Although I didn't become a dedicated Billy Joel fan until my senior year in high school, his musical career happened to bloom during my childhood years. His first (and perhaps most popular) big hit, "Piano Man"" was released in 1973, the same year as my 10th birthday and it was probably one of the songs that I listened to with one of my first girlfriends during our make-out sessions in her bedroom around that time.
There were other Billy Joel songs that were a part of the soundtrack of my life even before I really started liking the Long Island-born and bred son of a German Jew who had fled the Nazis in the 1930s and a British born Jewish woman who taught her son to appreciate both the piano and classical music.
The most obvious one is "Just the Way You Are," which was one of the most popular songs of 1978. When I first heard it, I didn't like it; it's theme of what someone really wants from his lover was and is very elementary as far as idealistic romantic emoting goes, but I was still getting over the pain of a break-up and was in no mood to be receptive to its "I said I love you/And that's forever" message. (There is nothing like the onset of teenage cynicism to block out great music.)
The one song that I did like before 1983 was "My Life," which seemed to echo my "don't tell me what to do, I'm 16" feelings when I first heard it in the late 1970s. I found its melody to be catchy as hell, of course, but I always felt that its "I don't care what you say anymore/this is my life" lyrics were reflective of my inner desire to be rebellious even though I wasn't exactly the "Young Rebel' type of kid at the time.
Eventually, though, my taste in music broadened somewhat when I was in high school, and by the time An Innocent Man was released in 1983, I was a very enthusiastic Billy Joel fan.
Because these "Best Songs" list are, by their very nature, very subjective and not objective, I can't promise, Dear Reader, that my choices will reflect every Billy Joel fan's "Best Songs" list.
So, without further ado (and with apologies to David Letterman's Top 10 List), let's get on with it.
There were other Billy Joel songs that were a part of the soundtrack of my life even before I really started liking the Long Island-born and bred son of a German Jew who had fled the Nazis in the 1930s and a British born Jewish woman who taught her son to appreciate both the piano and classical music.
The most obvious one is "Just the Way You Are," which was one of the most popular songs of 1978. When I first heard it, I didn't like it; it's theme of what someone really wants from his lover was and is very elementary as far as idealistic romantic emoting goes, but I was still getting over the pain of a break-up and was in no mood to be receptive to its "I said I love you/And that's forever" message. (There is nothing like the onset of teenage cynicism to block out great music.)
The one song that I did like before 1983 was "My Life," which seemed to echo my "don't tell me what to do, I'm 16" feelings when I first heard it in the late 1970s. I found its melody to be catchy as hell, of course, but I always felt that its "I don't care what you say anymore/this is my life" lyrics were reflective of my inner desire to be rebellious even though I wasn't exactly the "Young Rebel' type of kid at the time.
Eventually, though, my taste in music broadened somewhat when I was in high school, and by the time An Innocent Man was released in 1983, I was a very enthusiastic Billy Joel fan.
Because these "Best Songs" list are, by their very nature, very subjective and not objective, I can't promise, Dear Reader, that my choices will reflect every Billy Joel fan's "Best Songs" list.
So, without further ado (and with apologies to David Letterman's Top 10 List), let's get on with it.
Comments
I think your #1 and #10 were my #1 and #2 :) Nice list!
Been there for all of them....Thanks for the memories and the lyrics.
What a fun history of both Billy and Alex!
:)
Great list of Billy Joel's awesome tracks Alex!
Very good choices. Innocent Man is my personal favorite.
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