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Billy Joel
American singer, songwriter, and pianist (born 1949)
William Martin Joel is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the Piano Man, after his 1973 signature song of the same name, he has had a successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s.
From 1971 to 1993, Joel released 12 entirely self-written studio albums spanning the genres of pop and rock, and in 2001 released a one-off studio album of classical compositions. With over 160 million records sold worldwide, Joel is one of the world's best-selling music artists and is the fourth-best-selling solo artist in the United States.
His 1985 compilation album, Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II, is one of the best-selling albums in the U.S.
labels: Columbia Records, Philips Records, Sony Music, Sony Classical
genres: pop rock, rock and roll, soft rock, contemporary classical music
awards: Grammy Legend Award, MusiCares Person of the Year, Grammy Award for Album of the Year, Kennedy Center Honors, Gershwin Prize, Johnny Mercer Award, honorary doctor of the Hofstra University, honorary doctor of Syracuse University
Joel was born on May 9, 1949, in the Bronx, New York City. At age one, he moved with his family to Hicksville in the town of Oyster Bay on Long Island. The family included Joel's adopted sister, Judy, who is his maternal cousin.
Although Joel's songs are infused with references to classical music, his music mostly encompasses pop and rock, fitting into the subgenres of pop rock and soft rock. Furthermore, Joel's tightly structured melodies and down-to-earth songwriting betray the influence of early rock & roll and rhythm & blues artists, including Elvis Presley and the Everly Brothers. After seeing the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show he decided to pursue a career in music. As he later commented:
American singer/songwriter and pianist. Born May 9, 1949, in the Bronx, New York, and shortly thereafter moved to the Levittown section of Hicksville, Long Island, New York, where he started playing piano at age 4.
In 1964, inspired by the Beatles, he formed his first band "The Echoes," which became "The Lost Souls" in 1965 and then "The Emerald Lords" in 1966.
In 1967, he joined The Hassles and recorded two albums, which were not successful.
Billy Joel and Jon Small, the drummer of The Hassles, then formed the psychedelic duo Attila (5) and released one album without success. In 1971, Billy Joel started his solo career with the album "Cold Spring Harbour" and finally achieved fame in 1973 with his song "Piano Man."
Inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992.
Inducted into Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 (Performer)
Also known as: B Joel, B. Joe, B. Joel, B. Joel., B. Joel®
From Discogs (free to use). Their entry
Liner notes
Billy Joel, the records, oldest first
Cold Spring Harbor
1971 album
Piano Man
1973 album
wanted
Streetlife Serenade
1974 album
Turnstiles
1976 album
The Stranger
1977 album
52nd Street
1978 album
Glass Houses
1980 album
The Nylon Curtain
1982 album
An Innocent Man
1983 album
The Bridge
1986 album
Storm Front
1989 album
That’s Not Her Style
1990 ep
River of Dreams
1993 album
Fantasies & Delusions
2001 album
The Harbor Sessions
2003 album
And So It Goes: Songs of Folk & Lore
2018 album
Records from MusicBrainz; covers from the Cover Art Archive.
"Piano Man" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel. First released as a single in the US in 1974, it was included on Joel's 1973 album Piano Man.
The song is sung from the point of view of a piano player at a bar, describing the patrons. "Piano Man" is based on Joel's real-life experiences as a lounge musician in Los Angeles from 1972 to 1973, which he had decided to pursue in an effort to escape his contracted New York City–based record company at the time, Family Productions, following the poor commercial performance of his debut album, Cold Spring Harbor (1971).
Song background
"Piano Man" is a fictionalized retelling of Joel's own experience as a piano-lounge singer for six months in 1972–73 at the now defunct Executive Room bar in the Wilshire district of Los Angeles, which was either on Wilshire and Gramercy, or in the lobby of a large office building on Wilshire and Western. In a talk on Inside the Actors Studio, Joel said that he had to get away from New York due to a conflict with his then recording company and hence lived in Los Angeles for three years with his first wife. Since he needed work to pay the bills, but could not use his common name, he worked at the Executive Room bar as a piano player using the name "Bill Martin" (Joel's full name is William Martin Joel).
Reception
Cash Box said that the "soft, tender narrative tune, reminiscent of that material being spun by Harry Chapin, is going to attract a ton of folks looking to sink their teeth into an equal blend of music and lyric". Record World described it as "a lengthy (4:30) story song that is reminiscent of Harry Chapin's 'Taxi' in style and sound".
Releases
The song was released as a single on November 3rd, 1973 and was the second track on Joel's Piano Man album. It was later released on several greatest hits collections.
Composition
The sheet music for the song is in the key of C major, though Joel currently performs it in the key of B♭ major because of his age and deepened voice. It has a 68 fast waltz time signature and begins with a jazzy piano solo before moving into its piano and harmonica introduction. The verses and the chorus feature a descending walking bassline in C that ends with a D–G turnaround. Instrumentally, Joel's 1973 version features piano, harmonica, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, accordion, mandolin, and drums.
