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Pian Man front cover (1974)
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Billy's second solo album, Piano Man, was a long time in the making. After the business disaster of Cold Spring Harbor and the accompanying tour, Billy realized he had signed some bad business deals and decided to hide out. He refused to record for Artie Ripp's' Family Productions, which would be out of business in a few years anyway. In a well-repeated story, Billy got a job playing piano at The Executive Lounge on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles under the pseudonym Bill Martin (Martin is his middle name). He played there for about six months. Although it was a gig beneath his talents, the experience eventually led to his signature song "Piano Man."
Meanwhile, back in Philadelphia, a live version of "Captain Jack" that Billy had recorded for a mini-concert on WMMR (Philadelphia) in 1972 was becoming an FM hit as people kept requesting it even though it had not yet been released. DJ Ed Sciaky at WMMR was instrumental in promoting the song. The song's popularity and Billy's performance at the Mar Y Sol festival in Puerto Rico (see video at 3:25) attracted the attention of Columbia Records executives, including top executive Clive Davis, who took note and eventually found Billy in Los Angeles. Columbia made a deal with Ripp, and put Billy back in the recording studio. Billy was thrilled to sign with Columbia Records which was the label for Bob Dylan and other recording artists that Billy respected. |
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Billy lived up to expectations. The songs on Piano Man were strong, diverse, and memorable, and the production was much stronger compared to Cold Spring Harbor. Songs such as "Piano Man," "Captain Jack" and "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" were minor epics, and covered a wide range of themes both musically and topically. "Travelin' Prayer," "Stop In Nevada," "You're My Home," and "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" even had a country feel to them, no doubt influenced by Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection and other songs popular at the time that had a Western theme or sound. "Somewhere Along The Line" and "Ain't No Crime" were solid pop-rock tunes. They remained popular in Billy's concerts through the late 1970s. And of course "Piano Man" became Billy's signature song.
Sing us a song you're the piano man Piano Man was the debut album that Billy should have had. It marked him as an up-and-coming singer and songwriter, with a gift for writing catchy melodies, a talent for clever lyrics, and a diversity of styles and subjects. The song "Piano Man" became a top 40 hit, and the album went 4x platinum. Billy appeared on national television programs such as The Midnight Special and Don Kirshner's Rock Concert to promote the album though he had expressed disdain for this type of television appearance. Billy also toured the country, and opened for acts like The Doobie Brothers, The Beach Boys, and The J. Geils Band, often garnering more attention and applause than the headline act.
But it would be a few more years before he became an international superstar with the release of The Stranger in 1977. As Billy put it later in "The Entertainer" from Streetlife Serenade: "I know the game, you forget my name/And I won't be here in another year/If I don't stay on the charts." * * * * *
In 2011, Sony released a special two-CD Legacy Edition of Piano Man with 24-bit remastered recordings, as well as his full WMMR radio concert from 1972. Fans had waited almost 40 years for an official version of the concert which included three songs ("Josephine," "Long Long Time" and "Rosalinda") that were not even available on Billy Joel's My Lives, a collection of rarities and B-sides released in 2005. Information about the WMMR Radio Concert can be found on this site as "Live on WMMR."
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Click on this article by Keith Yates to read about the incredible story of how Yates, a teen working as a music critic and record store clerk in Fresno in the early 1970s, helped get "Piano Man" on the charts months after it had been released and had tanked. It is also an interesting look back on how the record and radio industries worked back in the early 1970s.
* * * * * You can view photographs from the Piano Man tour in 1973 and 1974 at The Troubadour in Los Angeles, such as the photograph to the right. Click here. Thanks to Rhys Clark, drummer in Billy's band at the time, for pointing out the significance of these photos.
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Billy in New York (1973). Photo: Don Hunstein/CBS Records. Keeping Time: The Photographs of Don Hunstein.
Billy at The Troubadour in LA in 1973.
Piano Man, Legacy Edition (2011) with WMMR concert from 1971.
 Piano Man back cover (LP version) |
Songs
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Click on song to go to song page and lyrics.
