Eddie Money, the singer-songwriter behind indelible radio hits like "Two Tickets to Paradise" and "Take Me Home Tonight," has died at age 70 after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer.

In a statement today, his family said that "Eddie passed away peacefully early this morning. It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our loving husband and father. We cannot imagine our world without him. We are grateful that he will live on forever through his music."

Money was a readily recognizable voice during an era when mainstream rock still ruled radio, his fist-pumping anthems built on sturdy structures and catchy melodies that made them easy to hear over and over again. A '70s star who stayed on top of his game through the '80s, Money was a staple of MTV in its heyday.

From 1977 through 1991, Money landed nine albums on the Billboard 200, with 1979's Life for the Taking cracking the Top 20. Ultimately, though, he was a singles artist. In the same span he clocked 11 Top 40 hits, biggest of all "Take Me Home Tonight," a 1986 Top 5 single recorded in collaboration with Ronnie Spector, who reprised her chorus from the Ronettes' iconic 1963 song "Be My Baby." Money also landed in the Top 10 with 1989's "Walk On Water."

After growing up in Brooklyn, Money (born Edward Mahoney) moved to California's Bay Area, where he parlayed club success into a record deal and had a breakout smash with his self-titled 1977 debut LP, which included "Two Tickets to Paradise" and "Baby Hold On." His persona, heartfelt but always ready for a good time, was firmly in place.

Though Money dropped off the radio charts in the '90s, he continued to record and perform for grateful fans for the rest of his life, occasionally returning to TV for shows including the 2018 reality show Real Money.

Speaking to Rolling Stone when that show premiered, Money talked about the inspiration for "Two Tickets to Paradise," a fantasy about whisking his then-girlfriend away.

"It never happened," he acknowledged, but followed that with a rhetorical question millions of listeners had already answered. "Who in the world wouldn't want two tickets to paradise? And my mother used to say to me, 'Son, it's not the state, it's the state of mind.'"