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Eddie Money gets into Christmas spirit
By John Benson
At one point during a recent interview with Eddie Money, the ’70s and ’80s rocker rattled off half a dozen Youngstown-area friends he wants to send shout-outs to.
The problem is, this article can’t be his personal message service. Perhaps the 61-year-old singer should play his tune “My Friends, My Friends” at his unplugged holiday show Saturday at McMenamy’s, and that would suffice.
The Brooklyn native, who has sold more than 28 million albums and is known for hit songs “Baby Hold On,” “Two Tickets to Paradise,” “Think I’m in Love,” “Shakin,” “Take Me Home Tonight” and “I Wanna Go Back,” remains busy on the touring circuit.
The Vindicator talked to Money about his upcoming Christmas show, the rigors of being a parent and what it’s like being a sober rock star.
Q. We see not only is your upcoming show unplugged, but it’s Christmas-themed. What can we expect?
A. Yeah, you get songs like “Everybody Likes Christmas,” which was my song with Ronnie Spector, who is a real sweetheart. When she got in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the first thing she did was thank me. We do all of these great Christmas songs, and everybody turns into 8- and 9-year-olds. The audience is singing, and here I thought the show was going to bomb. People really like it. Everybody enjoys the songs and, believe it or not, they know the words to “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “Frosty the Snowman.” It’s funny, if you start singing “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,” the audience can’t sing along. But they all know the words to “Frosty the Snowman.” And we do “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee. I love that one; she kicks butt on it.
Q. Speaking of literally kicking butt, we see your daughter, Jesse (an aspiring singer who will join Money on stage in Youngstown), was arrested last year for a DUI. Considering your past rock-star escapades, how did that conversation go?
A. I have to set a good example for these children. She got arrested for drunken driving when she wanted something to eat and gave people crap at a hamburger stand, and then she fell asleep in the car, and the cops found her. But she’s doing good. I’ve got four boys and one girl, and it figures that the one that sings great and has great stage presence is the girl. My four boys are fine. If I would have had four daughters and one boy, I think I would have jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge by now. After awhile, you get so disgusted with them. My mother used to say, “Someday you’re going to have a kid just like you,” and I’d say, “What are you talking about?” And it’s my daughter. She writes some really great songs, and I think she’s on the verge of getting a record deal. But nevertheless, we’re always locking horns. She uses my back room on my bus, and all of a sudden it looks like a clothes explosion. I can’t even find my shoes.
Q. On a serious note, we see you have new patriotic song “One More Soldier Coming Home” due out this spring. What’s the story behind the tune?
A. It’s a song about the fallen heroes. I run into all of these families out there who have sons and daughters in Iraq. And then I met this family who lost a daughter in Iraq, and a buddy of mine wrote this song. It’s a very sad song. We shot the video in a cemetery on Veterans Day in San Francisco. It was like a spiritual feeling looking at all of these gravestones. The song is like a spiritual awakening. I feel like I’m giving back to all of these men and women, these fallen heroes of this fantastic country we live in.
Q. Do you have a large following of people serving in the armed forces?
A. I do. Here’s a funny story. This Marine asked his girlfriend to marry him on stage. She was knocking down beverages; she had no idea he was going to ask her to marry him. It took them 10 minutes to get on stage. So he finally gets up there, drops to one knee and asks her to marry him. The place went nuts, and my wife got really [irritated] at me because I got on the microphone and said, “I feel sorry for that one guy — he dropped to one knee and doesn’t realize he’ll be on that knee for the rest of his life.” I thought it was funny, and later my wife said, “Why did you say that?”
Q. Finally, what are your memories of playing the Youngstown area over the years?
A. Youngstown is a rock ’n’ roll town. I did so many shows with, like, Benny Mardones and others. I used to play the Agora Ballroom back in the ’70s. That place was rocking. It was a lot of fun. I knocked a lot of beverages down in that town. Now, I tell people I quit drinking, and everybody is happy but me.