MIDDLETOWN - Eddie Money is a Brooklyn-born New Yorker who traded in life as a police officer to become one of the most successful artists of the 70’s and 80’s with a solid 14 classic rock staples and selling more than 28 million records to date. I chatted with Eddie via phone from his home in Westlake, Calif. while on a brief break from his 2014 national tour that will take him to the Mohegan Sun Casino this winter.

      

       (12 p.m. sharp, phone ringing)

       Wow, you’re right on the â€�"money.” How are you, Joby?

      

       Before I can answer and begin the interview, Eddie starts to sing some of his own praises.

       Wow! I got to tell you that I’m getting rave reviews about the show lately. I had 14 songs in the top 100. The GIECO commercial I did was up for commercial of the year; I’m glad it didn’t win. Now I have to shave and wash my hair just to put gas in my car because everybody in the world knows who I am.

      

       I’m fine Eddie, thanks for taking the time to talk with me. I see you’re coming to the Mohegan Sun Casino soon.

       Yea, I’m in the Mohegan Sun’s Hall of Fame, they’ve always been great to us up there.

      

       Your 1977 debut album went double platinum, on the waves of two of your biggest hits, â€�"Baby Hold On” and â€�"Two Tickets to Paradise.” After that kind of immediate success was there any fear of what you would have to do to follow that up?

       Well I’ve got to tell ya the truth--I wasn’t worried too much. I had Bill Graham as a manager. He, at one time or another, managed Carlos Santana, The Grateful Dead, Rolling Stones and Janis Joplin. He booked me on SNL, Midnight Special. MTV was just getting started and Bill was an entrepreneur and wise enough to know that music video was the next big thing, so we made videos for MTV before it even had commercials. My first two videos cost $88,000 if you can believe that. Then I toured with the Stones, Fleetwood Mac, The Who, Steve Miller, April Wine, 38 Special and REO Speedwagon.

      

       With your father, grandfather and brother all police officers, was it hard for you to leave the force to pursue a career as a singer? Was there any animosity?

       My father didn’t like the thought of me leaving the police deptartment. He thought Rock and Roll was gonna be a fly by night thing. Joby, man, I remember playing Madison Square Garden to a packed house with Cindi Lauper and Santana. My father said to me after the show, â€�"Eddie I’m very proud of you, but I just don’t understand, you could have done this on the side.” He just never got it. (laughs)

      

       In the mid 80s you struggled with addiction. What was the driving force that helped you conquer that trouble?

       I’ll tell you the truth Jobe, I never use to get high during the shows. In the 70’s and 80’s, the doctors were still saying that cocaine wasn’t addictive. We mainly drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes. I started drinking too much and tried coke. I didn’t do cocaine to have sex or talk about changing the world. Someone gave me phenetol, which I thought was coke and it sent me into a catatonic state which ended up blowing out my kidneys and killing my sciatic nerve in my left leg. People asked me, â€�"How did I O.D.?” Well, It was free(laughs). I was young and stupid and making $1,000 a minute for a 75-minute show. Now my wife’s got me on the treadmill at 6:30 in the morning.

      

       In ‘69, you replaced Janis Joplin in Big Brother and the Holding Company and then you were replaced not long after by Nick Gravenites, who is rumored to have had you fired. Have you ever had the chance to talk with him about that situation?

       He came in, I was out, but the band broke up six months later. So there it is.

      

       You toured with the Stones and were asked to leave the tour early on because Mick felt a little threatened by your nightly encores. Looking back, how does it feel to know that you stole the show from the Stones?

       (Laughs) Mick was a great guy. The Stones gave me advice on what guitars to use on certain tracks. I was supposed to do six shows with them, but we were getting a lot of encores and too much attention and we were gone after four shows. I wouldn’t say we stole the show, but it was a nice compliment to know that they took notice. Sometimes we go over very well out there and then they have to follow us. It’s always been a battle of the bands. I just got to get out there and kick everybody’s ass. That’s just what I do.

