"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" | ||||
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Single by Billy Joel | ||||
from the album The Stranger | ||||
B-side |
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Released | September 1977 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1977 | |||
Genre | Pop rock [2] [3] | |||
Length | 3:28 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | Billy Joel | |||
Producer(s) | Phil Ramone | |||
Billy Joel singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" on YouTube |
"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" is a song written and recorded by Billy Joel, featured on his 1977 album The Stranger as the opening track.
The song critiques the ambitions of working- and lower-middle-class New Yorkers who strive for material success as evidence of social mobility, working long hours to afford the outward signs of having "made it". [4] Joel describes characters with blue-collar occupations attempting to distance themselves from their working class roots by acquiring status symbols, such as upgrading from a Chevy to a Cadillac or purchasing a home in Hackensack, New Jersey. He implies these efforts are ultimately futile. According to Joel, Anthony is not a real person, but rather "every Irish, Polish, and Italian kid trying to make a living in the US".
The recording concludes with the sound effect of a car, bass player Doug Stegmeyer's 1960s Corvette, starting and driving away, symbolizing departure.
Live performances of the song can be heard on 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert and 12 Gardens Live .
Billboard described "Movin' Out" as an "upbeat narrative that is sort of a commentary on upward mobility." [5] Cash Box said that "growling cellos and a pulsating rhythm section set the mood for Joel's threatening indictment of middle-class values" and that it has "one of the best choruses he has written in some time, combined with unusual echo effects, a yapping horn section, and a melodic guitar finale that wraps it all up nicely." [6] Record World said it is "a typically expressive Joel song, with New York City references and an unusual, piano-dominated structure." [7]
The 45RPM single slightly differs from the album version as the sound effects of the car near the end of the song were removed. The single was originally released in Autumn of 1977, but was pulled when Joel's previous single started climbing the charts. [8] It was re-released in March 1978. [8]
The Twyla Tharp Broadway dance musical Movin' Out , featuring the songs of Billy Joel, opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City on October 24, 2002, and played 1,307 performances before closing in December 2005. The show's lead piano player and singer was Michael Cavanaugh. It toured the US extensively from 2004 to 2007, with Darren Holden as lead Piano Man, and Matt Wilson, James Fox and Matthew Friedman as second Piano Men. The show transferred to the Apollo Victoria Theatre in the West End of London on April 10, 2006; James Fox played lead piano and sang, with Darren Reeves as second piano man. It closed early, on May 22, owing to poor ticket sales.[ citation needed ]
Movin' Out is also the title of the original Broadway cast album taken from the musical.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [19] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Turnstiles is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released May 19, 1976, by Family Productions and Columbia Records.
The Stranger is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on September 29, 1977, by Columbia Records. It was the first of Joel's albums to be produced by Phil Ramone, with whom he would work for five subsequent albums.
Songs in the Attic is the first live album by Billy Joel, released in 1981.
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"Le Freak" is a 1978 funk-disco song by American R&B band Chic. It was the band's third single and first Billboard Hot 100 and R&B number-one hit song. Along with the tracks "I Want Your Love" and "Chic Cheer", "Le Freak" scored number one on the disco charts for seven weeks. The single achieved sales of 7 million and also scored number seven in the UK Singles Chart.
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"Christine Sixteen" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss. It originally appeared on their 1977 album Love Gun. Released as a single in the US in 1977, the song peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that year, and did well in Canada, peaking at number 22.
"You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth" (also known as "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)") is the first solo single by the American singer Meat Loaf, released in 1977. It is a track from his album Bat Out of Hell, written by Jim Steinman.
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.
"This Masquerade" is a song written by American singer and musician Leon Russell. It was originally recorded in 1972 by Russell for his album Carney and as a B-side for the album's hit single "Tight Rope". The song was then covered on Helen Reddy's 1972 album, I Am Woman. It was then recorded by American vocal duo, the Carpenters, for their 1973 album Now & Then and as the B-side of the Carpenters's single "Please Mr. Postman". Three years later, "This Masquerade" was recorded by American singer and guitarist George Benson, who released it on his 1976 album, Breezin'. Benson's version, featuring Jorge Dalto on piano, was released as a single and became the first big hit of his career.
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