Billy Joel is known as one of the most popular musicians of the past 50 years. The ‘piano man’, as his nickname goes, has sold more than 160 million records worldwide. An impressive feat, especially given the fact Joel released his last pop album in 1993. With songs such as “Piano Man”, “Vienna”, “Uptown Girl”, and “She’s Always a Woman”, he remains immensely popular to this day. To celebrate Billy Joel’s rich repertoire I’ve hand-picked his 10 best songs. Not an easy task if you ask me, thanks to Joel’s magnitude of great songs, but let’s give it a try!
10. Honesty
I start this list with “Honesty”. Although the song does not belong among Billy Joel’s greatest hits, it certainly deserves a place on this list. The beautiful song appears on Billy Joel’s sixth studio album 52nd Street. The piece delves into how hard it is to find honesty in love. Joel says you can always find someone who sympathizes and comforts you, but honesty, honesty is hardly ever heard.
9. New York State of Mind
Billy Joel wrote “New York State of Mind” about his return to New York after spending three years in Los Angeles. During a bus ride, on the Hudson River Line, a great sense of hometown pride dawned upon him. He quickly wrote the lyrics down in a notebook and finished the song after arriving home. The track was never released as a single, but it still became hugely popular. Especially among musicians, because the song is a true ‘singers song’.
8. Uptown Girl
“Uptown Girl” is arguably Billy Joel’s best-known song. Joel wrote the catchy tune about high-class ‘uptown girls’ who showed interest in him after he became famous. He still perceived himself as a ‘downtown man’ and couldn’t believe these types of women were interested in him.
Read more: The Story Behind “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel
7. Just the Way You Are
For number 7 I chose “Just the Way You Are”. The song appears on Billy Joel’s critically acclaimed album The Stranger, of which you will encounter 4 more songs later on this list. Joel wasn’t content with the tune, but decided to include it on The Stranger anyway because of Linda Ronstadt’s and Phoebe Snow’s insistence.
6. She’s Always a Woman
Joel wrote this beautiful song for his first wife – as well as manager – Elizabeth Weber. A woman as a manager was an uncommon occurrence in the music industry of the 1970s. And as a result, a lot of men in the music industry considered Elizabeth to be ‘unfeminine’ and ‘tough’. Billy Joel wrote “She’s Always a Woman” to defend his wife. He implies that Elizabeth may be ‘unfeminine’ to men in the industry, but she’s always a woman to him.
Read more: The Story Behind “She’s Always a Woman” by Billy Joel
5. Goodnight Saigon
“Goodnight Saigon” is a hauntingly beautiful song about the Vietnam War. Joel himself never went to Vietnam, but wrote the song based on conversations he had with veterans. As a result, “Goodnight Saigon” isn’t a political anthem, like many other war songs, but an intimate song about the brotherhood of soldiership.
4. Only the Good Die Young
Only the Good Die Young is one of the catchiest songs in Billy Joel’s repertoire. The uptempo song refers to a woman named Virginia in the opening lines, a girl whom Joel had a crush on in high school.
“One of the first gigs I ever played with my high-school band the Echoes, this girl that I had a crush on was looking at me—Virginia. I thought, ‘This is so cool.’ I was completely hooked. There was no way I was going to do anything else but be a musician.”
3. Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
Billy Joel admitted “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” is his personal favorite song. The over-7-minute-long anthem is a 3-piece medley and is often hailed as Joel’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” was never released as a single, nor had it success on the charts. But it didn’t prevent the song from becoming an absolute fan favorite.
2. Vienna
In this beautiful song Billy Joel uses ‘Vienna’ as a metaphor for ‘being old’. Joel advises young ambitious people to slow down, for they’ve got enough time to fulfill their ambitions and dreams. ‘Vienna’ will wait for them.
“You don’t have to squeeze your whole life into your 20s and 30s trying to make it, trying to achieve that American dream, getting in the rat race and killing yourself. You have a whole life to live,” Joel said about “Vienna” in an interview with the Republican.
Read more: The Story Behind “Vienna” by Billy Joel
1. Piano Man
The choice for Billy Joel’s best song would have been much more difficult had “Piano Man” not existed. I mean, the song is literally his nickname.
“Piano Man” is largely autobiographical and depicts Joel’s experiences as a pianist in The Executive Room in Los Angeles. The song describes the bar’s ‘regular crowd’ from the perspective of a pianist. It seems that no one truly belongs in the bar, they’re just there to escape life for a while. The piano man is the main catalyst for providing that escape.
Over the years “Piano Man” became Billy Joel’s signature song. It deservedly ranks number 1 on this list.
Read more: The Real Story Behind “Piano Man” by Billy Joel
So, that wraps up this list of the best Billy Joel songs! Did I mention your favorite song? Did I blatantly miss a song? Please let me know in the comments down below!
