SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 28: Musician Eddie Money performs on stage during the iHeart80s Party 2017 at SAP Center on January 28, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
Eddie Money, the singer and songwriter that was known for hits from the 1970s and 1980s such as “Baby Hold On” and “Take Me Home Tonight,” died Friday morning following complications from esophageal cancer, his family announced.
He was 70.
“It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our loving husband and father. It’s so hard to imagine our world without him, however he will live on forever through his music,” the Money family’s statement read.
Money first announced his cancer diagnosis last month in a clip for the second season of his reality TV show, “Real Money.”
“I thought I was just going in to get a checkup, and he told me I got cancer,” Money said in the clip.
The singer was diagnosed last fall and said he wanted to be open about his battle.
“It’s not honest, I wanna be honest with everybody. I want people to know that cancer’s come a long way and not everybody dies from cancer like they did in the ’50s and ’60s,” he said on the show.
“Am I gonna live a long time? Who knows, it’s in God’s hands,” Money continued. “But you know what? I’ll take every day I can get. Every day above ground is a good day.”
Born Edward Joseph Mahoney in Brooklyn, New York, he briefly served as a member of the NYPD before moving out to California in 1968 to try his hand in the music business.
Money signed with Columbia Records in 1976, and his debut album, “Eddie Money,” went double-platinum. It included the now classic hit, “Two Tickets to Paradise.”
Over his career that spanned four decades, Money sold nearly 30 million records. He continued touring up until this year, but had to cancel a tour over the summer due to health complications.
Money is survived by his wife, Laurie, and five children, Jessie, Dez, Joe, Julian and Zach.
CNN’s Marianne Garvey contributed to this story.
