in the T-shirt line. You gotta make sure you play everything they want, you know what I'm saying?"