BILLY JOEL 100. Today: #75-71. 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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75

SHE’S RIGHT ON TIME

From ‘The Nylon Curtain’, “She’s Right On Time” is set at Christmas time.

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74

GOT TO BEGIN AGAIN

In 1972, Billy and his wife Elizabeth moved to Los Angeles. This was after the disappointment he felt about his solo debut LP ‘Cold Spring Harbor’, which contained this ballad.

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73

ROBERTA

Even though Billy had to rush out ‘Streetlife Serenade’, the album did include some standouts, such as “Roberta”. This song features hints of the singer/ songwriter he would become.

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72

ELVIS PRESLEY BOULEVARD

Before Billy was inspired by The Beatles, he was an Elvis fan. He penned “Elvis Presley Boulevard”, which criticises the commercialization of Presley. This was the B-side for the 1982 single “Allentown”. It did not appear on an album until the ‘My Lives’ compilation in 2005. Billy covered 2 Elvis songs for the 1992 ‘Honeymoon In Vegas’ soundtrack: “All Shook Up” and “Heartbreak Hotel”.

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71

EASY MONEY

It’s appropriate that the ‘An Innocent Man’  album kicks off with “Easy Money”. The song was penned for the Rodney Dangerfield 1983 film with the same title. This was a nod to 1960s rhythm and blues, especially the gems forged by the likes of Wilson Pickett and James Brown. It was the first track written and cut, taking Billy into a nostalgic musical direction for the LP recording sessions.

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