#2 The Brains - Money Changes Everything (Mercury Records, 1980)

[@shazam-rareobscuremusic32]

Tom Gray passed away on October 17th at Emory Dekalb Hospital after a long and incredibly brave battle with cancer. Rest In Peace.

[@scottbaxendale323]

His passing breaks my heart.

[@ugabob1]

damn really ?

[@mr.intensity2685]

I'm here because I just found out that this is the original version of the Cyndi Lauper hit. This is great!

[@josephnash2081]

rest in peace, a great musician.

[@leecline9337]

RIP Tom Gray still have my copy of this album and was listening to it tonight

[@andyinoregon]

I can promise all the Cyndi Lauper haters that Tom Gray appreciated every royalty check he received because she recorded his song.

[@mytyrel420]

Anyone who hates on Cyndi Lauper needs to get bent.

[@mildred714]

No one hates Cyndi Lauper though…

[@jaimeb3587]

Who hates Cindi Lauper?

[@jayburd1875]

what's a Cyndi Lauper hater? never heard of it.

[@KelvinKlink]

Who hate cindy lauper? Hate travis scott not a great artist🎉🎉🎉

[@thekingofbohemia1]

Too bad about Tom Gray. I saw the Brains open for U2 in March 1980. Later that year the band came back and played in Boulder Colorado. They were walking around the Boulder Mall before the show and were pleasantly surprised that we recognized them. They were very friendly. Great band. Buzzsaw guitar as I remember.

[@larryp.450]

I played this song and several others off of this solid album, while doing a DJ stint at WGHR (Green Hornet Radio) at Southern Tech in Marietta GA in the late '70's. It was one of the most requested albums. Great stuff. RIP Tom Gray.

[@dayglodaydream]

RIP Tom Gray. You rocked us until the end.

[@bruceroberts3210]

Just saw that, after seeing his post yesterday about passing out at a session. So sad...😢

[@kiltedwolf2]

I knew Tom through a friend who went to HS with him. Saw many Brains shows at the Agora and Club 688. I remember one night when the Brains opened for the B-52s and blew them off the stage (that might have been at the Fox). The Brains weren't just a good band. They were great and should have been much bigger. Rick Price was a solid guitarist while original drummer Charlie Wolf was a beast. Heavy hitter. Then, there was Tom on that synthesizer. .at a time when syncs were just finding a home in progressive rock. Tom was intrigued by them. If memory serves me, he met the Moog inventor. I still listen to both vinyl albums to this day. And even though "Money Changes Everything" made him wealthy, his body of work is substantial. My favorite Brains song remains. . "Gold Dust Twins". A classic. RIP Tom. You left your mark. Charlie passed away long before Tom. I hope his memory remains as well.

[@iggypopisgod9]

remember one night when the Brains opened for the B-52s and blew them off the stage (that might have been at the Fox).... my child, dont be silly.....

[@Planetcharr]

i'm surprised of the some of the comments that people didn't know that Cyndi covered this song ... She has always given props to The Brains for this song and has often acknowledged that she covered it...and the fact that she is a fan of their music. Cyndi is not a produced artist like the acts of today ... she knows her underground shit - she paid her dues and along the way acknowledged those sounds on her first album. Tom Gray co-wrote a song with Cyndi on her True Colors album.

[@keithmccaslyn2527]

Wow. thank you making me aware of this. very much appreciated!!

[@janecrawford1263]

RIP Tom Gray. My genius friend 💔

[@xLordOfNothingx]

Im gonna have to ask for proof on that. Because I just saw one moment ago a video of Lauper doing a video on WRITING pop songs and music lyrics, specificaly about this song. And she went about for 5 minutes talking about everything in the sun EXCEPT the fact she didnt write this song and that it was a cover. So Im I dont quite believe she "often gives props"

[@Planetcharr]

@@xLordOfNothingx well since my "proof" would be from reading stuff in the 80's, I'll have to jiggle the internet a bit to see where it's recorded on Audio. give me a year or so... please hold. one thing she will do (and rightfully so) although the song writing credit remains with the original composer she does take credit for turning the song around to make it sound like a Cyndi record. Rearrange with permission. That's definitely what she did with Girls. She asked permission to rearrange it and the deal was she can do whatever she wanted as long as Hazard kept the writing credit.

