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.
"Iris" is a song by American alternative rock band Goo Goo Dolls. Originally written for the soundtrack of the 1998 film City of Angels, the song was later included on the band's sixth album, Dizzy Up the Girl, and released as a single on April 1, 1998.
"MacArthur Park" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb that was recorded first by Irish actor and singer Richard Harris in 1968. Harris's version peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number four on the UK Singles Chart. "MacArthur Park" was subsequently covered by numerous artists, including a 1970 Grammy-winning version by country music singer Waylon Jennings and a number one Billboard Hot 100 disco arrangement by Donna Summer in 1978. Webb won the 1969 Grammy Award for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for the Richard Harris version.
"Piano Man" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel. First released as a single in the US on November 2, 1973, it was included on Joel's 1973 album of the same name. The song is sung from Joel's point of view as a piano player at a bar, reminiscing about his experiences there and the people he encountered. "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 the album Cold Spring Harbor. Joel describes various characters, including a bartender named John and a "real estate novelist" named Paul, all based on real-life individuals.
"Uptown Girl" is a song written and performed by American musician Billy Joel from his ninth studio album An Innocent Man (1983), released in September 1983 as the album's second single. The lyrics describe a working-class "downtown man" attempting to woo a wealthy "uptown girl". The 12" EP has the tracks "My Life", "Just the Way You Are" and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me", whereas some 7" single versions featured "Careless Talk" as a B-side.
"Me and Mrs. Jones" is a 1972 soul song written by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert, and originally recorded by Billy Paul. It describes an extramarital affair between a man and his lover, Mrs. Jones. In the song, the two meet in secret "every day at the same cafe", at 6:30, where they hold hands and talk. The two are caught in a quandary: "We got a thing going on/we both know that it's wrong/but it's much too strong/to let it go now."
"When a Man Loves a Woman" is a song written by Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright and first recorded by Percy Sledge in 1966 at Norala Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama. It made number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts. Country singer John Wesley Ryles had a minor hit with his version of the song in 1976 while singer and actress Bette Midler recorded the song 14 years later and had a Top 40 hit with her version in 1990. In 1991, Michael Bolton recorded the song and his version peaked at number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the Billboard Adult Contemporary Singles chart.
"My Life" is a song by Billy Joel that first appeared on his 1978 album 52nd Street. A single version was released in the fall of 1978 and reached No. 2 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart. Early the next year, it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Baby I'm Yours" is a song written by Van McCoy which was a hit in 1965 for Barbara Lewis, the original recording artist. The song was featured in the 1995 film The Bridges of Madison County and was included on the soundtrack album. It was also featured in the TV movies The Midnight Hour (1985) and An American Crime (2007), as well as being briefly featured in Baby Driver.
"Country Sunshine" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Dottie West. It was both a Coca-Cola ad jingle and a single. The song was co-written by West, along with Billy Davis and Dianne Whiles. Its popularity as a commercial jingle led to its single release by RCA Victor in 1973. The single became among West's commercially-successful releases, reaching the top ten of the US and Canadian country charts. It also made positions on other genre charts in both countries. "Country Sunshine" has since been considered among West's most well-known recordings.
"King of the Road" is a song written by country singer Roger Miller, who first recorded it in November 1964. The lyrics tell of the day-to-day life of a traveling hobo who, despite having little money, revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously and cynically as the "king of the road". It was Miller's fifth single for Smash Records. The song won Miller 5 Grammy Awards in 1966.
This 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.
"I Go to Extremes" is a song by American singer Billy Joel from his eleventh studio album, Storm Front (1989), released as the album's second US single in early 1990. It reached the number-six position on the US Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number three on the Canadian RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart. The song was also a top-10 hit on both the Billboard Adult Contemporary and Album Rock Tracks charts. The song also reached at number 70 on the UK Singles Chart.
"The River of Dreams" is a song by American musician Billy Joel. It is the title track and first single from his 1993 album, River of Dreams. The song was a hit, peaking at number three on the US and UK charts, making it Joel's best-charting single of the decade as well as his final top ten in either country to date. It also hit the top spot in Australia, New Zealand, and on the Canadian and US Adult Contemporary charts. The song was produced by Joe Nicolo and Danny Kortchmar.
"Somewhere", sometimes referred to as "Somewhere (There's a Place for Us)" or simply "There's a Place for Us", is a song from the 1957 Broadway musical West Side Story that was made into films in 1961 and 2021. The music is composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
"We'll Sing in the Sunshine" is a 1964 hit song written and recorded by Gale Garnett which reached No. 2 in Canada, and No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending 17 October 1964. It also enjoyed success on easy listening and country music radio stations, spending seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart and No. 42 on the country chart. The Cash Box Top 100 ranked "We'll Sing in the Sunshine" at No. 1 for the week of 31 October 1964, and it also reached No. 1 in Garnett's native New Zealand that November. In Australia, "We'll Sing in the Sunshine" afforded Garnett a Top Ten hit with a No. 10 peak in October 1964. Garnett's sole Top 40 hit, "We'll Sing in the Sunshine" won the Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording in 1965.
"It Might Be You" is a song with music written by Dave Grusin, and lyrics written by Alan & Marilyn Bergman. It was performed by singer/songwriter Stephen Bishop in the 1982 film Tootsie starring Dustin Hoffman and Jessica Lange. The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1983.
"An Innocent Man" is a 1983 song performed by Billy Joel released as the third single from his album of the same name. The song, whose musical style is an homage to Ben E. King and the Drifters, reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the third consecutive top 10 single from the album. It also spent one week at No. 1 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart.
"My Love" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lionel Richie. It was released in 1983 as the third and final single from his self-titled debut solo album. The song features harmony backing vocals by country music singer Kenny Rogers. It reached the top 10 on three notable Billboard magazine charts in the spring of 1983: on the Billboard Hot 100 the song peaked at No. 5; on the Adult Contemporary chart, the song spent four weeks at No. 1; and on the R&B chart, the song topped out at No. 6. "My Love" was not among Richie's more successful singles in the United Kingdom, where it only managed No. 70 on the UK Singles Chart. In Canada, it peaked at No. 28 on the RPM Top 100 Singles chart.
"Somewhere in My Broken Heart" is a song written by American country music artist Billy Dean and Richard Leigh. Randy Travis first recorded the song on his 1989 album No Holdin' Back. Two years later, it was released as the third single from Dean's album Young Man and reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.
