BILLY JOEL 100. Today: #55-51. More-  tomorrow.

Caffè Lattè presents:

THE 100 MOST ESSENTIAL SONGS BY

BILLY JOEL

William Martin Joel was born in The Bronx, New York in 1949. He grew up on Long Island and began studying the piano in 1953. Billy joined his first band 10 years later. In 1971, he signed a recording contract as a soloist. That year, he released his solo debut album. Since then, his music has been the soundtrack for countless fans.

Here are 100 of his best works…

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55

BIG MAN ON MULBERRY STREET

The jazz tune “Big Man On Mulberry Street” from ‘The Bridge’ was used in a dream sequence in 1986 on the TV series “Moonlighting”.

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54

THE BALLAD OF BILLY THE KID

Billy tackles Americana on “The Ballad Of Billy The Kid” from his ‘Piano Man’ album. This is another Elton John-esque track.

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53

RUNNING ON ICE

Billy had Sting in mind while penning “Running On Ice”, the opening track on his ‘The Bridge’ album.

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52

I DON’T WANT TO BE ALONE

The influence of new wave on Billy at the time of recording his ‘Glass Houses’ album is very evident on “I Don’t Want To Be Alone”. It is reminiscent of Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson with a jazz tinge.

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51

A MATTER OF TRUST

Billy drew inspiration from Robert Palmer’s “Addicted To Love” when creating “A Matter Of Trust”. The track was lifted as a single off ‘The Bridge’ in 1986 and made the Top 10 in America and Australia.

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Hear the songs as updated on this blog via the new Spotify playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2rYz7gZBJy1zHNoITZ8HwV?si=7ba2b1960f404546