[@baronvonlichtenstein]

A friend played me this around 81. Great song.

[@patrickfitzgerald9589]

One of the Truest songs ever written!

[@dougroman45]

I bought this album on a lark and loved it. I was surprised when I heard Cyndi Lauper sing their songs on the car radio

[@josephnash2081]

I remember in 1981 I was a stoner and perpetual college student and my first girlfriend told me that I would never amount to anything and she was going to drop me like a bad habit and then I heard this song that seemed to exactly capture the moment.

[@iggypopisgod9]

@Mathew Paul i can only assume so...🤣😍🤣

[@redties-ug6ls]

Ditto, mf'er. Dumped me for a republican dentist. Last laugh here. I became wealthy and she is still trapped in suburbia while I travel the world.

[@kevinr.mcnally8712]

Out of the blue I started singing "Money" over my coffee this morning and it's been in my head all day. So happy to find the original again after so many years. Thanks.

[@CharlieMessing]

Find the original single on youtube - it's better!

[@coffeecoffee25]

Tom, you were the first musician I made friends with when I first came to Atlanta. Miles and miles of love to you up there.

[@timbrough7027]

RIP Tom Gray. The Brains deserved so much more than to be a trivia question for Cyndi Lauper fans (but I'm sure her cover kept the band in Beer Money). Two great albums and an EP that really deserve to be rediscovered and reissued.

[@marktirado4527]

After 30 years something I found out Cyndi's money...is a cover! I must say both versions are GREAT!

[@darlinspaces]

I agree both have a lot of personality in their vocals

[@deanrobert9953]

Me too!

[@keithmccaslyn2527]

Me too and I agree with you whole heartedly!! As Jimi Hendrix to autograph at the end of his messagesignature "Stay groovy, Stay Free!"

[@KateDana]

Me, too, @Mark Tirado! Heard it yesterday on SiriusXM 80’s channel with MTV DJ Mark Goodman who talked about the song being a cover.

[@ptteach]

Thanks for a great song Mr. Gray, now RIP

[@td6873]

I just found out that this was a cover. Cyndi Lauper knew how to pick good songs.

[@gymnastix]

Or perhaps someone at Epic Records picked tunes for Cyndi Lauper. Another good tune Lauper covered was "When You Were Mine," from Prince's second album, "Dirty Mind." Prince's version is definitely the superior one, though, in that case. It is still almost unfathomable Prince died. It seemed within a few years' time some of the best, most creative musicians of the 1970s and '80s--David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Tom Petty and Prince, and Lou Reed--all passed away, all still too young, and certainly none of them elderly and out of commission for many years. And several years before those passings many of the top echelon of punk rock died too--Joe Strummer of The Clash, and all of the original members (Dee Dee, Joey, Johnny and Tommy Ramone) of The Ramones. Plus first generation rock & rollers Chuck Berry and Fats Domino have also, in recent years, joined the ranks of those no longer among the living. To compound this sad situation, there are really no apparent musical geniuses coming along to replace any of the aforementioned either. But, one never knows, as there was a time before when no one could have envisioned there would be an Elvis Presley, Little Richard, some Beatles and Rolling Stones either. So perhaps another burst of musical creativity is on the horizon, if for nothing else than out of sheer boredom.

[@18000rpm]

I have loved Cyndi Lauper's version of this song for decades and only today found the original. And it's awesome, kudos.

[@mudsh4rk]

Their original 7" version is even better.

[@stephensuddick1896]

Tom's band Delta Moon released it and it's the best version, by far.

