One Final Serenade: Songs of Billy Joel
Music video for "Hey Girl." Although known as the "Piano Man," Billy has a soulful voice that is featured on this song.
 Download "Hey Girl"
And, hey girl. now don't put me on, The second cover song that Billy recorded for Greatest Hits III in 1997 was "Hey Girl." The song was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin and was made popular in 1963 by Freddie Scott. Scott's version reached number ten on the pops and R&B charts.
It is a slow moving ballad about the desperation the singer feels about an impending breakup. He is trying to convince his lover to not leave, even to the point of begging her to stay. Ah, the things we do for love. Billy has stated, however, that he recorded it a few years earlier with his daughter in mind, and how he would miss her due to his divorce from Christie Brinkley. (From H. Borodwitz's biography on Billy Joel). Billy acquits himself very well as a soul singer, channeling the R&B songs of his youth. One wishes he had done more covers of soul and R&B songs. His cover of Sam & Dave's "You've Got Me Hummin" (the B-side to "Tell Her About It" in 1983) is a gem but you can't find it on any album, not even My Lives. You can, however, see and listen to Billy discuss the song as he inducts Sam & Dave to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. Billy knows his rock music history. When Carole King received the Gershwin Award for Popular Music and was honored at a White House ceremony in 2013, Billy sang King's song "The Locomotion" (see video, right) and thanked her for inspiring him. Every singer-songwriter should be issued a copy of Carole King's Tapestry. |
(Words and music by Carole King and Gerry Goffin)
Hey girl I want you to know, I'm gonna miss you so much if you go And hey girl I tell you no lie, Something deep inside of me's going to die If you say so long, If this is good-bye Oh hey girl this can't be true How am I supposed to exist without you And, hey girl. now don't put me on, What's gonna happen to me when you're gone How will I live How can I go on How can I go on Hey girl Oh hey girl now sit yourself down, I'm not ashamed to get down on the ground And then beg you to stay Don't go away Hey girl Don't go away Hey girl Don't go away This is Freddie Scott's version of Hey, Girl which reached the top ten in 1963. Carole King has her own version, including this live one here.
Billy performs "The Locomotion" in Carole King's honor at The White House in 2013. He later thanks her for contributions to popular American music here.
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