BILLY JOEL 100. Today: #65-61. 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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65

ALL MY LIFE

Released in 2007, “All My Life” was the first new song written by Billy since the ‘River Of Dreams’ album back in 1993. He wrote the song for his second wedding anniversary to his then wife Katie Lee. Billy had Tony Bennett in mind when composing it. It sounds like a song Frank Sinatra would have recorded. The recording was also a reunion with producer Phil Ramone, who passed away 6 years later. “All My Life” was not available on any LP and was issued as a single. It now can be found on the compilation album ‘Collected Additional Masters’ released in 2011.

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64

LENINGRAD

After releasing ‘The Bridge’, Billy toured the Soviet Union. The shows make up his 1987 live album ‘Kohuept’. “Leningrad” was a moving ballad included on Billy’s next studio album ‘Storm Front’, issued in 1989.

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63

TEMPTATION

Included on ‘The Bridge’, “Temptation” was inspired by Billy’s feelings for his daughter Alexa Ray. He was struggling with the desire to stay at home to enjoy his family and the grind associated with recording and touring.

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62

CARELESS TALK

“Careless Talk”, on the ‘An Innocent Man’ album, deals with the gossip surrounding Billy’s romances. He was in the tabloids constantly, with supermodels like Elle MacPherson and Christie Brinkley. The song evokes memories of Neil Sedaka’s 60s hit singles.

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61

LAURA

The “Laura” referenced in this album track on ‘The Nylon Curtain’ LP is reportedly about his relationship with his mother. This is evident in the words: “how can she hold an umbilical cord for so long?”.  The woman in the lyrics is a master manipulator. It’s a complicated song that is often overlooked on the album.

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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