TOKYO, JAPAN - JANUARY 24: Billy Joel performs at Tokyo Dome on January 24, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan. ... [+]
Billy Joel’s birthday on Thursday is a big one since the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer turns 75.
Born William Martin Joel on May 9, 1949, in New York, New York, the singer—who, of course, simply goes by Billy—has been entertaining listeners for more than 50 years.
Following the ill-fated release of his first album Cold Spring Harbor—a 1971 album doomed from its inception since its master tapes were transferred to vinyl at a higher speed (via Ultimate Classic Rock)—Joel found success with the title track of his second album Piano Man, released in 1973.
While the song has become a standard, it didn’t translate to instant success for Joel, who released the solid albums Streetlife Serenade in 1974 and Turnstiles in 1976 before hitting paydirt by teaming with producer Phil Ramone on The Stranger in 1977.
With such hit songs as Movin' Out, Just the Way You Are and Only the Good Die Young (plus classic deep cuts like Scenes From an Italian Restaurant), The Stranger catapulted Joel to superstardom and there’s been no looking back.
Billy Joel, portrait, New York, January 1978. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)
Joel’s jazz-infused 52nd Street in 1978 proved his big break with The Stranger wasn’t a fluke, and he kept redefining his sound with the rock-centric Glass Houses in 1980 and the experimental Beatle-esque sounds of The Nylon Curtain in 1982. In between, of course, the live renditions of his “forgotten” songs from the early 1970s found new life in Songs in the Attic, which was released in 1981.
After Joel’s throwback album to the classic music of the 1950s and 1960s with An Innocent Man in 1983, Joel only released three more studio albums in the next 10 years. Little did fans know, after 1986’s The Bridge and 1989’s Storm Front, 1993’s River of Dreams would be his last album of original music.
Thanks to songwriter and producer Freddy Wexler, however, Joel’s faith in recording original music again was miraculously restored in February with Turn the Lights Back On. The song proved to Joel—and his fans—that you should never give up on the light and love of your life, which in Joel’s case is the music that has become the soundtrack of so many of our lives.
As a lifelong fan of the musician who’s earned his rightful moniker “The Piano Man,” here’s my ranking of his five best ballads.
No. 5: ‘Piano Man’ (1973)
To not include Piano Man as one of Billy Joel’s Top 5 ballads would be sacrilegious. In short, the song defined his career. In the long run, though, the tune tackles heartbreaking loneliness, showing people from all walks of life that they can be united by the power of music.
As Joel says in the lyrics, “Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness / But it's better than drinkin' alone.”
With Joel, listeners learned, you’re never alone.
No. 4: ‘Until The Night’ (1978)
Billy Joel would eventually channel the sound of so many classic artists from the 1950s and 1960s with his Innocent Man album in 1983 and songs like The Four Seasons-like Uptown Girl. Five years before that, the singer-songwriter perfectly emulated the sound of the Righteous Brothers with the deep cut Until the Night from 52nd Street.
The song perfectly captures the angst and desire of a couple separated by the daily thing called life, that is Until the Night, when they reunite. It may be the most emotionally resonant of all of Joel’s love songs, which encapsulates the longing of a couple who are deeply in love with each other.
The ballad, which is lush with orchestration, hits its peak with Richie Cannata’s hair-raising sax solo near the end of the song. All told, Until the Night is musical perfection.
No. 3: ‘I’ve Loved These Days’ (1981)
While the studio rendition of I’ve Loved These Days from Turnstiles in 1976 is moving, nothing compares to the transformative live performance of the song on Joel’s Songs in the Attic album in 1981. The song is a nostalgic look at days gone by yet serves as a bellwether of a different life to come.
The live version of I’ve Loved These Days is so riveting you can feel it in your bones, especially since we’ve all had to make decisions to essentially grow up and transition into the adult phases of our lives. I’ve Loved These Days perfectly captures that definitive time.
No. 2: ‘Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)’ (1993)
Simply put, Lullabye is one of two of Billy Joel’s most personal and emotionally moving songs (hint—the next one is No. 1). Spurred by his then-young daughter Alexa’s question, “What happens when we die?” Joel masterfully put together a musical explanation to reassure her how we can remain forever connected by the personal stories we share throughout the generations.
In this case, Joel appropriately frames his story as a musical lullaby that he shares with Alexa, which she can in turn share in the future with her loved ones. “Some day your child may cry and if you sing this lullaby / Then in your heart there will always be a part of me.”
Musically, the song is rich in Joel’s lullaby-like piano playing, which is enhanced by the song’s beautiful orchestration. Just listen to the strings when Joel sings, “And like a boat on the ocean / I’m rocking you to sleep.” It makes you feel like you are literally rocking back and forth.
As great as the entirety of Lullabye is, the song is perfectly punctuated by the final verse of lyrics, “Someday we'll all be gone / But lullabies go on and on / They never die / That's how you … and I … will be.” In that brilliant masterstroke, you just know that Lullabye—and Billy Joel—will live forever.
No. 1: ‘Turn The Lights Back On’ (2024)
It was a long time before Billy Joel’s passion returned to record original music again—31 years, to be exact—and Turn the Lights Back On was worth the long wait. In a time when artists seem to embark on numerous farewell tours and churn out forgettable studio albums along the way, Joel proved that he didn’t need to record music just for the sake of recording music. If he were to come back with new music—if at all—it had to have meaning.
Instead, he found—and continues to find—solace in touring and performing the soundtrack of people’s lives in concert for the fans who have kept his dream alive for more than 50 years.
Behind the music, though, no personal life is perfect and Joel knows it. Passion comes and passion goes in our lives and in Joel’s case, so did his desire to write new material and record new music. In between 1993 and 2024, though, Joel lived a life and that life experience enabled him to create Turn the Lights Back On in a way that simply wouldn’t have been possible 15, 20 or 25 years ago.
Somehow, the stars aligned and Freddy Wexler—driven by passion and persistence—entered Joel’s orbit with an idea for a new song. However, the subject matter is a heavy one, as the musician admits his frailties as a romantic partner but finds penance in realizing it is never too late to turn the lights back on by recognizing our frailties and asking for forgiveness by saying, “I’m here right now.”
We may never know whose forgiveness Joel is seeking, personally, in the song’s narrative, but it’s clear that he’s telling his fans it’s not too late to reignite the light that has brought so much joy to our lives.
In the end, Joel’s love for what he does and his passion for performing it—and the way we all relate to it—has, without question, made the musician one of the greatest songwriters and storytellers the rock and pop world has ever known.
And for that, we thank Billy Joel for his first 75 years. Here’s to many more.
