Edward Thomas Rabbitt was born November 27, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York to Irish immigrant parents. He was raised in East Orange, New Jersey. On his 35th birthday, he married Janine Girardi. They had three children. One daughter, Demelza, and two sons, Timmy & Tommy. Timmy was born with biliary atresia and died in childhood after a failed liver transplant intended to save his life. In March 1997, Eddie learned that he had lung cancer. He passed away on May 7, 1998. Rabbitt received several awards over the years. The Academy of Country Music Awards Top New Male Vocalist in 1977. Music City News Country Songwriter of the Year and BMI’s Robert J. Burton Award for “Suspicions” in 1979. 1980 brought BMI’s Song of the Year for “Suspicions.” In 1996 he pulled in BMI’s Three Million-Air Award and Two Million-Air Awards for “I Love a Rainy Night” and “Kentucky Rain”, respectively. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame the year of his death, 1998. Eddie’s final #1 hit came in 1989 with “On Second Thought”.