All About Soul

"All About Soul"
Single by Billy Joel
from the album River of Dreams
B-side	"You Picked a Real Bad Time"
Released	October 11, 1993 (1993-10-11)
Length	6:01 (album version) 4:15 (single version)
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Billy Joel
Producer(s)	Danny Kortchmar Joe Nicolo
Billy Joel singles chronology
"No Man's Land" (1993) "All About Soul" (1993) "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" (1994)
Music video
"All About Soul" on YouTube

"All About Soul" is a song by American musician Billy Joel, released in October 1993 by Columbia Records as the third single from his 12th studio album, River of Dreams (1993). The single was produced by Danny Kortchmar and Joe Nicolo and features backing vocals by Color Me Badd. The song peaked at No. 29 in the United States and No. 32 in the United Kingdom, becoming his final top-40 single in either country.

The compilation box set My Lives contains an unfinished demo version of "All About Soul" called "Motorcycle Song". ""All About Soul" became the unofficial theme song of the New York Knicks during their run to the 1994 NBA Finals. ^[1]

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Joel's river of songs is immeasurably deep. Once more he'll manage to get hordes of listeners humming along with a vintage species of his more uptempo side." ^[2]

B-side

The B-side is "You Picked a Real Bad Time", which did not appear on an album until the compilation box set My Lives was released in 2005.

Track listing

• UK CD single

1. "All About Soul" (radio edit) – 4:15
2. "All About Soul" (remix) – 6:05
3. "All About Soul" (LP version) – 6:01
4. "You Picked a Real Bad Time" – 4:54

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1993–1994) Peak position Australia (ARIA) [3] 34 Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [4] 9 Canada Adult Contemporary ( RPM ) [5] 5 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [6] 83 Europe (European Hit Radio) [7] 16 Germany (GfK) [8] 51 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) [9] 30 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [10] 42 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [11] 22 UK Singles (OCC) [12] 32 UK Airplay ( Music Week ) [13] 26 US Billboard Hot 100 [14] 29 US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [15] 6 US Pop Airplay ( Billboard ) [16] 17 US Cash Box Top 100 [17] 24

Year-end charts Chart (1994) Position Canada Top Singles (RPM) [18] 72 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM) [19] 57 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) [20] 27

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	October 11, 1993	7-inch vinyl CD cassette	Columbia	[21]
Japan	November 26, 1993	Mini-CD	Sony	[22]

References

1. Kaufman, Michael T. (June 18, 1994). "ABOUT NEW YORK; Wearing Your Heart On a Shirt". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 7, 2023.
2. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 11, no. 4. January 22, 1994. p. 9. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
3. "Billy Joel – All About Soul". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
4. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2354." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
5. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 2355." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
6. "Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 10, no. 45. November 6, 1993. p. 17. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
7. "EHR Top 40" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 10, no. 51/52. December 18, 1993. p. 37. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
8. "Billy Joel – All About Soul" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
9. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (18.–24. Nóv.)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). October 18, 1993. p. 20. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
10. "Billy Joel – All About Soul" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
11. "Billy Joel – All About Soul". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
12. "Billy Joel: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
13. "The Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week . November 6, 1993. p. 28. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
14. "Billy Joel Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
15. "Billy Joel Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
16. "Billy Joel Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
17. "Top 100 Pop Singles" (PDF). Cash Box . Vol. LVII, no. 18. December 25, 1993. p. 10. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
18. "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1994". RPM . Retrieved November 23, 2017– via Library and Archives Canada.
19. "RPM Top AC tracks of 1994". RPM . Retrieved November 14, 2022– via Library and Archives Canada.
20. "The Year in Music: Hot Adult Contemporary Singles & Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 52. December 24, 1994. p. YE-68. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
21. "Single Releases". Music Week . October 9, 1993. p. 27.
22. "ビリー・ジョエル | 君が教えてくれることのすべて" [Billy Joel | Everything You'll Tell Me] (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved March 31, 2025.