The news of singer Eddie Money’s passing, while sad to hear also brought a sly smile to my face. That smile comes from a short chat Eddie and I had back in the early 90’s when we had him as an in studio guest on the Murphy in the Morning Show at Q-101.
At all radio stations where I worked, one of my tasks as producer was to record promo announcements or so called I.D.’s from any celebrity we had in for visits. Over a twenty year period I sat across a studio recording board from countless famous people. Everyone from Peter Frampton, Jerry Seinfeld, Evel Knievel, Bo Diddly and Cindy Crawford to Brooks & Dunn, Dolly Parton, Sam Kinison,Dennis De Young, Trisha Yearwood and Glenn Frey and many more. Most of the promo liners were written by me so I got to ‘collaborate’ with lots of big time names. But I digress. Let’s get back to one former New York Police trainee named Eddie Mahoney who left a career as a potential cop and morphed into singer and classic rock radio staple Eddie Money.
After Eddie’s on air interview with Murphy, I escorted him into a production studio and had him record a couple of show promos for Murf and Q-101. Once the quality of those tapings was checked out I usually had a little time to talk with the celeb on hand and with Eddie there was a memory to share with him.
I told Mr. Money about an insane 1978 New Year’s Eve I had at age 17 down in Fort Lauderdale when there with four buddies. What Eddie got from me was how one of his songs was the kick-start to all the fun we had that night and I owed him for that. My story to the singer lasted just a minute or two but I’ll share with you more of what went down. It happened over forty years ago but the events about to be described are permanently locked in my memory’s hard drive.
We rang in the New Year at a bar called The Ocean Mist Lounge and after the countdown to 12 midnight the first song the club D.J. played for 1979 was Eddie Money’s hit “Baby Hold On”. I think it was a dance mix because the song and our dancing went on for much longer than just the three minutes thirty of that cut.
Since it was New Year’s, there were plenty of kisses to share with the women in this club. And these were WOMEN; women in their early and mid to late twenties. Here my pals and I are these goofy clueless high school seniors mashing mouths with any lass who looked good in their Gloria Vanderbilt designer jeans, spiked heels and halter tops. Sure, I had kissed a few girls (again, girls my age) in the past on a couple of dates but this make-out marathon was a whole new ballgame.
There were other songs being played after “Baby Hold On” but it was that tune that launched me into a non-stop game of tonsil hockey with total strangers of the feminine gland. Our partying took us out to the main drag of Fort Lauderdale and then things kicked into an even higher gear. The street was jammed New Year’s partiers and it seemed like every other car that slowly idled by us was loaded with three or four lovely honeys ready for some intense lip smacking. So who was I to turn them down,.right?
We curbside Casanovas kept up the spit swap silliness with the Florida hotties for a couple of hours. (We may have done more than kiss but let’s keep this a PG-13 blog, O.K.?) One van I didn’t notice slowly rolled past us and my pal Dave Potter calmly reported, “That girl didn’t have any clothes on.” I sprinted to catch up to the van and sure enough the side panel door to this vehicle was open and inside sat a naked woman. Of course we had to exchange Happy New Year’s pleasantries and I just about died laughing at the craziness!
There was more fun to be had during our week in Fort Lauderdale (I came home with T-shirts from several of the bars we drank at) but that first night, launched at midnight by Eddie Money’s “Baby Hold On” was the lynchpin to the whole deal.
So Eddie Money I hope you rest in peace. You’re aces in my book. One of your early hits gave me an experience that will stay with me until I leave this earth. When recalling December 31st, 1978 with a giggle and smirk like the Delta Frat boys in “Animal House” after their toga party, I also think of another of your songs that is fitting, “I Wanna Go Back.”
NEXT WEEK’S BLOG- The Rationale Behind My Barefoot Phobia.