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Some reasons why this site is currently behind a password (except for select pages):
Copying and Failure to Give Attribution. First, many people and publications, including both professional journalists and a podcast have either copied or took information or ideas from my site without any attribution or credit, and I got tired of that. On One Final Serenade, I frequently cite my sources and always try to give credit and attribution, not just to professionals writers but to anyone (fans, anonymous social media users), but this is not reciprocated either by professionals or amateurs. The podcast, however, subsequently did apologize and gave credit. Technical Issues. Second, Weebly got acquired by another company and increased their fees dramatically for the Pro version I use but they are no longer supporting nor updating Weebly. Several features weren’t working or disappeared like the user comments (I lost all the user comments from the past ten years). I have to figure out a long-term solution. Support. While One Final Serenade is a labor of love and has been open and free since I first created it about twelve years ago, no one ever supported it. I apparently got my first and only Patreon/donation earlier this year; I offered that person a refund. Time. Over the past several months I’ve had to deal with some personal and professional projects, so I had no time to fully update it. Although Billy Joel has not come out with an album of new music in years, there is a significant amount of updating I have to do, even just things like fixing broken links. The site needs updating and I want it to look good and operate well. Also, I am writing a book about Billy’s music that will come out next year in or about March 2027, Billy Joel: Song by Song. So I need to spend my time on that. The site will be back up in restricted or limited form likely in late 2027 or in 2028. Thank you for all your nice comments and inquries. Keep the faith and as Billy says, don’t take any shit from anybody. Eugene & Jamie Pak OneFinalSerenade.com Prior Post: In light of some instances of copying or non-attribution, I am putting this Notice here. If you wish to use any content from this website or its social media pages within or for the basis of your own podcast episode, social media post, playlist, article, essay, paper, dissertation, book, film or similar item, then please cite and give attribution to this website. Please email us at [email protected]. I have spent about a 13-14 years and countless hours researching and posting the content here to share it with Billy Joel fans and others, as well as the coresponding YouTube page which organizes hundreds of videos about Billy Joel thematically and chronologically. Many items or facts stated on this site were not easy to find or are not commonly known (e.g., the 'Easter egg' of the Betty Wright 45 single in the Keeping The Faith video). Just because this is not published by a well-known media company does not mean you can simply use the content or research here as if it were your own content or research, without attribution or credit. I have also included much of my own original content and ideas on this site. The podcast Billy Joel A to Z had used content from this site without permission or attribution for many of their podcasts and social media posts, but has since publicly apologized for using my content in their podcast and social media posts. I accept their apology. Thank you Elon and David. However, others continue. I recently discovered that a music journalist had done an extensive two-part episode on Billy Joel on Slate's Hit Parade podcast. Among other things, he mentions the Betty Wright 45 record "Easter egg" in the video, which I had not seen mentioned anywhere else before I discovered it and published it on this site in 2016 on my page about "Keeping The Faith." He not only mentions this largely unknown Easter egg, but also states in his podcast that "eagle-eyed" YouTube viewers may spot this. My page states that an "eagle-eyed YouTube viewer" noticed this and made a comment on the YouTube music video page. On my website page about "Leave A Tender Moment Alone," I quote and cite a fan's English translation of a Dutch language book about musician Toots Thielemans (who is Belgian) which states that the song was in part inspired by Smokey Robinson. I had never seen anyone state this before, and frankly, I don't really hear the resemblance to Smokey Robinson. The English translation was posted in a popular members-only Facebook group (Billy Joel: Completely Retold run by superfan Mike Stutz) by a fan. Remarkably, the journalist in his podcast states too that "fans and Joel himself cited many influences for the track, including the Rascals and Smokey Robinson." Where did he get that from? Did this American journalist happen to find the same Dutch language book about