"Two Tickets to Paradise" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

singer

Eddie Money Edward Joseph Mahoney (March 21, 1949 – September 13, 2019), known professionally as Eddie Money, was an American singer and songwriter who, in the 1970s and 1980s, had eleven Top 40 songs, including " Baby Hold On", " Two Tickets to Pa ...

from his 1977 self-titled debut album, ''

''. 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 Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...

radio, and it was Eddie Money's signature song.

Release

The 45 RPM record single mix of the song is considerably different from the now more familiar version that appears on the ''Eddie Money'' album, a vast number of Money compilation albums, and digital releases of the song. The album 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 single version is three verses and three choruses, with the third verse sung over the aforementioned "whoa" harmony section. Money re-recorded his entire lead vocal for the single version and guitar riffs were added during the "waited so long" parts. The 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 single mix is substantially different with different lead guitar parts appearing throughout. Lastly, the album version has a conclusive ending featuring a snare and bass drum hit, whereas the single version has a brief fade-out featuring a sustained chord on organ. The single remix runs 3:07 minutes compared to the album version which runs at 3:58 minutes. The single version has been reissued on the ''Playlist: The Very Best of Eddie Money'' compilation CD. The guitar solo was performed by

Jimmy Lyon James Douglas Lyon (born May 22, 1955) is an American rock guitarist. He is known primarily as the guitarist for Eddie Money in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and as a member of The Greg Kihn Band in the early 1990s. Career Jimmy Lyon was a g ...

Reception

'' Cash Box'' called it "an excellent, punchy rocker," saying that the guitars as "fluid and engaging" and the vocals are "rough and ready."

Musical

An autobiographical musical

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

titled ''Two Tickets to Paradise'' is a story of Eddie Money's life and musical focus.

In popular culture

Television

*The song appears in the 1994 episode "

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" of ''

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,'' in which

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sings and plays the

air guitar Air guitar is a form of dance and movement in which the performer pretends to play an imaginary rock or heavy metal-style electric guitar, including riffs and solos. Playing an air guitar usually consists of exaggerated strumming and picking m ...

to the rock song. *It was also featured in a 2002 episode of ''

The King of Queens ''The King of Queens'' is an American television sitcom that ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007, a total of nine seasons and 207 episodes. The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt, who also served as the show ...

'' where

Doug Heffernan Douglas Steven "Doug" Heffernan is a fictional character and the protagonist in the American sitcom ''The King of Queens''. The character has also appeared in ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', '' Becker'', and '' Cosby''. The character is portrayed ...

and

Deacon Palmer ''The King of Queens'' is an American television sitcom that ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007, a total of nine seasons and 207 episodes. The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt, who also served as the show ...

attempt to spend $5,000 in one day. To do so, they hire Eddie to play in Doug's living room. *During the summer of 2003, the song was featured on the opening credits to the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

reality show ''

Paradise Hotel ''Paradise Hotel'' is an American reality television program. In the show, a group of singles live in a luxurious hotel resort, competing to see who can stay in the hotel the longest. Each week, the contestants pair off into couples, and must sh ...

''. * Michael Scott of ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series o ...

'' sings a short, parodied version of the song in the 2006 episode "

A Benihana Christmas "A Benihana Christmas" is the tenth and eleventh episodes of the third season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'', and the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth episodes overall. It was written by Jennifer Celotta and directed by H ...

." *The song appears on a 2008 episode of the TV show ''

Unhitched ''Unhitched'' (previously known as ''The Rules for Starting Over'') is an American sitcom that aired as a mid-season replacement on Fox from March 2 to 30, 2008. The series was originally scheduled to premiere at 9:30 p.m. ET, but aired 30 ...

.'' *In House MD, 2009 episode 7 of season 6 ("Known Unknowns"), House says to Wilson, "In the words of the great philosopher, Eddie Money, 'I've got two tickets to paradise.'" *The song was covered in a 2015 episode of ''

Hawaii Five-0 Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series), ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series), ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an Ame ...

'' in the episode "Ua Helele'i Ka Hoku (Fallen Star)". *The song appears on the TV show '' Take Me Out''. *The song appears on a 2018 episode of the Netflix show ''

The Kominsky Method ''The Kominsky Method'' is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Chuck Lorre, that premiered on November 16, 2018, on Netflix. It stars Michael Douglas, Alan Arkin, Sarah Baker, Nancy Travis, Paul Reiser, and Kathlee ...

.''

Video games

*"Two Tickets to Paradise" is used in the 2004 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' on the fictional

radio station K-DST. *The song was released as downloadable content for ''

Rock Band 3 ''Rock Band 3'' is a 2010 music video game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, in late October 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on N ...

'' in 2012.

Films

*The song is heard playing in the background of an iconic scene from the 2004 film ''

Sideways ''Sideways'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama road film directed by Alexander Payne and written by Jim Taylor and Payne. A film adaptation of Rex Pickett's 2004 novel of the same name, ''Sideways'' follows two men in their forties, Miles Raymo ...

'' in which the lead characters are talking in a bar. *In one of the beginning scenes of the 2007 film ''

Balls of Fury ''Balls of Fury'' is a 2007 American sports comedy film directed by Robert Ben Garant, who also wrote the screenplay with Thomas Lennon, who also co-starred and produced with Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber and Jonathan Glickman. The film stars Dan ...

,'' 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 ''Good Kill'' is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Andrew Niccol. The film stars Ethan Hawke, Bruce Greenwood, Zoë Kravitz, Jake Abel, and January Jones. It competed for the Golden Lion at the 71st Venice International Film F ...

'' 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 history

References

{{Authority control Eddie Money songs 1978 singles 1977 songs Song recordings produced by Bruce Botnick Songs written by Eddie Money Columbia Records singles