Frontman Tom Gray is credited as the sole writer of the song, while production was collectively helmed by the Brains and Bruce Baxter.

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.

"[1] Marcus would later write of the song, "It was hard, it hurt, and Cyndi Lauper's version makes the original sound compromised.

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

[3] 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.