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Pop Star Eddie Money, Known For 'Two Tickets To Paradise', Dies At 70

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA/AP) – Prolific musician Eddie Money died Friday at the age of 70 in Los Angeles.

Eddie Money
FILE -- Musician Eddie Money performs on stage during the iHeart80s Party 2017 at SAP Center on January 28, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

Money passed away after having recently been diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer, according to Variety.

Money, whose real name is Edward Joseph Mahoney, had a series of major hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "Two Tickets to Paradise,""Baby Hold On"  and "Think I'm in Love."

"It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our loving husband and father," a statement from his family read. "It's so hard to imagine our world without him, however he will live on forever through his music."

He announced his cancer diagnosis via a video last month from his AXS TV reality series "Real Money." In the video, Money says he discovered he had cancer after what he thought was a routine checkup. He said the disease had spread to his liver and lymph nodes.

He had numerous health problems recently, including heart valve surgery earlier this year and pneumonia after the procedure, leading to his cancellation of a planned summer tour.

A New York City native, Money grew up in a family of police officers and was training in law enforcement himself before he rebelled and decided he'd rather be a singer.

"Two Tickets to Paradise" and "Baby Hold On" both reached the top 30 in the late 1970s and his self-titled debut album went platinum.

Money did manage the rare rock achievement of a long-term marriage, more than 30 years to Laurie Harris, who would say that at first she confused him with John Mellencamp. The Moneys had five children, Zachary, Jessica, Joseph, Desmond, and Julian.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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