Toots Thielemans and can read Dutch? (That said, someone did quote the same translated quote that I had put on my site, and later posted it in Songfacts). I also state on my site that much later Billy stated in a brief interview snippet on SiriusXM from 2016 that the rhythm to the song was like Burt Bacharach's "What The World Needs Now" which was made popular by singer Jackie DeShannon. Similarly, the podcast states that "in a later interview, Joel revealed that he had deliberately based the melody for 'Leave a Tender Moment Alone' on the Burt Bacharach/Hal David composition, sung by both Jackie Deshannon and Dionne Warwick, 'What the World Needs Now.'" Did he happen to hear the same 2016 snippet in 2020 when preparing his podcast, or did he find it on my website? But more importantly, the journalist got it wrong in his attempt to portray Billy Joel as a musical "magpie" as he terms it. Billy did not state that the melody of "Leave A Tender Moment Alone" was "delibrately based" on "What the World Needs Now" (the melodies are not similar), rather Billy said that beat was similar (Billy: "what has a beat like that? [plays piano then sings] what the world needs now . . . ."). Any music journalist, including one who can read Dutch, should know the difference between melody and beat. Similarly, in my page describing The Stranger album, I open by stating that: "The Stranger, Billy Joel's fifth album, was his artistic and commercial breakthrough." That's my first sentence. The same podcast in describing The Stranger album, also opens by stating: "The Stranger was Billy Joel's commerical and creative breakthrough." Nothing groundbreaking here, but I find it telling that we both open with nearly the same phrase and language. On my page about the song "Just The Way You Are," I state: "but singers Linda Ronstadt and Phoebe Snow, who were visiting Billy in the recording studio, urged him to keep it on the album." In the podcast, in describing the song, the journalist states "it took singers Linda Ronstadt and Phoebe Snow, who visited Joel in the studio, to convince him the sentimental song was worth keeping." This fact has been reported before, but I find the similarity in our wording to be more than coincidental in light of the other instances mentioned above. He uses "singers" like me when it was not needed (I did this for my kids, who may not have known who Linda Ronstadt and Phoebe Snow are), and he also mentions that they were visiting Billy in the recording studio, which is largely a throw-in fact. These are just some instances. Collectively, they indicate that my site was used as a research source for the two-part podcast, without any attribution or credit. And he accuses Billy Joel of being a "magpie." * * * * * * * * * * * * The SongFacts website contains many facts that were clearly taken from my site, sometime using the same language verbatim or very simliar such as in the SongFacts page about "Leningrad." * * * * * * * * * * * * The Elvis Australia site copied verbatim my website description of the song "Elvis Presley Boulevard" and failed to reply to my inquiries asking them to remove it or give attribution. This is ironic because after having copied my text verbatim, it includes this warning: "No part of any article on this site may be re-printed for public display without permission." * * * * * * * * * * * * So, please stop using my website as a resource for your work, podcast, or other content, unless you get permission or give attribution to my site. Here are some folks who, to their credit, have given attribution to this website: Heavy.com, Keenan Crotty (YouTube), Lee Johnson (on posts on the God's Jukebox blog), ElectricMohair (Reddit), ILM, Jie Fang Goh, M.M., Gladys B.H. on Medium.com, Lucas Abbott, and Smooth Radio. This site is also frequently cited in Wikipedia and Songfacts. You can e-mail us at [email protected]. Return to Home Page. |
Disclaimer: This is an unofficial fan site that is not affiliated, endorsed, or sponsored by Billy Joel, Sony Music, Columbia Records, Maritime Music, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, or any similar entity. The Official Billy Joel site is at BillyJoel.com. Except as otherwise noted, all music and lyrics by Billy Joel are © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC Joel Songs, Sony Music, and/or affiliated organizations, and are posted here for editorial commentary and research purposes, and are not for commercial use. This site has no advertisements and does not collect any personal information. See Contact Us page for DMCA notices or any other questions. Otherwise, text and layout are copyright this site, One Final Serenade. Background collage photo from Facebook Group Billy Joel-Fans with permission from Admin. Some photos in collage substituted by One Final Serenade. This site is not optimized for mobile devices.
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