Lots of people remember Eddie Money, the guitarist, saxophonist and singer-songwriter who found success in the '70s and '80s with a string of Top 40 hits and platinum albums. Rock impresario Bill Graham said of Money, "Eddie Money has it all...Not only can he sing, write and play, but he is a natural performer."
After becoming a police officer, like his father, Money became interested in music, and eventually ended his law enforcement career in favor of becoming a musician. He moved to Berkeley, California and became a regular at area clubs, where he'd get enough attention to secure a recording contract with Columbia Records. Money continued his successes and took advantage of the MTV music video scene in the early 1980s with his humorous narrative videos for "Shakin" and "Think I'm in Love", but his career began to fail him after several unsuccessful releases in the mid-1980s, accompanied by his struggles with drug addiction.
Money made a comeback two years later in 1986 and returned to the mainstream rock spotlight with the album Can't Hold Back, which featured a Ronnie Spector duet with "Take Me Home Tonight", which reached the Top 10, along with the hit "I Wanna Go Back".
One of my favorites as a kid is still out there, Jon "Bowzer" Bauman, who is best known as a member of the band Sha Na Na. Bauman's popular Sha Na Na character, "Bowzer", was a gangly greaser in a muscle shirt.
After his heyday with Sha Na Na, Bauman was a VJ on VH-1 during its first two years. He has appeared on several television series, such as Miami Vice, and has also done voiceovers for animated series, such as Animaniacs, and animated feature films, including My Little Pony: The Movie and The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones. He also hosted Hollywood Squares and half of the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. In addition, Bauman hosted The Pop 'N Rocker Game, a weekly syndicated rock 'n' roll game show, which launched a few weeks before the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour premiered.
Bauman currently tours extensively with his Bowzer and the Stingrays group at fairs, amusement parks, cruise ships, and conventions all over the world. They currently headline "Bowzer's Ultimate Doo-Wop Party."
Rounding out my list with someone that gives you a little nurisment for your soul is Jeremy Camp a contemporary Christian musician from Lafayette, Indiana. Camp has released seven albums, four of them RIAA-certified as Gold and two are live albums, and 17 number-one hit songs. His original music is a mixture of ballads and rock.
Well this was just a few of the many newsworthy acts that will be out and about performing at amusement parks and fairs this summer. So if your family wants to drag you to the local amusement park check what days have live music and schedule your trip for one of those days.
