BILLY JOEL 100. Today: #4. More-  next week.

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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4

UPTOWN GIRL

Listening to Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons inspired “Uptown Girl”. The theme reflected Billy’s new lifestyle. He was dating women, including supermodel Elle Macpherson. Initially the song was about many females and entitled “Uptown Girls”. At some point, the subject matter narrowed to just one woman: Christie Brinkley. She appeared in the song’s music video. Billy sings the song from the perspective of someone who is a “downtown man” and not in the same league as her affluent suitors. The joyous song is brimming with optimism. Billy, as the protagonist, hopes that: “you know I can’t afford to buy her pearls but maybe someday when my ship comes in, she’ll understand what kind of guy I’ve been, and then I’ll win”. “Uptown Girl” was the second single from ‘An Innocent Man’. The disc topped the charts in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. It peaked at #3 in America and #4 in Canada. The disc also made the Top 10 in various European countries. A 2001 remake by Westlife returned the song to #1 in Britain.  

 

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