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) 6. Worse Comes to Worst (3:28) 7. Stop in Nevada (3:40) 8. If I Only Had The Words (3:35) 9. Somewhere Along The Line (3:17) 10. Captain Jack (7:15) |
Covers are fictional except for "Piano Man," "You're My Home" and "The Ballad of Billy The Kid."
Spotify
Video Album
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Click on song to go to song page,
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) |
6. Worse Comes to Worst (3:28) 7. Stop in Nevada (3:40) 8. If I Only Had The Words (3:35) 9. Somewhere Along The Line (3:17) 10. Captain Jack (7:15) |
Stream
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Spotify
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Apple Music
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Youtube & Others
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Interviews & Features
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1. Billy discusses the 'country' influence in some songs on Piano Man from The Complete Albums collection (2011)
2. Billy on various songs from Piano Man on SiriusXM (2016) 3. Billy on his gig as a piano man, on Inside The Actor's Studio (1999) 4. Billy at a master class session discussing the song "Piano Man" (1994) |
Click on icon in upper right of video for playlist.
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Live Appearances
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Television Appearances.
1. "Piano Man" "Captain Jack" and "Somewhere Along The Line." from Don Kirshner's Rock Concert (1974). 2. "Travelin' Prayer" on The Midnight Special (1975) 3. "You're My Home" sung by Helen Reddy on The Midnight Special (1975) 4. "The Ballad of Billy The Kid" on The Midnight Special (1975) 5. "Travelin' Prayer" and "Piano Man" and Billy sporting a moustache, on The Old Grey Whistle Test (1975) (blocked in some countries). |
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Live at LaFayette Music Hall (Memphis) (January 1974) (audio only). This is a concert from the Piano Man tour. Read article about it here. The article indicates the concert was in January 1974, but I had seen May 1974 in other sources.
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Live at Ebbets Field (Denver)
(May 10, 1974) (audio only). This is a concert from the Piano Man tour. It has a rockin' version of "Somewhere Along The Line." It also has an early version of "The Entertainer." |
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Live at the Orpheum Theater (Boston) (May 14, 1974) (audio only). This is a concert from the Piano Man tour. Billy also does "The Entertainer" which would later appear on Streetlife Serenade. The cover photo is from a different concert..
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AllMusic Classic Rock Reviews Rolling Stone Sputnik Music The Vinyl District (A-) Ultimate Classic Rock (Legacy Edition) 
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Recent gigs at a piano bar on the seamy side of L.A. have given him a new perspective and his Piano Man reflects a new seriousness and musical flexibility. Its production is reminiscent of Elton John's, and his music has the show-tune ambience of David Ackles. But his ten new tunes also introduce a more mature, less frantic musician Rolling Stone
While the album as whole definitely draws influence from contemporaries like Elton John, James Taylor, and John Denver, the major signature songs on the album are very personal and original. The songs, all written by Joel, contain well developed characters and story narratives with some impressive music that straddles the line between rock and folk.
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Tracks
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) 6. Worse Comes to Worst (3:28) 7. Stop in Nevada (3:40) 8. If I Only Had The Words (3:35) 9. Somewhere Along The Line (3:17) 10. Captain Jack (7:15) All Songs written by Billy Joel |
Album Information
Released: November 9, 1973 Recorded: September 1973, Devonshire Sound, Los Angeles, California Genre: Rock, Country Rock, Soft Rock Length: 42:51 Label: Columbia Producer: Michael Stewart |
Personnel:
Billy Joel – piano, organs, electric piano, harmonica, vocals Larry Carlton vocals– guitars Eric Weissberg – banjo Billy Armstrong – violin Richard Bennett – guitars Rhys Clark – drums (track 10) Laura Creamer – backing vocals Mark Creamer – backing vocals Wilton Felder – bass guitar Emory Gordy, Jr. – bass guitar Fred Heilbrun – banjo Michael Omartian – accordion Dean Parks – guitars Susan Steward – backing vocals Ron Tutt – drums (tracks 1-9) Uncredited - percussion |
Covers are fictional except for "Piano Man," "You're My Home" and "The Ballad of Billy The Kid."
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