Biography of Eddie Money

Eddie Money arrived in the late '70s at the height of album rock's popularity. While Money didn't have a remarkable voice, he had a knack for catchy, blue-collar rock & roll, which he delivered with a surprising amount of polished, radio-friendly finesse. He was able to survive in the early MTV era by filming a series of funny narrative videos, something his AOR peers were reluctant to due. However, he wasn't able to resist the temptations of a rock & roll lifestyle, and his popularity dipped in the mid-'80s as he struggled with various addictions. Once he sobered up, he made a remarkable comeback in the late '80s, with singles like "Take Me Home Tonight" and "Walk on Water" reaching the Top Ten. It proved to be Money's last string of hits -- during the early '90s, his popularity faded and he retired to the oldies circuit.Initially, Eddie Mahoney was going to follow in his father's footsteps and become a Brooklyn cop. He attended the New York Police Academy during the early '70s, but at night, he sang in rock & roll bands under the name Eddie Money. After a few years, he decided to pursue rock & roll as a career and quit the academy, moving to Berkeley, CA. Money became a regular at Bay Area clubs, where he eventually got the attention of legendary promoter Bill Graham, who signed the singer to his management company. Graham also secured him a contract with Columbia Records, and Money released his eponymous debut in 1977.During the late '70s, Eddie Money had a handful of album rock hits and wound up crossing over into the Top 40 with songs like "Baby Hold On" and "Maybe I'm a Fool." During the early '80s, Money began to make funny narrative videos, which became staples on early MTV and made "Shakin'" and "Think I'm in Love" hits. His career hit a slump during the mid-'80s as he struggled with various drug addictions, but he made a comeback in 1986 with Can't Hold Back. Featuring the hit duet with Ronnie Spector "Take Me Home Tonight," as well as the Top 20 "I Wanna Go Back," the album became a Top Ten smash, re-establishing Money as a successful blue-collar rocker. Money followed the album in 1988 with Nothing to Lose, which featured the Top Ten "Walk on Water." Two years later, "Peace in Our Time," taken from the 1989 Greatest Hits: Sound of Money, reached number 11."Peace in Our Time" proved to be Money's last big hit. During the early '90s, his audience slowly faded away, as both 1991's Right Here and 1992's Unplug It In were ignored. Columbia dropped him in the mid-'90s, and he spent the remainder of the decade touring the oldies circuit. He returned with a new album, Ready Eddie, in 1999. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Biography of Ronnie Spector

Ronnie Spector's stardom effectively began when "Be My Baby" exploded on radio at summer's end in 1963. Her voice could cut through the quagmire of eventual husband Phil Spector's Wall of Sound with a unique timbre and charm that has made her a revered figure among pop musicians and a cult heroine adored by the underground rockers. Born in Spanish Harlem, Veronica had the distinction of being the girl her historic band would be named after. Her autobiography says that Phil wanted to call her Veronica, but that she was given the name Ronnie Spector in 1971 by John Lennon and George Harrison, who convinced their mutual producer it was a better stage name. Her musical work on Colpix and Dimension records -- before Phil produced five Top 40 hits and the fabulous Christmas recordings that made her a household name, are all essential elements of her story, but it is Ronnie's attitude and voice that took that all important genre known as girl group to another level, to a higher level. Before the Chiffons, the Shangri-Las, the Shirelles, the Toys, the Jelly Beans, and the Marvelettes, Ronnie was the first (a few months before the Supremes) to carve an identity that made the lead singer synonymous with her band. Yes, Goldie & the Gingerbreads were issuing that subtle angst in Europe but without someone like Phil's guidance to bring them to the transistor radios of America, they remained cult heroines. The eventual teaming of Genya Ravan (aka Goldie of the Gingerbreads) as the producer for Ronnie's 1980 underground classic Siren made that disc as vital historically as it was musically. Though she didn't like the new wave/underground rock direction Ravan moved her, it found Ronnie the audience she played to for over two decades after it was released. The alternative rock crowd embraced her as more than a princess, as the Queen of the Underground. When she performed the tune Billy Joel wrote in her honor, "Say Goodbye to Hollywood," she rocked with the best of them. When Joey Ramone produced her She Talks to Rainbows EP featuring Johnny Thunders' "You Can't Put Your Arm Around a Memory" and "Don't Worry Baby" (the tune Brian Wilson wrote before Joel was inspired by the Ronettes), it verified conclusively that Ravan had a special insight regarding the market that would embrace girl group pioneers.On records with the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Alice Cooper, Eddie Money, and so many others, included in film soundtracks to Good Fellas, Mean Streets, Just One of the Guys, Quadrophenia, and many more, Ronnie's influence and sound continues to have a positive ripple effect throughout the music industry. ~ Joe Viglione