Money Changes Everything

"Money Changes Everything" is a song by American rock band the Brains from their eponymous debut studio album (1980). Originally released in 1978, the song was reissued as the lead single from the album in 1980, by Mercury Records. Frontman Tom Gray is credited as the sole writer of the song, while production was collectively helmed by the Brains and Bruce Baxter. The song was popularized in 1984 by Cyndi Lauper, who released a cover version of the song as a single from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983).

Background

The original single was released in 1978 by the Brains as a 45 rpm single on Gray Matter Records. The B side of the single was a song called "Quick with Your Lip". The initial underground success of the song led to the Brains being signed by Mercury Records. They rerecorded the song under the guidance of producer Steve Lillywhite for their 1980 debut album, The Brains. Critic Greil Marcus, listing it at number 10 of his Real-Life Rock Top Ten 1979, said, "Singer Tom Gray told his story in a strangled voice, as if he were trying to explain, but instead he laid a curse. This damned single ranks higher than I've placed it, but if it were anywhere else I couldn't end with it, and there's no other way the decade could end."^[6] Marcus would later write of the song, "It was hard, it hurt, and Cyndi Lauper's version makes the original sound compromised. She makes you wonder if Brains composer and singer Tom Gray even knew what he was talking about."^[7]

Gray, with his band Delta Moon, also recorded a version of the song for their 2007 album Clear Blue Flame.^[8]

Critical reception

The single was ranked the 9th best single of 1979 on The Village Voice year-end Pazz & Jop critics' poll, with Robert Christgau naming it that year's best single on his "Dean's List".^[9] Ralph Heibutzki of AllMusic highlighted the "sassy cynicism" of the song, further commenting that "Money Changes Everything" represented a concession to "mainstream sensibilities" for the Brains.^[10]

Track listings and formats

• 7-inch vinyl^[11]

1. "Money Changes Everything"  – 3:35
2. "Quick With Your Lip"  – 3:23

• 7-inch vinyl reissue^[12]

1. "Money Changes Everything"  – 3:25
2. "Girl in a Magazine"  – 3:07

Credits and personnel

Credits and personnel are adapted from the "Money Changes Everything" single liner notes.^[11]

• Bryan Smithwick – bass, producer
• Tom Gray – writer, vocals, keyboards, producer
• Charles Wolff – drums, producer
• Rick Price – guitar, producer
• Bruce Baxter – producer

Cyndi Lauper version

Cyndi Lauper's recording of "Money Changes Everything" was released as the fifth US single from her album She's So Unusual. It has been released in over 27 variations across the world, the most common being a two track 7-inch vinyl single (with varying covers). There was also a less common 12-inch vinyl single version. Lauper's cover features an appearance by Rob Hyman of the band the Hooters, playing his "hooter" (a Hohner Melodica) on the song's solo.

Lauper recorded an acoustic version, with guest artist Adam Lazzara (from the band Taking Back Sunday), for her 2005 album The Body Acoustic. "Money Changes Everything" as the 5th single, became She's So Unusual's first release to fail to achieve top 5 status on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 27.

Critical reception

Stewart Mason of AllMusic praised Lauper's cover version, stating that the song's arrangement "is brighter, sharper and much more commercial than the Brains' rather weedy, comparatively lo-fi and dullish take on their own song." He further praised Lauper's singing abilities, particularly the long note she holds at the climax of the song.^[13] Billboard described the song as "hard rock meets hard realities" and designated it as one of the new releases with the greatest chart potential.^[3] Cash Box called the song "a hard rocking effort which forgoes any novel vocal twist" that provides "a sad look at the realities of cash and its effects."^[4] On Peru's most prestigious radio station, Radio Panamericana, "Money Changes Everything" was in the Top 20 year end charts.

Music video

The music video was made available for programming in the United States in November 1984. It was directed by Pat Burch and Phil Tuckett for NFL Films.^[14]

Track listings and releases

US 7-inch single

1. "Money Changes Everything" (Live) – 4:13
2. "Money Changes Everything" (Edit) – 3:59

UK 7-inch single (first release)

1. "Money Changes Everything" (Edit) – 3:58
2. "He's So Unusual" – 0:45
3. "Yeah Yeah" – 3:17

UK 7-inch single (second release)

1. "Money Changes Everything" (Edit) – 3:58
2. "Money Changes Everything" (Live) – 4:13

European 12-inch single

1. "Money Changes Everything" (That Live Version) – 6:04
2. "Money Changes Everything" (This Live Version) – 5:29

Japanese 12-inch single

1. "Money Changes Everything" (Special Live Extended Version) – 6:26
2. "Money Changes Everything" (Special Live Version) – 5:51

UK 12-inch single (first release)

1. "Money Changes Everything" (LP version) – 5:02
2. "He's So Unusual" – 0:45
3. "Yeah Yeah" – 3:17
4. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (Xtra Fun) – 5:05

UK 12-inch single (second release)

1. "Money Changes Everything" (LP version) – 5:02
2. "Money Changes Everything" (Live) – 6:23
3. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (Xtra Fun) – 5:05

Personnel

• Cyndi Lauper – lead vocals, backing vocals, arrangements
• Rob Hyman – keyboards, backing vocals, arrangements
• Eric Bazilian – arrangements, melodica, guitars, backing vocals
• Neil Jason – bass guitar
• Anton Fig – drums, percussion

Charts

References

1. ^ O' Brien, Jon (28 May 2025). "Album By Album - Cyndi Lauper". Classic Pop. Retrieved 23 December 2025. LP opener "Money Changes Everything" cleverly repositioned The Brains’ 1978 New Wave anthem in the Reagan era...
2. ^ "Music Week". p. 14.
3. ^ "Reviews: Singles". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 51. December 22, 1984. p. 72.
4. ^ "Reviews". Cash Box. December 22, 1984. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
5. ^ Evans, Paul (2004). "Cyndi Lauper". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. 4th ed. Simon & Schuster. p. 476. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
6. ^ Marcus, Greil, "Fear in the Marketplace: Real-Life Rock Top Ten 1979", New West, January 11, 1980
7. ^ Marcus, Greil, "Free Speech, #1", Artforum, May 1984.
8. ^ Hal Horowitz (2007-07-24). "Clear Blue Flame - Delta Moon | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
9. ^ Christgau, Robert (January 28, 1980). "The 1979 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice
10. ^ Heibutzki, Ralph. "The Brains – The Brains". AllMusic. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
11. ^ Money Changes Everything (United States 7-inch vinyl liner notes). Gray Matter. 1978. GM 1.
12. ^ Money Changes Everything (United States 7-inch vinyl liner notes). Mercury. 1980. 76065.
13. ^ Mason, Stewart. "Cyndi Lauper – Money Changes Everything". AllMusic. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
14. ^ "New Video Clips". Billboard. December 1, 1984. p. 34.
15. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Illustrated ed. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 173. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between 1983 and 19 June 1988.
16. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - February 9, 1985"
17. ^ "Cyndi Lauper - Money Changes Everything". 2003-12-23. Archived from the original on 2003-12-25. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
18. ^ "Cyndi Lauper – Money Changes Everything (Song)". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2022-08-28.