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UPDATE: I have received many inquiries about the status of One Final Serenade since it put it behind a password several months ago. I put the site behind a password temporarily for a number of reasons. 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. Here is yet another example I just discovered this month (Dec. 2025) on the Elvis.com.au site, a site about Elvis Presley. The creator of the site copied verbtaim my discussion on the Billy Joel song "Elvis Presley Boulevard." See the page at Elvis.com.au and see my page on the song. The first three paragraphs are identical. I sent an email to the Elvis.com.au creator, but have not heard back yet. Similarly, I also found this month that the SongFacts.com page about "Leningrad" has taken text from my site, also verbatim. It could be that someone posted it there (i.e., not SongFacts itself). I reached out to SongFacts.com, but got no response. It is ironic because I quote a SongFacts.com article about the "We Didn't Start The Fire" and give credit and a link to SongFacts.com, but they do not do the same thing. 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 hopefully will come out next year. So I need to spend my time on that. The site will be back up next year probably at the end of Q2. Thank you for all your nice comments and inquries. The new version will have some public content, but most of it will likely be behind a paywall only for registered users/patreon subscribers. Keep the faith and as Billy says, don’t take any shit from anybody. Eugene Pak OneFinalSerenade.com In light of many instances of copying or non-attribution, if you wish to use or reference any content from this website or its social media pages within or for the basis of your own podcast, social media post, playlist, article, essay, paper, dissertation, book, film or similar item, then please cite and give attribution to this website. Read More... Documentary: And So It Goes
A long awaited two-part documentary on Billy Joel's life and music, Billy Joel: And So It Goes was released in July 2025. Read more here.
Official Music Video for "Turn The Lights Back On" (Feb. 16, 2024)
Welcome to One Final Serenade: Songs of Billy Joel. This is an unofficial fan site dedicated to the songs and music of Billy Joel, one of the most talented and successful musicians in history. This is a non-commercial site providing commentary, analysis, and editorial information on Billy's songs. There are no advertisements on this site. See Disclaimer below. For news, tour information, music, and merchandise, go to Billy Joel's official site at BillyJoel.com.
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Photo: Peter Cunningham (1974). Columbia Records publicity photo.
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Billy's music reflects a wide variety of interests and themes almost unparalleled in rock/pop music for a solo artist. His music ranges from poignant ballads such as "Just The Way You Are" and "And So It Goes," to pugnacious rockers like "You May Be Right" and "No Man's Land." He has penned jazz-tinged classics ("New York State of Mind," "Baby Grand") as well as thoughtful statements about our times ("Scenes From An Italian Restaurant," "Allentown"). Those critics and fans who are only familiar with his quirky atypical hits like "Uptown Girl" and "We Didn't Start The Fire" are missing out on many of his finest songs such as "Summer, Highland Falls," "Vienna," "Where's The Orchestra," "The Downeaster Alexa," "And So It Goes," "Famous Last Words," and many, many others. Although he has not released a rock/pop album since 1993, Billy remains one of the most popular musicians on tour, and his music is admired by many.
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Now we are forced to recognize our inhumanity
Our reason coexists with our insanity
And though we choose between reality and madness
It's either sadness or euphoria
– From "Summer, Highland Falls"
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Billy Joel's diversity is one of his greatest strengths. Since The Beatles, few musicians have created as diverse a body of music than Billy Joel. The Beatles, Beethoven, Dave Brubeck, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, and others were all influences, but Billy's musical diversity is also the source of much of the criticism he has received. Many critics do not know how to classify or categorize him. In the 1970s, they tried comparing him to two of the biggest rock stars of the time, Elton John and Bruce Springsteen. Was he an American Elton or a piano-playing Springsteen?
Oh, it doesn't matter what they say in the papers |
Columbia Records Publicity Photo (1980)
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He was neither. He was both. He was different. His irresistible melodies drew comparisons to Paul McCartney, yet his ironic and sardonic lyrics were reminiscent of John Lennon. When critics derided Billy as being just another soft-rock balladeer after the success of songs like "Just The Way You Are" and "Honesty," he punched right back with songs like "Big Shot" and "It's Still Rock & Roll To Me." As he often says at the end of his concerts, "Don't take any shit from anybody." He didn't. After the back-to-back popular success of The Stranger, 52nd Street, and Glass Houses, Billy won over the critics with The Nylon Curtain (1982) which featured more political themes and complex sounds.
Columbia Records Publicity Photo (1982)
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He followed that up with An Innocent Man (1983) a fun and heartfelt homage to the musical groups he had idolized in his youth, which shot up the charts in the Eighties despites its retro theme. The Bridge (1986) and Storm Front (1989) followed, and in between Billy played historic concerts in the former Soviet Union. Billy closed out his rock/pop recording career with 1993’s River of Dreams, then surprised everyone by releasing an album of classical pieces, Fantasies & Delusions in 2001.
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Although he has not recorded a rock/pop album in over twenty-five years, Billy and his music remains extremely popular today among other recording artists as well as fans. Over the years, his songs have been covered by everyone from the Beastie Boys to Beyonce to Dolly Parton and Frank Sinatra. His fans include Gavin Degraw, Leonard Cohen, Nellie Furtado, Pink and Olivia Rodrigo. His music served as the basis for the hit Broadway musical Movin' Out by choreographer Twyla Tharp which ran on Broadway from 2002 to 2005. And his songs have been featured in movies and televsion programs such as The Office, The Hangover, Glee, The Boys, How I Met Your Mother, and This Is Us.
Columbia Records Publicity Photo and cover of Voyage on the River of Dreams (1993). Photo: Patrick Demarchelier.
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Billy has received every conceivable award and accolade given in the music industry, including the The Grammy Legend Award in 1991, Billboard Century Award in 1994, induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors Award (video) for contribution to the Performing Arts in 2013, and the Library of Congress Gershwin Award for Popular Song (video) in 2014. But he is not done, he is still going strong today. He stole the show at "12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief" and his concerts sell out in minutes. He became the first musician franchise at Madison Square Garden, selling out concerts month after month. In fact, in the past few years, it has suddenly become fashionable among music critics and pundits to "re-discover" Billy Joel and heap praise upon him. Billy celebrated his 73rd birthday in 2022, still performing and still at the top of his game.
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While Billy Joel may not have created a new genre of rock or pop (it's all still just rock and roll to me), he has created a body of work that is both timeless and poetic. Billy Joel would have been a successful musician and artist in any era, in any genre. He is the "five-tool" player in music, a brilliant composer, supreme lyricist, amazing singer, accomplished keyboard player, and fantastic live performer. Billy Joel and his music occupy a special place in American rock/pop music history. His music is and will always be "sweet after all these years."
And these are the last words I have to say |
Wembley Arena (2006). Getty Images. Photo: Leslie McGhie
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Copyright Notice. © 2011-2025 Eugene Pak and Sohana LLC dba One Final Serenade. No part of this website may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the express written consent of the Eugene Pak. Send an email to [email protected] for any questions. If you are using this website as research for your project, film, website, podcast, paper or other such project, please give attribution.
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.
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.
Comments
Please leave a comment or suggestion. To those of you who had posted comments on the prior version of this website, using Facebook comments, I'm sorry but they did not transfer over when I upgraded the site.
Notice. The Comments box no longer allows new Comments as the maker of the app no longer supports it and Weebly's default comments app only works for blgo pages. You can still reply to existing Comments. I will be installing a new Comments box on all of the pages later.
Below are some of the Comments from prior years that were through the Facebook Comments app which became de-activated and is no longer used. These are prior to 2019.
