Eddie Money's family and friends -- including Sammy Hagar, Kevin Cronin, Rick Springfield, George Thorogood, John Waite, Mickey Thomas,Greg Kihn and Metallica's James Hetfield-- gathered for a tribute concert last Thursday, five months after the Money Man's death.
Held at The Saban theater in Beverly Hills, A Star-Studded Tribute to Eddie Money was hosted by comedian Louie Anderson, and proceeds went to MusiCares and the USC Eddie Money Cancer Research Fund.
Among the highlights was Hetfield's acoustic interpretation of "Baby Hold On." It was his first appearance following a stint in rehab.
Afterwards, Hagar said, "The Eddie Money celebration was like a class reunion from the Bay Area, with a couple imports from out of town...
"At any rate, James Hetfeld's surprise solo acoustic performance of 'Baby Hold On' for me had the deepest song interpretation of the night. A very touching and original rendition of that classic song.
"All of the performances were great, not just because of the artists, but because of the great songs Eddie Money gave us. It was so apparent that in the two-hour show every song was a memorable hit! That’s a boatload of good music.
"It was a family event. It was put on by the [Money] family, who all took part in the performances and watched over every second of footage that was shown, hand-picked the songs for the artists, etc. That gave the evening a personal touch you don’t always get at an event like this...
"I’m sure Eddie would have approved. And probably did."
The show was captured for a future episode of Hagar's AXS-TV show,Rock ‘n’ Roll Road Trip.