      

       Who are your top three

       influences?

       The Beatles, Stones, The Kinks, Reo Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Styx, Joan Jett. Joby, man, I mean who haven’t I worked with?

      

       How did you develop the Eddie Money sound?

       We came up out of Oakland, Calif. which is a Buddy Guy, B.B. King and Little Walter town. CCR who were called the Polliwogs at that time was a band I watched. I’ve kept my music really simple. I wrote songs to make people happy. I was an entertainer. I didn’t want to bum people out. â€�"Two Tickets to Paradise,” â€�"Baby Hold On to Me”--they’re all very positive.

      

       What was the first song you ever learned?

       Oh my gosh! I remember sitting on my uncle’s knee when I was a kid singing Al Jolson songs and â€�"You Are My Sunshine.” I grew up on that. My parents used to go to a lot of Broadway shows so I was exposed to that, too. I started listening to Rock and Roll when Elvis Presley and Little Richard came out. I was five years old when Elvis had the sideburns and Richard had the ducktail. My father started flipping out immediately. I started singing at my mother and fathers ‘cha cha parties.’ I was in a rock band before the Beatles came out, doing Chuck Berry covers.

      

       What is the greatest opening lyric of all time?

       The song that comes to mind is â€�"I Can’t Get No Satisfaction,” or James Brown (Eddie starts singing, â€�"Please, Please, Please”).

      

       Who would you collaborate with if you had the chance?

       In today’s music business you have to have a brand. Kids today don’t take to music anymore. Everyone gets it for free. The Internet killed record sales. I feel sorry for my kid Dez [Money, who is following in his father’s footsteps]. My daughter Jesse joins me on stage now and then. When she was little, she used to come out on the stage with little bells on her feet and bring me water. She’s 26 now and I think she just got bored with it.

      

       What advice would you give your younger self about getting into the

       business?

       Learn the science of the music. As boring as scales are, they work. You have to really know your craft. I do wish I was a better sax player. I took vocal lessons from a lady named Judy Davis. She coached Sinatra, Streisand, Judy Garland, Steve Perry, Sammy Davis Jr. and many others.

      

       What skills/personal attributes are most important to being a successful

       artist?

       Rule number one: You can’t be a Janis Joplin or a Jim Morrison, getting drunk and falling all over the stage. You can’t be a Jerry Garcia addicted to heroin. To be a successful artist, it’s like you being a successful writer--you can’t get addicted to the pitfalls. It’s hard to tell young people not to indulge; we were all 18 once, it’s all part of growing up. Maybe if I wasn’t drinking and partying and hanging out and having fun with a lot of girlfriends, I would have stayed on with the police department (laughs). It’s all about having a good time but in moderation.

      

       What is your â€�"go-to”

       karaoke song?

       That’s crazy. I got to tell you a funny story--I did a show in Idaho in the winter in the middle of nowhere. Nobody knew who I was. After the show, I was in my room and I was really bored so I went down to the hotel bar and they had this karaoke thing going. It was so cool; this is when I was first introduced to karaoke. They had this contest going on and I looked in the book and they had â€�"Two Tickets to Paradise” and I lost to this heavy-set chick who sang â€�"You Light up My Life” by Debbie Boone. That’s a true story.

      

       What is something about you that would surprise your fans?

       I’m a history buff. I’m into the Civil War, WWI and II. I went to college with the plan of becoming a history teacher.

      

       You’re dead! What is the one song that you want to be played at your

       memorial?

       Hmmm… â€�"Take Me Home Tonight.” Pun intended.

      

       Is there any question you wished I’d asked or anything you’d like to add?

       Come on out to a show and have a good time. I usually come out after the gig to say hello. Then please drive home safe, ‘cause no one looks good in an orange jumpsuit (laughs).

      

       For tour and other information regarding Eddie Money, visit www.eddiemoney.com .