Don't Ask Me Why (Billy Joel song)

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"Don't Ask Me Why"
DontAskMeWhy.jpg
Single by Billy Joel
from the album Glass Houses
B-side "C'était Toi (You Were the One)"
ReleasedJuly 24, 1980
Genre
Length2:59
Label Columbia Records
Songwriter(s) Billy Joel
Producer(s) Phil Ramone
Billy Joel singles chronology
"It's Still Rock and Roll to Me"
(1980)		"Don't Ask Me Why"
(1980)		"Sometimes a Fantasy"
(1980)

"Don't Ask Me Why" is a 1980 song by Billy Joel released as the third single from the album Glass Houses . The song spent two weeks at number one on the Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. [5]

Contents

The track contains all acoustic and Latin percussion instruments performing in an Afro-Cuban rhythmic style. An eclectic, instrumental "Latin Ballroom" piano solo, played over the bridge section after the second verse, is also featured in part of the song; Joel states that the mix for the midsection includes "fifteen pianos overdubbed on top of each other." [6]

The syncopated "333322" accent pattern in the verses is identical to that in the song "Big Shot", from Joel's previous album 52nd Street (1978). The same pattern can be found in other songs of the 1980s, including "Karma Chameleon" (1983) by Culture Club, "Crazy for You" (1985) by Madonna, "Summer of '69" (1985) by Bryan Adams, and "Desire" (1988) by U2. [7]

Reception

Billboard found the song to be "catchy" and felt that Joel's vocal performance sounded similar to Paul McCartney. [8] Cash Box said it has a "crisp pop/Latin/rock rhythm" and that the lyrics deal with the "themes of success and chance." [9] Record World called it "one of [Joel's] easy rollin' romantic piano ballads that often become pop standards." [10]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1980)Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles [11] 4
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary [12] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [13] 42
French Singles Chart [14] 42
UK Singles ( Record Business ) [15] 78
US Billboard Hot 100 [16] 19
US Billboard Adult Contemporary [17] 1
US Cash Box Top 10021

Year-end charts

Chart (1980)Rank
Canada [18] 45
US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual) [19] 122

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [20] Gold500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Don't Ask Me Why − Billy Joel | Song Info". AllMusic . Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  2. ↑ "The Stranger at 70: Billy Joel's 25 best songs". Yardbarker.com. March 31, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Off the Record: 'Glass Houses'". The Northwest Florida Daily News.
  4. ↑ "Don't Ask Me Why − Billy Joel". Onefinalserenade.com. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  5. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 127.
  6. ↑ Bordowitz, Hank (2006). Billy Joel: The Life & Times of an Angry Young Man. New York: Billboard Books. p. 128. ISBN   978-0-8230-8248-3 . Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  7. ↑ Traut, Don (2005). "'Simply Irresistible': Recurring Accent Patterns as Hooks in Mainstream 1980s Music" . Popular Music. 24 (1): 57–77. doi:10.1017/S0261143004000303. JSTOR   3877594.
  8. ↑ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. August 2, 1980. p. 60. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  9. ↑ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. August 2, 1980. p. 18. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Record World. August 2, 1980. p. 1. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  11. ↑ "RPM 100 Singles (Vol. 34, No. 2, October 25, 1980)". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Image : RPM Weekly". Bac-lac.gc.ca. September 27, 1980. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Billy Joel – Don't Ask Me Why" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  14. ↑ "InfoDisc : Bilan des Ventes par Artiste". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  15. ↑ "The Singles Chart 61-100" (PDF). Record Business . 1980-11-24. p. 11. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  16. ↑ "Billy Joel Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  17. ↑ "Billy Joel Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  18. ↑ "Top 100 Singles". RPM. Vol. 34, no. 6. December 20, 1980. Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  19. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN   0-89820-142-X.
  20. ↑ "American single certifications – Billy Joel – Don%t Ask Me Why". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved July 18, 2025.


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