The Piano Man

April 8

This song only ever reached number 25 on the Billboard Charts. Yet its one of the most memorable songs of the 1970’s and marked the beginning of one artist’s career which has spanned 50 years.

The song? The iconic “Piano Man.” The artist? Billy Joel.

It was in April of 1974 when “Piano Man” peaked on the charts. It could not even be described as a ‘one-hit wonder’ based on its ranking. By any measure, it should have faded away and been forgotten. Billy Joel, however, possessed the needed ingredients which have defined his long running career: grit, determination, and talent.

Undaunted by the middling success of “Piano Man” he continued to write songs and produce records. Both “Piano Man” and “Captain Jack” – his most successful early 1970’s releases – were an anathema to the music of that era. It was a time when soft rock and bubblegum dominated the pop category. I’m pretty sure no one was quite sure where this storyteller who saw and sang about the seamier side of life fit in.

“The Stranger” album, released in the fall of 1977, changed the public perception of Joel. I attribute it first and foremost to the song “Just the Way You Are.”  Written for his then wife Elizabeth Weber (married in 1974, divorced in 1983), I think it encapsulates a more optimistic look at life and, perhaps, that Joel was in a much happier place at that time as he had hit his stride with his career.

The American public responded. From the Infallible Wikipedia:

“Spending six weeks at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart, The Stranger was Joel’s critical and commercial breakthrough. Four singles were released in the US, all of which became Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: ‘Just the Way You Are’ (No. 3), ‘Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)’, ‘She’s Always a Woman’ (both No. 17), and ‘Only the Good Die Young’ (No. 24). Other songs, such as ‘Scenes from an Italian Restaurant’ and ‘Vienna’, have become staples of his career and are frequently performed in his live shows. The album won two awards at the 21st Annual Grammy Awards in 1979: Record of the Year and Song of the Year for ‘Just the Way You Are’. It remains his best-selling non-compilation album to date and surpassed Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge over Troubled Water (1970) to become Columbia’s best-selling album release, with more than 10 million units sold worldwide. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album number 70 on its 2003 list of the ‘500 Greatest Albums of All Time’, repositioned to number 169 in a 2020 revision. In 2008, The Stranger was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.”

As readers of my blog know, I greatly admire those who can tell a story through song. Joel has done this so very well. Perhaps my favorite of his ‘storytelling’ songs is “Scene’s from an Italian Restaurant.” When I listen to that song, I can visualize a couple of old friends – probably in their early 30’s – meeting up and soon their conversation is reliving the ‘good old days’ with such lyrics as:

Cold beer, hot lights
My sweet romantic teenage nights.

My favorite part of the song has to be when he starts singing about prom king and queen, Eddie and Brenda, who were once the most popular kids in school. In a few short verses we learn about their marriage, their troubles, their divorce and that:

Brenda and Eddie had it already by the summer of ’75
From the high to the low to the end of the show
For the rest of their lives.

Storytelling at its finest.

It was in May 1984 when I attended my first rock concert. Yes, by then I was in my 20’s. My mother did not approve of rock concerts or anything else which might pollute young and impressionable minds so as a teenager going to such an event was forbidden.

I could have gone to a concert sooner, being that I had been an adult for several years. But after the hubby and I were married in 1980 we didn’t have the resources for such frivolities. Instead, we bought our first house in the spring of 1981 and then lived on rice and beans for the next few years, both of us going to jobs during the day, and fixing the house during the evenings and weekends. Our social life was the hubby playing on recreational soccer team; getting together with friends and family at our home our theirs, and going camping.

I can’t say for sure what inspired buying tickets for Billy Joel except that we both liked his music, me probably more than the hubby.

We drove from West Seattle to the Tacoma on Tuesday, May 8th, and joined thousands of our closest friends at the less than one year old Tacoma Dome (Billy Joel was the 9^th artist to play there!). When the lights dimmed the arena went silent. In the dark we could see a grand piano slowly turning to the front of the stage, a lone performer sitting at the keyboard.

And then a single chord from the piano in the dark, instantly recognizable as the opening salvo of Joel’s then hit song “Allentown.” The arena erupted in applause. A solo spotlight appeared and shone down on Joel and, in that moment, he captured the room.

For the next couple of hours, we were treated to an energetic concert of old favorites and up and coming hits. It was a magical night and a great first concert.

I felt it was a privilege to have experienced Billy Joel perform live.

Thank you, Billy Joel, for capturing the essence of the American experience through your incredible words and music.

There are soooo many links and so much more information I was not able to share in my self-imposed limited space. So here you go for some of the highlights including links to my three most favorite songs from Joel:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Joel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Man_(Billy_Joel_album)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stranger_(album)

https://youtu.be/gxEPV4kolz0?si=TsMKJR-FE_lsLB4B (Piano Man)

https://youtu.be/GkuJJsApACc?si=J8-DxfhF7-e9ELU2 (Just The Way You Are)

https://youtu.be/izzM9LXqP-U?si=xlCLpepQV7n9nV7N (Scenes From an Italian Restaurant)