Piano Man | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 14, 1973 | |||
Recorded | September 1973 | |||
Studio | Devonshire, Los Angeles, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 42:51 | |||
Label | Family Productions/Columbia | |||
Producer | Michael Stewart | |||
Billy Joel chronology | ||||
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Singles from Piano Man | ||||
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Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Christgau's Record Guide | C [4] |
Creem | D+ [5] |
Disc | [6] |
Rolling Stone | positive [7] |
Piano Man is the second studio album by American recording artist Billy Joel, released on November 14, 1973, by Columbia Records. [8] The album emerged from legal difficulties with Joel's former label, Family Productions, and ultimately became his first breakthrough album.
The title track, a fictionalized retelling of Joel's experiences with people he met as a lounge singer in Los Angeles, peaked at No. 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 on the Adult Contemporary singles chart. "Travelin' Prayer" and "Worse Comes to Worst" peaked at No. 77 and 80 on the Hot 100, respectively, while the album itself peaked at No. 27 on the US Billboard 200. The album was certified gold by the RIAA in 1975, but Joel received only $8000 in royalties (US$43,508 in 2022 dollars [9] ). [10]
Columbia Records released a two-disc legacy version of Piano Man in November 2011. [11]
This edition included a slightly truncated live 1972 Philadelphia 93.3 WMMR FM radio broadcast of early songs that Joel performed and recorded at the Philadelphia-based Sigma Sound Studios. This radio broadcast was extremely important to the success of Joel's music career because, after the show was recorded, the live recording of "Captain Jack" was played by the station and quickly became "the most requested song in the station's history". Once the popularity of this live recording was known, people working for Columbia Records heard the recording and signed Joel to the label. [12] The radio broadcast included three songs ("Long, Long Time"; "Josephine"; and "Rosalinda") that were never on any of Joel's studio albums.
All songs written by Billy Joel.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Travelin' Prayer" | 4:16 |
2. | "Piano Man" | 5:37 |
3. | "Ain't No Crime" | 3:20 |
4. | "You're My Home" | 3:14 |
5. | "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" | 5:35 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
6. | "Worse Comes to Worst" | 3:28 |
7. | "Stop in Nevada" | 3:40 |
8. | "If I Only Had the Words (To Tell You)" | 3:35 |
9. | "Somewhere Along the Line" | 3:17 |
10. | "Captain Jack" | 7:15 |
Total length: | 42:51 |
Disc 2: Live at Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 15, 1972
Adapted from the AllMusic credits. [13]
Live at Sigma Sound Studios, April 15, 1972
Production
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [13] |
The Guardian | [14] |
Ultimate Classic Rock | [15] |
Rolling Stone mused that Piano Man "represents a new seriousness and flexibility" for Joel, comparing it to the stylings of Elton John. [7] Reviewing the album, Billboard stated that it shows that Joel has a "fine shot at establishing himself as consistent quality AM artist with large scale songs and dynamic performing range. [16]
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
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The Nylon Curtain is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on September 23, 1982, and produced by Phil Ramone.
Turnstiles is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on May 19, 1976.
Tapestry is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Carole King, released in 1971 on Ode Records and produced by Lou Adler. The lead singles from the album—"It's Too Late" and "I Feel the Earth Move"—spent five weeks at number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts.
Glass Houses is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on March 12, 1980. It features Joel's first song to peak at No. 1 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart, "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me". The album itself topped the Pop Albums chart for six weeks and was ranked No. 4 on Billboard's 1980 year-end album chart. The album is the 41st best selling album of the 1980s, with sales of 7.1 million copies in the U.S. 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 17, 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, which was Joel's third Billboard No. 1 hit.
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.
The Stranger is the fifth studio album by American singer 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.
52nd Street is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on October 11, 1978 by Columbia Records. 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.
Songs in the Attic is the first live album by Billy Joel, released in 1981.
Against the Wind is the eleventh studio album by American rock singer Bob Seger and his fourth which credits the Silver Bullet Band. Like many of his albums, about half of the tracks feature the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section as backing musicians. It was released in February 1980. It is Seger's only number-one album to date, spending six weeks at the top of the Billboard Top LPs chart, knocking Pink Floyd's The Wall from the top spot. Seger said that the album "is about trying to move ahead, keeping your sanity and integrity at the same time."
Dog & Butterfly is the fourth studio album by American rock band Heart, released in September 1978, by Portrait Records, following a legal dispute with Mushroom Records over the release of the band's second studio album, Magazine, in April 1978. Dog & Butterfly peaked at number 17 on the US Billboard 200 and has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album spawned the singles "Straight On" and "Dog & Butterfly".
The Divine Miss M is the debut studio album by American singer and actress Bette Midler, released in 1972 on the Atlantic Records label. The title of the album refers to Midler's famous stage persona. The album was co-produced by Barry Manilow, and includes several songs that since have become repertoire standards, such as "Do You Want to Dance?", "Chapel of Love", "Hello In There", "Friends" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy". It was released on CD for the first time in 1990. A remastered version of the album was released by Atlantic Records/Warner Music in 1995. A remastered deluxe edition was released in October 2016.
"Captain Jack" is a song by Billy Joel featured on his 1973 album Piano Man as its closing track with a live version on his 1981 album Songs in the Attic.
Carney is Leon Russell's third solo studio album, released in 1972. It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 200 and was the first for Russell to contain a hit single — "Tight Rope" b/w "This Masquerade" — which reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
"Travelin' Prayer" is a song written and performed by singer Billy Joel, and released as the first single from his 1973 album Piano Man. The song is "urgent" and "banjo-fueled". It reached number No. 77 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 34 on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1974. It was a slightly bigger hit in Canada, where it reached No. 61.
Larry Russell is a New York City-based performing musician, recording producer, audio engineer, and composer. He achieved national recognition for his collaborations with Billy Joel.
Let the Whole World Sing It with Me is a studio album by American country artist Wynn Stewart. His band, The Tourists, received equal credit on the billing as well. It was released in March 1969 via Capitol Records and was produced by Ken Nelson. It was Stewart's sixth studio album in his music career and spawned a total of three singles. Two of these singles became hits on the Billboard country chart.
Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II is the first greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel. 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.