52nd Street | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 11, 1978 | |||
Recorded | July–August 1978 | |||
Studio | A & R, New York City | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 40:26 | |||
Label | Family Productions/Columbia | |||
Producer | Phil Ramone | |||
Billy Joel chronology | ||||
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Singles from 52nd Street | ||||
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52nd Street is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on October 11, 1978, by Columbia Records. [2] Presenting itself as the follow-up to his breakthrough studio album, The Stranger, Joel tried to give the new album a fresh sound, hiring various jazz musicians to differentiate it from his previous studio albums. [3]
The album's title is a reference to 52nd Street, a popular street location in Midtown Manhattan for jazz musicians, beginning during the Great Depression and continuing through to the 1950s. Joel's label was headquartered within the CBS Building on West 52nd Street at the time of the album's release. The studio where recording took place was also on 52nd Street, one block away from where Joel's label was headquartered.[ citation needed ]
52nd Street was an instant commercial success, becoming Joel's first album to reach number one on the Billboard 200, a spot it held for eight consecutive weeks. Three songs reached the Top 40 in the United States, contributing to the album's success: "My Life" (number 3), "Big Shot" (number 14), and "Honesty" (number 24). [4] It was similarly well received by critics, earning two Grammy awards for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Album of the Year at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards. [5] The latter Grammy was presented to its producer, Phil Ramone. Upon Ramone's death, 52nd Street's Album of the Year Grammy was passed on to Joel.
The album was among the first commercially released on the compact disc format, reaching store shelves on October 1, 1982, in Japan (it was one of 50 CDs released that day, including The Stranger, but bore the first catalogue number in the sequence, 35DP-1, and so is frequently cited as the first to be released). [6] In keeping with this history, it was also the first release when Sony returned to manufacturing vinyl records in 2018. [7]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [8] |
Blender | [9] |
Christgau's Record Guide | B− [10] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [11] |
The Great Rock Discography | 7/10 [12] |
Record Mirror | [13] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [14] |
Reviewing 52nd Street for The Village Voice in 1979, Robert Christgau noted Joel's talent for writing catchy songs and likened him to Elton John, albeit with more "smarm." [15] The Globe and Mail determined that "the music really is starting to sound repetitive and formulaic—as though the songwriter's musical vocabulary is too limited to match his sense of the big city's varied dramas." [16]
Retrospectively, AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised Joel for expanding stylistically on 1977s The Stranger , describing 52nd Street as "more sophisticated and somewhat jazzy." [8] In 2000, it was voted number 621 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums . [17] In 2003, 52nd Street was ranked number 352 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", [18] and at 354 on a 2012 revised list. [19]
All songs written by Billy Joel.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Stiletto" | 4:42 |
2. | "Rosalinda's Eyes" | 4:41 |
3. | "Half a Mile Away" | 4:08 |
4. | "Until the Night" | 6:35 |
5. | "52nd Street" | 2:27 |
The song "Rosalinda's Eyes" was inspired by Joel's mother, Rosalind Nyman Joel. [20]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1980 | 52nd Street | Album of the Year [5] | Won |
Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male [5] | Won | ||
"Honesty" | Song of the Year [21] | Nominated |
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1980 | Billy Joel (performer) | Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist [22] | Nominated |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [51] | 2× Platinum | 100,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada) [52] | 5× Platinum | 500,000^ |
France (SNEP) [53] | Gold | 100,000* |
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [54] | Gold | 10,000* |
Japan (RIAJ) [55] | Gold | 470,000 [56] |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [57] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [58] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [59] | 7× Platinum | 7,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Saturday Night Fever is the soundtrack album from the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta. The soundtrack was released on November 15, 1977 by RSO Records. Prior to the release of Thriller by Michael Jackson, Saturday Night Fever was the best-selling album in music history, and still ranks among the best-selling soundtrack albums worldwide, with sales figures of over 40 million copies.
From the Cradle is the twelfth solo studio album by Eric Clapton, released on 12 September 1994 by Warner Bros. Records. A blues cover album and Clapton's follow-up to his successful 1992 live album, Unplugged, it is his only UK number-one album to date.
Unplugged is a 1992 live album by Eric Clapton, recorded at Bray Studios, England in front of an audience for the MTV Unplugged television series. It includes a version of the successful 1992 single "Tears in Heaven" and an acoustic version of "Layla". The album itself won three Grammy awards at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards in 1993 and became the bestselling live album of all time, and Clapton's bestselling album, selling 26 million copies worldwide.
Glass Houses is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on March 12, 1980. The record was a commercial success, topping the Billboard 200 chart for six consecutive weeks. It features Joel's first single to peak at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me". It was ranked No. 4 on Billboard's 1980 year-end chart. The album is the 41st best-selling album of the 1980s, with sales of 7.1 million copies in the US alone. In 1981, Joel won a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for his work on Glass Houses. According to music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the album featured "a harder-edged sound" compared to Joel's other work, in response to the punk and new wave movements. This was also the final studio album to feature the original incarnation of the Billy Joel Band, augmented by new lead guitarist David Brown. Multi-instrumentalist Cannata left the band just before the sessions began for Joel's next studio album, 1982's The Nylon Curtain.
The Bridge is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on July 25, 1986. It was Joel's last studio album produced by Phil Ramone as well as the last to feature Joel's long-time bassist Doug Stegmeyer and rhythm guitarist Russell Javors. The album yielded several successful singles, including "A Matter of Trust", "Modern Woman", and "This Is the Time".
An Innocent Man is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on August 8, 1983. The concept album is a tribute to the American popular music of Joel's adolescent years with Joel paying homage to a number of different and popular American musical styles from the late 1950s and early 1960s, most notably doo-wop and soul music. The album cover artwork was taken on the front steps of 142 Mercer Street, just north of the intersection of Mercer and Prince Street in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.