[@troutmaster48]

I had this Demo Album A great Musician. May he Rest in Peace.They never got played on the Radio They were new wave before new wave my opinion..This is Suberb Version .

[@BomageMinimart]

I've had this album since 1981; it totally fucking rocks! RIP Tom; you done good.

[@gil.gosseyn4786]

R.I.P. Tom Gray. Thanks for all the great music.

[@MONSTER0GRENDEL]

Saw The Brains in Burlington VT at Hunts ... sheesh ... how many years ago? Great show - great band!!

[@russelloxford7118]

70’s and 80’s music scene in Atlanta was pretty cool. The Brains, Guadalcanal Diary, The Producers. All awesome bands.

[@bobmarlowe3390]

Pylon, 86, The Roys, Swimming Pool Qs, etc...

[@scenicvistas]

An excellent record by a band that deserved better than they got.

[@slates1969]

Never heard this before but what a fantastic song. A German drama on Amazon Prime called Luden brought me here as it's in the soundtrack along with some other great 1980 songs

[@dorapeetpiperanddusty]

More top quality music from the late 70's and early 80's .

[@davealpert4342]

One of the great rock songs of all time.

[@randersson3672]

Springsteen must have listen to this..alot and really liked it ;) It's a TRULY great tune !

[@James-mz7tv]

No shit. You nailed that one

[@b2j31e5]

A genius song! I have loved this song ever since it came out...and i own the 45 .The Brains were great and way before their time!! Kudos to you Tom Gray!!!! A brilliant song!

[@terryrollins1973]

It's all in the past now 💔

[@troutmaster48]

Tom Grey was awesome never got the Air play back then I had there first album was a DJ copy

[@susanglover608]

dancing under streetlights at 688 in the eighties...

[@cphillips123]

Sail on, Tom.....You were more than you ever knew.

[@RobertHadley-v9h]

I knew the Cyndi Lauper song was a cover but I never heard it til tonight...October 8 2024

[@CharlieMessing]

Yes - great band - RIP the drummer, Charles Wolff. I actually got to sell him (cheaply) the first pressing of their original single with PS! Ebay miracles - his phone is on the invoice - I call to tell him he'll love it cause it ends with a great drum roll, while the Warner Brothers version fades, without it. He replied, "That was me! I was the drummer! We only printed 100 with this picture sleeve, and I lost mine a long time ago. It's great to find it, finally!" He said the Producer (Steve Lillywhite) wanted the fade...alas. The Brains were on Mercury, so if you know anything about Mercury (the Dolls, Graham Parker, etc.) you know that they were terrible at promoting their acts, and paid the bands almost nothing. They were still touring and making no money a few years later, after two albums and an EP, so on a visit home his Dad said "You're almost 30, it's your last chance for college." So he quit the band, went to college, got a law degree, and did fine. It's too bad he got pancreatic Cancer, but at least for his last decade he had a copy of that first issue sleeve and 45. RIP Tom and Charles - you rocked! You deserved better. Peace.

[@JWD1992]

That's incredible. You're the reason he got to enjoy a copy again before leaving this world. Mercury did drop the ball on a number of bands. Blue Ash and The Quick are two who come to mind that each had one great album on Mercury that didn't sell. They even kind of struggled with Rush early on. They were going to drop them if 2112 wasn't the breakthrough it was. My copy of the Brains album was new old stock with the cut-out. I am sure there are tons more out there like mine because it had gone unnoticed when released.

[@CharlieMessing]

@@JWD1992 Yes, Mercury screwed many a top artist. "Bean-counters," people in the business called them - no feel for the music. And Yes, I'm honored to have given him what he deserved - a copy of his best work in its original pressing. RIP - both Charles and Tom. You were great.

[@Johnnralph]

Tom Gray (Rip) wrote the song & they actually recorded this in 1978 and when it was an underground hit they were signed to Mercury records and it was included on thier 1980 self title debut album. It was a No 27 US hit for Cyndi Lauper in 1984 when she covered it

[@MrKindermusik]

I grew up in Augusta Georgia and it was so exciting to know that there were so many good bands coming out of Atlanta and Athens in the early 80s. I still own this album along with Electronic Eden.

