Eighties hitmakerEddie Moneydied on Friday at age 70. A representative confirmed to PEOPLE he succumbed to complications from a recent heart valve replacement.
The “Two Tickets to Paradise” singer’s death came less thana month after he announcedthat he had been diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer.
“I thought I was just going in to get a checkup and [the doctor] told me that I got cancer,” Money said in a clip from season two of his reality showReal Money. The show follows the daily lives of the musician, his wife Laurie and their five children.
Money went on to cancel the rest of his 2019 tour dates in July afterdeveloping pneumonia.
“We are incredibly saddened to hear that Eddie Money passed away,” AXS tells PEOPLE in a statement. “Our thoughts are with Laurie, Jesse, Dez, Joe, Julian and Zach at this time.” The network plans to air the final five episodes of the series, in addition to a special tribute on Sunday, Sept. 15.
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty
Eddie Money.Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Eddie Money.
As the son of a New York City Police Officer, Money initially tried to follow in his father’s footsteps, and actually entered an NYPD training program before quitting and moving to California.
“I would have been a very lenient cop,” Money toldRolling Stonein 2018.
Over the course of his career, Money scored 11 Top 30 hits on Billboard’s Hot 100 and his hit “Take Me Home Tonight” earned him a Grammy nomination.
In 1981, Moneyoverdosed on fentanyl. The incident left him with a badly damaged sciatic nerve, which he recounted in his hit 1982 albumNo Control.
“It was very scary,” hetold PEOPLEin 1996. “I was in physical therapy for more than a year.”
After falling for his wife Laurie in 1985, Money decided to join a 12-step program and they went on to marry in 1989.
The pair share children Zachary, Jessica, Joseph, Julian, and Desmond.
source: people.com
