Two Tickets to Paradise

"Two Tickets to Paradise"
Artwork for the German vinyl release
Single by Eddie Money
from the album Eddie Money
B-side "Don't Worry"
Released June 1978
Format 7" single
Recorded 1977
Genre Hard rock, power pop
Length 4:00 (Album Version)
3:09 (Single Remix)
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Eddie Money
Producer(s) Bruce Botnick
Eddie Money singles chronology
"Baby Hold On"
(1978)		 "Two Tickets to Paradise"
(1978)		 "You've Really Got a Hold on Me"
(1979)

"Baby Hold On"
(1978)		 "Two Tickets to Paradise"
(1978)		 "You've Really Got a Hold on Me"
(1979)

"Two Tickets to Paradise" is a song by American rock singer, Eddie Money, from his 1977 album Eddie Money. It was released as a single in June 1978 and reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has since become a staple of classic rock radio, and is one of Eddie Money's signature songs. [1]

Background and content

Money wrote the song about his girlfriend at the time. His girlfriend's mother wanted her to marry a doctor or a lawyer, not a musician. Money wrote the song in the hope of being allowed to take his girlfriend on vacation.

Release

The 45 RPM record single mix of the song is considerably different from the now more familiar LP version that appears on the Eddie Money album, a vast number of Money compilation albums, and digital releases of the song. The LP version is broken up into three verses and two choruses with a harmony section of "Whoa Whoa" right before the third verse, while the re-recorded 45 RPM version is now three verses and three choruses, with the third verse sung over the aforementioned "Whoa" harmony section. In addition, Money re-recorded his entire lead vocal for the single mix, with guitar riffs added during the "waited so long" parts, and lyrics to the chorus changed slightly: instead of, "I've got two tickets to paradise, I've got two tickets to paradise" after "pack your bags, we leave tonight" it became "Baby, it'll be so nice, for I've got two tickets to paradise". The mix is substantially different, with new and different lead guitar parts appearing throughout. Lastly, the LP version ends with a conclusive bongo/drum ending, where the 45 version uses a "fade away rhythm", DJ-style close. The single mix runs at 3:07 minutes.

The 45 RPM version has been reissued on the Playlist: The Very Best of Eddie Money compilation CD. The guitar solo was performed by Jimmy Lyon.

The musical

There was an autobiographical musical play titled "Two Tickets to Paradise" which is a story of Eddie Money's life and musical focus.[2][3]

Television

  • The song appears in the 1994 episode "Homer Loves Flanders" of The Simpsons, in which Homer sings and plays the air guitar to the rock song.
  • It was also featured in a 2002 episode of The King of Queens where Doug Heffernan and Deacon Palmer attempt to spend $5,000 in one day, and they hire Eddie to play in Doug's living room.
  • Michael Scott of The Office sings a short, parodied version of the song in the 2006 episode "A Benihana Christmas."
  • The song appears on a 2008 episode of the TV show Unhitched.
  • In House MD, 2009 episode 6 of season 6 ("Known Unknowns"), a character says, "In the words of the great philosopher, Eddie Money, 'I've got two tickets to paradise.'" (min 0:03:26)
  • "Two Tickets to Paradise" was the centerpiece of a commercial during GEICO's "get happy, get GEICO" ad campaign in 2012. Eddie Money appears in the commercial as the owner of his own travel agency and sings the chorus of the song to a family trying to book a vacation (much to their annoyance). The tag line is that GEICO customers are "happier than Eddie Money running a travel agency."
  • The song was covered in a 2015 episode of Hawaii Five-0 in the episode "Ua Helele'i Ka Hoku (Fallen Star)".

Video Games

Movies

  • The song is heard as a background number in the 2004 film Sideways.
  • In one of the beginning scenes of the 2007 film Balls of Fury, Randy's co-performing counterpart can be seen (and heard) singing a karaoke version of the song with a parrot.
  • There is a reference in the 2014 movie Good Kill where one of the characters starts singing "I've got two tickets to Paradise..." (min 0:26:48)
  • It appears in the 2010 movie Grown Ups.

Chart positions

Charts (1978) Peak
position
Australia Kent Music Report 86
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 22
Canadian RPM Top Singles 14

References

  1. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 443.
  2. ↑ "Eddie Money's Two Tickets To Paradise, The Musical". life.molloy.edu. January 16, 2015.
  3. ↑ Aileen Jacobson (May 6, 2009). "He's Eddie Money on Stage. Now Someone Else Will Be Too". The New York Times.
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