BILLY JOEL 100. Today: #50-46. 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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50

SLEEPING WITH THE TELEVISION ON

“Sleeping With The Television On” starts with the final notes of the US national anthem as the network switches off for the night. In these days of 24/7 TV, this is rare if not non- existent. The song is one of the catchiest tracks on the ‘Glass Houses’ LP.

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49

LULLABYE (GOODNIGHT, MY ANGEL)

When Billy’s daughter Alexa was around 7 years of age, she asked her father what will happen when he dies. He explained that “no matter where you are, I never will be far away… in your heart there will always be a part of me”. The ballad was included on ‘River Of Dreams’. The title was deliberately misspelt  as “lullabye” to emphasise the song is both a lullaby and a farewell.

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48

MODERN WOMAN

“Modern Woman” was the lead single from ‘The Bridge’. The song peaked at #10 in America. It was also featured in the 1986 comedy film ‘Ruthless People’ which starred Bette Midler and Danny DeVito.

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47

I’VE LOVED THESE DAYS

‘Turnstiles’ found Billy turning his back on Los Angeles and returning to New York. The ballad In “I’ve Loved These Days”, he looks back on the good times he experienced in California while realizing that the time was right to depart.

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46

GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME

Making a good first impression is the main message of “Get It Right The First Time” from ‘The Stranger’. With its funky-lite sound, the track is another example of Billy’s versatility at this exciting point in his musical career. It is definitely one of his most positive songs.

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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