Billy Joel: Piano Man (50th anniversary) [LEGACY]

Why you'll love it

This 50th anniversary edition marks half a century of the album that made Billy Joel's name. The title track became his signature song, and the album went gold.

This edition

• 50th anniversary edition

About the album

Before he was the Piano Man on record, Billy Joel was one in real life. He spent months playing a Los Angeles lounge under the name Bill Martin, watching the regulars, and the people he met there became the cast of the song that changed everything for him.

"Piano Man" itself is the great bar-room singalong, harmonica and all, and it reached No. 4 on the Adult Contemporary chart. "Captain Jack" is a moody, sprawling portrait of suburban boredom, and a live version broadcast on Philadelphia's WMMR became the most requested song in the station's history, which is what caught Columbia's ear in the first place. "The Ballad Of Billy The Kid" goes full cowboy epic, "Travelin' Prayer" races along on banjo, and "You're My Home" is a simple, lovely love song. Michael Stewart produced, and Rolling Stone heard "a new seriousness and flexibility" in Joel's writing.

The album started a run that made Joel one of the biggest-selling artists in history. Half a century on, the regulars at that lounge have never been told they're famous, and we'd rather not be the ones to break it to them.

Also at Kops: more Billy Joel on vinyl · browse Singer-Songwriter

Tracklist

Listen

On Columbia / Legacy (cat# 19075939171), a reissue of the 1973 album.