[@danielmoore411]

Underrated band.

[@GCNavigator]

Great memories of wonderful Hotlanta nights.

[@danielgutierrez9677]

Amazing!!!!!!!!

[@maxciting]

Love the song!

[@jnk1958]

Thank you for this. EVERY song on this record is wonderful. Very underrated band.

[@bradleyizzard3052]

Cyndi Laupers version is the one I heard at 14. It was always my favourite song of hers. This is the first time hearing the original. Its good but it needs some 80's synths. She made it bang. Bring it on dorks! Lets go!

[@jcripp7974]

I loved this Brains song from way back. Then years later Cyndi kicked the shit out of it big time. But Ill always love the Brains doing it. A raucous rock n roll band with an unbelievable great song. Perfect

[@johannesjuanes]

I didn't know this band. This is a superb song

[@machinesbreathe]

RIP Tom Gray. 😢

[@phylliscraine]

A great GREAT song.

[@deadlyhifi]

I’ve been listening to the Against Me version for years and only just learned it was a cover. I’d also never heard the Cyndi Lauper version. I like them all, great song.

[@nicholasconners1901]

Didn't realize Against Me covered this. Gotta check it out.

[@scottcuilty4154]

The dollar bin at Amoeba is gold mine for those willing to venture.

[@ugabob1]

This and Heart in the Street should have put them in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I saw them in the early eighties, totally punk attitude.. they were great.

[@トムちゃんだ]

Original song is great but Cyndi kicked it up to the next level.

[@stephensuddick1896]

Tom's band Delta Moon released it, and it's the best version, by far.

[@gcrain464]

Rick Price on lead Guitar. After the Brains , he played bass for the Georgia Satellites. I have both Brains recordings on vinyl.

[@cowboy742]

Every member in this group except Tom went on to play with the Georgia Satellites.

[@lastrada52]

Probably one of the greatest rock songs ever written and recorded and where is Tom Gray and The Brains today? Still playing but in obscurity compared to their rock peers. This sent shivers down my spine the first time I heard it and even though Cyndi Lauper had a hit with it -- this is the definitive version and will always be. This Tom Gray song deserved to be a hit from its opening chords. (Both albums that I have by The Brains were filled with great rock songs -- just like Jules (Shear) and the Polar Bears. Just filled with great, clever rock songs).

[@larryn2682]

John LaStrada I met Tom Gray and his band Delta Moon at a slide guitar festival in 2004.

[@j.b.williams4117]

@@larryn2682 - they still play, find 'em on FB!!

[@davealpert4342]

The first time I heard this I was in a bar in NYC called One Fifth. Sweating like a pig. I played it 10-12 times in a row on the juke box and then they kicked me out.

[@davealpert4342]

ANd yes - one of the greatest rock songs of all time.

[@janecrawford1263]

They are hardly living and obscurity every single one of them is doing well the bass player is with Leonard Skynyrd Tom just won a songwriting award Mauro plays with major bands and Rick price manages the Georgia Satellites so don't worry about them they're all great

[@MONSTER0GRENDEL]

I saw them in Vermont ... wow way back in college. Great show at Hunts. Those were the days.

[@paulrevere2928]

One of my top 10 favorite albums of all time...

[@mikehjt]

There's a video here of Tom Gray's current band, 'Delta Moon' (slide blues mostly) doing this song. It's very good.

[@davidlalremruata]

Huh? This is the source, eh?!!? Beautiful 👍🎵

[@davidoran123]

just as true today and back then.

[@lynnnleistinger8226]

Reminds me of The Motors Love and Lonelynes

[@pablocesriquelme]

Cyndi gave the song a little more glitter and substance to grow by itself! Great song originally penned by The Brains, taken further away by Cyndi Lauper.

