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Easy Money
An Innocent Man (1983) |
You say I fool myself
But better me than being a fool for someone else I got a hot slot machine of a system ready to go Billy opens An Innocent Man with a screaming soul song, "Easy Money." This is a get-up-and-dance, snap-your-fingers, clap-your-hands song complete with a beefy horn section and Billy channeling the vocals of the king of soul, James Brown, or Wilson Pickett (see videos below). The lyrics are just as catchy as Billy keeps delivering clever metaphors ("I got a hot slot machine of a system ready to go") much like he did in "Only The Good Die Young," only this time the song's theme is looking for easy money, rather than trying to get a girl. Billy was clearly having a good time on this album as songs like "Easy Money" reveal.
I'm a big fan of this song and thought it would become a hit, but it was not released as a single and is rarely done in concert, probably because it takes a full horn section to do it. You can see a rare live version of this song in the video section below, which looks to be from a rehearsal. Billy was asked to write a song for a new Rodney Dangerfield movie, also titled Easy Money, and he came up with "Easy Money." This triggered the retro approach to the rest of the songs on the album. Dangerfield later appeared in the music video for "Tell Her About It'). Billy briefly discusses how "Easy Money" came to him, from a 1990 interview with DJ Dan Neer.
Billy discusses "Easy Money," from SiriusXM (2016).
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Words and Music by Billy Joel
You don't have to talk all night I'm a man who can't say no You don't have to twist my arm Just point me where you want to go Take me to the action, take me to the track Take me to a party if they're bettin' in the back I've been working all my life, can't afford to wait Let me call my wife so I can tell her I'll be late I want the easy, easy money, easy money I could get lucky Oh, things could go right I want the easy, easy money, easy money Maybe this one time, maybe tonight You don't have to try too hard I don't need a song and dance I don't need an invitation If you've got a game of chance Take me to the tables, take me to the fights Run me like the numbers, roll me like the dice When you're counting on a killing, always count me in Talk me into losin' just as long as I can win I want the easy, easy money, easy money I want the good times, I never had I want the easy, easy money Oh, I want the good life, I want it bad Easy money You say I fool myself, but better me than being a fool for someone else I got a hot slot machine of a system ready to go Easy money I got a one-track mind and a good reputation laying on the line I'll either come back a bum or a king Baby I don't know You don't have to start a fire I'm a man who can't say no If you've got a little risky business Just point me where you want to go Take me to the power, take me to the heat Take me to the cleaners if it's open to the street Something's got to pay off, something's got to break Someone's got a fortune that they're begging me to take I want the easy, easy money, easy money I could get lucky, things could go right I want the easy, easy money, easy money Maybe just this time, oh maybe tonight Easy money, oh, I don't want no hard cash I just want the easy money, oh, I could get lucky Oh, got to, got to, got to, got to, got to have Oh I’ve got to go now baby (easy money) Oh I’m back just one more time |
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Billy on "Easy Money" from a 1983 issue of Hit Parader magazine (sorry, I don't have the original to re-scan but have entered what I believe is the text below):
"We tried it with just the basic band: bass, drums, guitar and piano. Today we have all kinds of electronic toys that attach to the guitar -- we call it gutarrhea. Guitarists spend two hours in the studio getting a sound. But in the late 50s and early 60s they just plugged into an old B 15 Ampeg with their hollow body guitar and just played. So our producer Phil Ramone decided that we were going to cut the song live with horns and backup singers, Eric Gale on guitar, Leon Pendarvis on organ -- like a soul revue, with a live vocal. They put me in the vocal booth -- I had on a purple shirt and sunglasses. I was Wilson Pickett and bam -- all the guitar players fell into place. Everything went down just like that. It was like a James Brown show at the Apollo Theater."
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On the Billy Joel channel on SiriusXM, Billy recalled his childhood soul singer idols, as follows:
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