Music career
Money became a regular performer at clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area.[11] After gaining the attention of Bill Graham,[1] he secured a recording contract with Columbia Records, releasing his debut album in 1977. He charted with singles such as “Baby Hold On” and “Two Tickets to Paradise“, about visiting his girlfriend despite not having money.[2][12]
In 1978, Money opened for Santana at Boston’s Music Hall.[3] The following year, he sang the bridge section on “I’m Alright“, a song written and performed by Kenny Loggins. In 2014, Money claimed that Loggins never gave him credit for his contribution.[13]
In 1982, Money took advantage of the MTV music video scene with his humorous narrative videos for “Think I’m in Love“, performed at The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, and “Shakin’“.[2] In the early 1980s, he appeared on The Midnight Special, Fridays, and Solid Gold.[14] In 1978 and 1984, he appeared on American Bandstand.[15]
Money’s career began to decline following an unsuccessful 1983 album (Where’s the Party?) and struggles with drug addiction.[16] However, he made a comeback in 1986 with the album Can’t Hold Back, which received a music recording certification of platinum.[17] “Take Me Home Tonight“, a single from the album, peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.[18] Money only agreed to perform the song—which included a line from “Be My Baby“, a song Ronnie Spector performed as part of The Ronettes—after Spector agreed to sing the line herself.[8] In 1987, Money was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for “Take Me Home Tonight”.[1] “I Wanna Go Back” and “Endless Nights”—two other singles from the Can’t Hold Back album—peaked at No. 14 and No. 21, respectively.[16]
In 1988, Money released Nothing to Lose, which featured the Top 10 hit “Walk on Water” and the Top 40 hit “The Love in Your Eyes“.[19]
Beginning in 1992, Money opened the summer concert season for DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan.[20] In 1996, he wrote the theme music to Quack Pack, a Disney cartoon.[21]
Money was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2008.[7] In January 2010, he performed a medley of his hit singles during the halftime performance at the Liberty Bowl.[22]
Money wrote and performed original songs for the films Americathon (1979), Over the Top, Back to the Beach (both 1987), and Kuffs (1992), along with the television series Hardball (1989–1990).[23]
On May 10, 2019, Money released the track “Brand New Day” as the lead single from his album of the same name.[24] It was originally set to be released on July 19, 2019,[25] but was postponed following the announcement of Money’s illness and subsequent death. On April 17, 2020, Brand New Day, was released as a 5-song EP. A second EP containing the remaining six songs from the intended album will be released at a later date according to Money’s wife Laurie who said “These will be his last recordings. The other half is a little more vintage. There’s a big difference so they needed to be separated.”[26]
In the three days following Money’s death, fans streamed “Take Me Home Tonight” more than 3.1 million times, which was an increase of 349% compared to the previous three-day period. Fans also streamed his other songs by 931% more than the three previous days.[18]
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