[@paulsnyder744]

I am just hearing this news I can't fucking believe it, I'm going to play the first album in his honor, you were my inspiration, I'll miss you!

[@shaunmccaul1695]

Saw The Brains - Paradise Club - Boston

[@deanrobert9953]

Too bad... can't find this on Spotify.

[@PeterWesleyBastone]

Great song...shared to the Netshows Radio "Program 151"Playlist on youtube

[@PeterWesleyBastone]

great song...shared to the Netshows Radio "Program 71" Playlist on youtube

[@THE_CDN]

What a great song! I'm glad I found the original; Gray's gravelly voice is perfect! Cynd'is is good too, though.

[@Tim_Shu]

Cyndi had good taste to cover this 🥰🍻

[@CaseyVan]

I used to have a 7" promo record with three songs on it. Side one was Def Leppard 'Wasted', side two was Scorpions 'Falling in Love', and this song by the Brains. This was not as memorable as the other two songs, but I'm listening to it now. I like the keyboard part, and the bridge is pretty good. No wonder Cyndi Lauper picked it up.

[@WECOOK1969]

i remember this

[@salty2667]

Let’s do it again…

[@markdilisio936]

Precursor to Talking Heads,great tune they did in Boston at the Wang centre.

[@MONSTER0GRENDEL]

I love asking "Who wrote "money changes everything" to Cindy fans .. but have to tell them "It was the Brains" .. still gotta love Cindy. Went to Johnson State College in VT.

[@shazam-rareobscuremusic32]

What's just as fun is asking them who wrote "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." That would be the late Robert Hazard, who morphed into a Dylan-esq acoustic folk singer. kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4C2oIuqoZqtpMU

[@shazam-rareobscuremusic32]

Tom Gray (of the Brains...he wrote the song) still performs it, though now as a blues-oriented tune. Great song. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qafYqmhnj9d9jMk

[@MONSTER0GRENDEL]

awesome! Thanks!!!

[@sidneistadnik8355]

That's a great song. I think it's a Little bit depressive so. I've listened this just because it's cited on "Never Mind Nirvana" book, a great book for sound references, by the way, wrote by Mark Lindquist

[@justpassnthru]

As true now as it was then.

[@markdilisio936]

The precursor to the Talking heads

[@esehn6972]

I also hear a bit of Elvis Costello in the vocal style.

[@robe7352]

TH debut album in '75, but i know what you meant

[@markdilisio936]

@@esehn6972 I think David Burns has that kind of voice.

[@rockvilleraven]

Got a lot of airplay on WHFS in Bethesda when it was at 102.3 FM and they were starting to play more new wave around 1980. So much that I associate thIs song with the Brians rather than Cyndi's version. They also played their instrumental Treson a little bit too

[@mikesmith2057]

Moved to dc in '85 -- even then my friends were saying: "geez, 'hfs really is going downhill". I think they were right, but it's possible that alternative fans are just never happy!

[@rockvilleraven]

HFS moved to 99.1 after 3 months off the air. The last song played at 102.3 in July of 1983 was After House by the Velvet Underground, no national anthem, they just shut off the transmitter. They came close to moving to 1390 AM, but were better off buying 99.1 which was WLOM, a former beautiful music station, they got the rights to the call letter when the sold the Bethesda signal. There were known as "Progressive 99.1, WLOM. until FCC paperwork was finished. At least the signal hit both the Baltimore and DC Markets..

[@rockvilleraven]

I remember when WTMD was before 1990, which was a sleepy New Age Station, called "the Breeze". The person who ran it, listed to WXPN which is one of the best public AAA stations in the Nation and changed TMD to that format. I did do some volunteer work for WOWD-LP in Takoma Park which has done well and in fact is the second most popular radio station on the Washington City Paper "best local radio station survey" next to NPR's WAMU another LPFM WERA in Arlington fished 3rd.

