Following the death of Eddie Money, Ronnie Spector – the Ronettes legend whose career was revitalized in the Eighties thanks to her appearance on Money’s 1986 hit “Take Me Home Tonight” – paid tribute to the singer.
“Eddie’s voice was soulful Rock & Roll, I just loved it. That’s really why we got together in the first place,” Spector said in a statement. “I loved his voice, he loved mine. He introduced me to a whole new generation of fans in the 1980s with our recording and video of ‘Take Me Home Tonight.’”
As noted in Rolling Stone‘s tribute to Money, “Take Me Home Tonight” was among the first songs to use a “live sample” of a previous hit: Rather than simply integrating the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” into the song, Money recruited Spector – who had largely left the music industry at the time – to re-record the classic hook for the song.
“Working in the studio with Eddie was way different from any other sessions I’ve been involved in,” Spector continued. “He had a crazy, great sense of humor, and was a real character, with the kind of positive vibe that we don’t see today, but we sure could use more of. Eddie brought joy to a lot [of] people with his music and performing, and he never stopped.”
— Ronnie Spector (@RonnieSpectorGS) September 13, 2019
Money died Friday following complications from a recent heart valve surgery; the singer-saxophonist was also battling stage 4 esophageal cancer at the time of his death at the age of 70.
“The Money Family regrets to announce that Eddie passed away peacefully early this morning,” the family said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “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.”
