Former Enfield 4th of July Headliner Eddie Money Dies At 70

PLAINEDGE, NY — Eddie Money, a pop-rock singing star known best for the smash hits "Take Me Home Tonight" and "Two Tickets To Paradise," has died. He was 70 years old.

Money, who changed his name in 1976 from Edward Joseph Mahoney, died Friday morning as he battled stage 4 esophageal cancer, according to Variety. His family told the publication in a statement:

"The Money Family regrets to announce that Eddie passed away peacefully early this morning. It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our loving husband and father. We cannot imagine our world without him. We are grateful that he will live on forever through his music."

Money was born March 21, 1949, in Brooklyn, New York, but considered Long Island his home. He left the island in 1968 to pursue a career in music, quitting his pursuit of following in his father's footsteps and becoming a police officer.

"I was a police trainee, my father was patrolman of the year and he was driving me out of my f----ing mind. My rock band from high school moved out to California, and they said 'Eddie, you gotta come out to California and sing. We're going to get a record deal.'"

Just one thing prevented him from returning to the island.

"I would have moved back to Long Island, but the only one thing that stopped me from moving back to Long Island, my mother lives there," he told the site. "And I had a New York mother. If you know what I'm talking about, you probably have one so... When you're married to a woman that knows everything, then you think back to your mother, because they know everything, you know?"

In a 2003 interview following his performance at the Enfield 4th of July Town Celebration, Money recalled, "My hair was starting to get pretty good in the back, so as the Beatles sang, 'So I quit the police department, got myself a steady job'."

The previous year, Money had performed a number of concerts while suffering from a broken leg, the result of a skiing accident. He quipped in 2003 how he nearly didn't get off the mountain alive.

"I busted my leg, and when you get hurt up there, they send out these medical snowmobiles with some kind of a toboggan attached, and I had so much carbon monoxide blowing into my face, I didn't think I would make it to the bottom of the hill."

When asked in 2003 why he was still touring after nearly 30 years, he deadpanned, "I've got five kids; I'll do anything to get out of the house!"

Money performed numerous times in Connecticut, including many appearances at Mohegan Sun, where he was inducted into the Wolf Den Hall of Fame. He also performed twice, in 2011 and 2014, in the concert series during the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship in Cromwell, and played in the Celebrity Pro-Am in those years. And in 2018, Money was the headliner at the very popular Milford Oyster Festival, which is held each August.

In recent months, Money fell very ill, and in July, he made the decision to postpone all tour dates and a new album release.

"While it was a very hard decision to make, focusing on Eddie's health is the most important thing to the family at the moment," his family said in a statement.

Eddie Money plays saxophone during a 2008 performance at the Mohegan Sun Wolf Den. (Tim Jensen/Patch Media Corp.)

A young fan meets Eddie Money on the 14th hole at the TPC River Highlands during the 2011 Travelers Championship Celebrity Pro-Am. (Tim Jensen/Patch Media Corp.)

This story includes reporting by Patch editor Daniel Hampton.