Two Tickets to Paradise

"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.^[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. Money had re-recorded his entire lead vocal for the single mix. The LP version is broken up in three verses, 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, three choruses, (with the third verse sang over the "Whoa" harmony segment), also added were guitar riffs during the "waited so long" parts; also lyrics were changed to the chorus slightly, as instead of saying "I've got two tickets to paradise, I've got two tickets to paradise" right after saying "pack your bags, we leave tonight" is now "Baby, it'll be so nice, for I've got two tickets to paradise". The mix is also substantially different, and new and different lead guitar parts appear throughout. Lastly, the LP version ends with a conclusive bongo/drum ending; whereas the 45 version uses a "fade away rhythm," DJ style close. The single mix runs at 3:07 minutes.

Most U.S. radio stations air the more widely available LP version, while the 45 RPM single mix can sometimes be heard on stations that specifically play only hit-single versions of oldies due to these stations digitizing the original 45 RPM records for airplay.

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]

In popular culture

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

"Two Tickets to Paradise" is used in the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, on the fictional Classic rock radio station K-DST.
The song was made available for download on May 1, 2012 to play in Rock Band 3 Basic and PRO mode utilizing real guitar / bass guitar, and MIDI compatible electronic drum kits.

Movies

The song can be 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)

Chart positions

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

References

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

Eddie Money
Studio albums	Eddie Money Life for the Taking Playing for Keeps No Control Where's the Party? Can't Hold Back Nothing to Lose Right Here Love and Money Ready Eddie Wanna Go Back
Compilation albums	Greatest Hits: The Sound of Money Good as Gold Super Hits Shakin' with the Money Man The Best of Eddie Money Let's Rock and Roll the Place The Essential Eddie Money
Other albums	Unplug It In Greatest Hits Live: The Encore Collection Complete Eddie Money Live
Singles	"Baby Hold On" "Two Tickets to Paradise" "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" "Maybe I'm a Fool" "Can't Keep a Good Man Down" "Get a Move On" "Let's Be Lovers Again" "Running Back" "Think I'm in Love" "Shakin'" "The Big Crash" "Club Michelle" "Take Me Home Tonight" "I Wanna Go Back" "Endless Nights" "We Should Be Sleeping" "Walk on Water" "The Love in Your Eyes" "Let Me In" "Peace in Our Time" "Heaven in the Back Seat" "I'll Get By" "Fall in Love Again" "Gimme Some Water"
Related articles	Discography Columbia Records

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