Storm Front is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on October 23, 1989. It was Joel's third album to reach No. 1 in the U.S. and features "We Didn't Start the Fire", a fast-paced song that cataloged a list of historical events, trends, and cultural icons from 1949 until 1989.
River of Dreams is the twelfth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on August 10, 1993. River of Dreams presented a more serious tone than found in Joel's previous albums, dealing with issues such as trust and long-lasting love. It was rumored that the themes of trust and betrayal, particularly certain lyrics from the songs "A Minor Variation" and "The Great Wall of China", stem from Joel's legal disputes with his former manager and ex-brother-in-law, Frank Weber, who reportedly embezzled millions of dollars from Joel and used dubious accounting practices to cover it up. It was Joel's fourth and last album to reach number one on the Billboard 200 chart, a position it held for three consecutive weeks.
Emotional Rescue is the fifteenth studio album by English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 23 June 1980 by Rolling Stones Records. Following the success of their previous album, Some Girls, their biggest hit to date, the Rolling Stones returned to the studio in early 1979 to start writing and recording its follow-up. Full-time members Mick Jagger (vocals), Keith Richards (guitar), Ronnie Wood (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass) and Charlie Watts (drums) were joined by frequent collaborators Ian Stewart (keyboards), Nicky Hopkins (keyboards), Bobby Keys (saxophone) and Sugar Blue (harmonica).
The Globe Sessions is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, released on September 21, 1998, in the United Kingdom and September 29, 1998, in the United States, then re-released in 1999. It was nominated for Album of the Year, Best Rock Album and Best Engineered Non-Classical Album at the 1999 Grammys, winning the latter two awards. The Globe Sessions reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart, while peaking at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart, achieving US sales of two million as of January 2008. The album was recorded at and named for the sessions recorded at Globe Recording Studio in New York owned by Robert FitzSimons and Tracey Loggia.
Wilson Phillips is the debut album by American vocal group Wilson Phillips, released in 1990 by SBK Records. The album was successful in the United States, where it peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 chart for 10 weeks starting August 4, 1990. It spent 125 weeks on the charts, including one year in the top 10. The album has sold five million copies in the United States and over eight million worldwide.
The Dream of the Blue Turtles is the debut solo album by English musician Sting, released on June 17, 1985. The album reached number three on the UK Albums Chart and number two on the US Billboard 200.
City to City is the second solo studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty, released on 20 January 1978 by United Artists Records. It was Rafferty's first solo release in six years—and first release of any kind since 1975—due to his tenure in the band Stealers Wheel and subsequent legal proceedings which prevented Rafferty from releasing any new solo recordings for the next three years. The album was well received, peaking at No. 1 in the US and going Platinum, as well as reaching No. 6 in the UK Albums Chart and achieving Gold status. "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line" and "Home and Dry" were hits on the American charts.
The Woman in Red: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the second soundtrack album released by American musician Stevie Wonder on the Motown label. Also featuring Dionne Warwick, the album was released in 1984 for the film of the same name. It features Wonder's biggest hit, "I Just Called to Say I Love You", which hit number one internationally and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and also features the follow-up hit, "Love Light in Flight" and "Don't Drive Drunk", the song and the accompanying music video for which were used in the Ad Council and the US Department of Transportation's Drunk Driving Prevention public service announcement the following year.
In Square Circle is the twentieth studio album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released in 1985. The album features the hit singles "Part-Time Lover", "Go Home", "Overjoyed", and "Land of La La". The album earned Wonder a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 1986 Grammy Awards.
Some Gave All is the debut studio album by American singer Billy Ray Cyrus. It was his first album for Mercury Records in 1992 and became the best selling album of that year in the United States, selling over 9 million copies in the first 12 months of release. It produced four hit singles on the Billboard country charts. The first of these was Cyrus's breakthrough song "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the charts in several countries. In the US it was a five-week number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, as well as a top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It became the first single ever to achieve triple Platinum status in Australia and was the best-selling single of 1992 in the same country. Thanks to the video of the song, there was an explosion of line dancing into the mainstream, becoming a craze. The song earned Grammy Award nominations for Cyrus in the categories Record of the Year and Best Country Vocal Performance, Male. That same year, Cyrus also received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist. "Achy Breaky Heart" was originally recorded as "Don't Tell My Heart" by The Marcy Brothers on their 1991 self-titled album.
Here is the discography of American singer-songwriter Billy Joel. He has released 13 studio albums, seven live albums, 18 compilation albums, 10 video albums, 82 singles, three promotional singles, and 45 music videos. Throughout his career, he has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists in history. According to Recording Industry Association of America, Joel has sold 85 million certified albums in the United States, making him the 4th best-selling solo artist of all time. Billboard ranked him as the 9th Greatest male soloist of all time.
"Honesty" is a song by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released by Columbia Records as the third US single from his sixth studio album 52nd Street (1978) in 1979. "Honesty" was solely written by Joel, while production was handled by Phil Ramone. The song appears on the Dutch and Japanese editions of Greatest Hits Volume 2, replacing "Don't Ask Me Why" (1980).
All-4-One is the eponymous debut album by All-4-One released on April 12, 1994. It features the Grammy-award-winning hit single, "I Swear".
Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II is the first greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on July 1, 1985. The album has been certified double diamond by the RIAA, selling over 11.5 million copies as sixth most certified album of all time in the US. The album includes hits from 1973 to 1985 in chronological order with one exception. Some foreign pressings include "Honesty" in place of "Don't Ask Me Why".