[@carlosmagnomorais7774]

Gosto da versão do grupo, mas a versão de Cyndi tem mais peso e força no seu desenvolvimento e ficou magistral em sua performace que é registrado em 5 minutos e 7 segundos fora o vídeo que mostra a música inteira que gira nos 7 minutos que deveria ter sido assim no álbum de 1983.

[@Dan-vt3nk]

I like it

[@stephensuddick1896]

I guess I'm the anomaly here. I only knew the song from Delta Moon. Never even heard this one or the Lauper version. To me, Delta Moon is the best version of the three.

[@firouz4296]

Cyndi Laupers instagram brought me here today!

[@HoddyRidarick]

688!!!!

[@gcrain464]

Agora Ballroom on Peachtree a year before 688.

[@ugabob1]

Great band and great songs.. this one and "Heart in the Streets" are in my top 10.. what Springsteen could have been if he was a little bit more clever.. ;)

[@bwanadave76]

How about putting up "Girl In a Magazine"?

[@msfl54]

Can the Brain’s version be found on iTunes? I can’t find it.

[@draathelvete8332]

I love this song because money is love.

[@newsduke]

A lot of people here are criticizing Cindy Lauper. But the fact there are so many comments about Cyndi Lauper actually proves what a stamp she put on the song. If nobody knew about her version, nobody would be commenting on it.

[@SpockBR]

Fantastic cover of Cindy Lauper's song. Very emotional.

[@slates1969]

Anyone else think John Waite's "Tears" is almost a copy of this . Listen to both and see the similarity

[@shack75]

I liked the import single version

[@champ1061]

If you squint this sounds like a slowed down version of something off of "1999."

[@careful...Icarus]

Kind of a Robert Hazzard vibe to this original. She mustve really dug his style cuz she covered his Girls too.

[@rachelrodgers9171]

I never heard of this singing group before, it sounds just like Cyndi Lauper's...be cool if she came in there to sing along with them.

[@romulusnr]

"(sort of) New Wave" aka actually new wave, not synthpop, which people usually call new wave

[@apaindoc]

Loved this band live at CBGBs. And Iggy Pop totally stole Pumping For Jill from the chorus…

[@anthonyhunt701]

Who produced this album, engineering-wise?...................

[@shazam-rareobscuremusic32]

Steve Lillywhite produced with Mark Richardson engineering.

[@anthonyhunt701]

Thank you! I thought so. I hear that period of his work, it was so him in everybody he produced!.......

[@timjordan1154]

Ms. Lauper changed the lyrics. That always kind of ticked me off...

[@krismartin2972]

Tim Jordan not really lyrics come out meaning the exact same.

[@MultiPetercool]

@@krismartin2972 original indie/demo version had the lyrics Cyndi used. Tom wrote them! Genius!

[@TooSkinnyKenny]

I like both versions but in my opinion the synthesizer and loud drums on Lauper’s version make it more appealing to me. I hope the writer made a lot of dough from the publishing when Laupers album was such a hit.

[@chazworm3]

I thought this song was written by Prince

[@blerkh]

Weird, I would never think this is a Lillywhite production!? The sound is reminiscent of the hard rock/heavy metal of that era.

[@steve.hoffman]

Brought here by seeing this on a b-side of the early Def Leppard song Rock Brigade on Mercury so that might explain the production. Strange that I’m from Georgia, grew up there in the 80’s, knew all of the Athens Bands and others like The Producers, and played in a few myself. But never heard of these guys until today. Obviously familiar with the Lauper version, though.

[@kiltedwolf2]

@@steve.hoffman Kinda hard to believe that you "knew all the Athens bands" and yet never heard of the Brains. Tom and Michael Stipe of REM were good friends. Not doubting you but back then, and I was there, all these bands hung out together and often played on the same bills at the same venues. It was a great time to be in the Ga music scene. RIP Tom Gray

[@DullTorpor]

Singer sounds a bit like David Byrne.