Billy Joel's 'Piano Man': The True Story Behind the Classic
Billy Joel performing in 2017
Billy Joel is the "Piano Man," and the song is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Originally released on Nov. 2, 1973, Joel's signature song isn't even the tune that made him a star—and Joel admits he doesn't think it's necessarily his finest work.
"It's like a kid: Sometimes it pisses me off, but I always love it—I wrote the thing, you know? I do think 'Piano Man' could’ve been better," he told Vulture. "There's quirky things—people think, 'What a cheap rhyme: Davy in the Navy.' I'm sorry: The guy's name was Davy! There was actually Paul, in real estate, and the guy was writing a novel. I used the real people's names in the song. I suppose it's hard for some people to believe that."
In 2015, The Library of Congress selected "Piano Man" for the National Recording Registry for its cultural and historical significance.
Here's everything you've ever wanted to know about "Piano Man."
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Who wrote the song "Piano Man?"
Billy Joel penned the semi-autobiographical tune all by himself about his time as a lounge performer at a bar called The Executive Room in Los Angeles.
"It's pretty accurate. It's what really went on when I was a piano man in this piano bar," he told The Library of Congress in 2017. "All the characters have the same name: there was John at the bar, the bartender; Davy was in the Navy; a guy named Paul, who was a real estate agent and was trying to write the great American novel, and the waitress, who was my girlfriend at the time and then became my wife."
Joel, who says he was "hiding out" from an allegedly exploitative record label at the time, said he wrote the song over the course of several weeks, explaining, "I had the idea to write a song about that particular job. I was like, 'I've got to get a song out of this!' So it took place over a period of time. I came up with a melody: 'Sing us a song, Piano Man…,' and then, little by little, I filled in the characters, and the scenario."
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What was the original Billy Joel "Piano Man" album?
The single "Piano Man" was the second track on the album Piano Man, released on Nov. 2, 1973.
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Who is considered the "Piano Man?"
Lots of men play piano, but the "Piano Man" is Billy Joel.
Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
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What movies has "Piano Man" been in?
"Piano Man" was featured in the Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston rom-com Just Go With It, Johnny Knoxville's 2005 star vehicle comedy The Ringer and a 1993 film called Who's The Man. Contrary to popular belief, it was not featured in the Disney animated film Oliver and Company, though Joel contributed other music to the film and its soundtrack.
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Did Billy Joel write his own songs?
Joel wrote his own songs, but stopped after the release of River of Dreams in 1993. Since then, he's only written two songs, "All My Life" and "Christmas In Fallujah," released in 2007.
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What is considered Billy Joel's most popular song?
While "Piano Man" is Joel's most recognized song, his biggest hits on the charts have been "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me," "Tell Her About It" and "We Didn't Start the Fire," each of which hit No. 1.
"Uptown Girl," "My Life," "Just the Way You Are" and "The River of Dreams" each hit No. 3. In terms of charting singles, "Piano Man" actually ranks in 25th place in his top 25 tracks, according to Billboard.
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What was Billy Joel's signature song?
"Piano Man" is Joel's signature song, but it's by far not his only massive hit. "For the Longest Time," "Uptown Girl," "River of Dreams" and "We Didn't Start the Fire" were also mega-successful.
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What bar did Billy Joel play?
"Piano Man" was inspired by Joel's time as a lounge performer at The Executive Room, a bar that used to be in the Wilshire neighborhood of Los Angeles.
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What was Billy Joel's first hit?
"Piano Man" was a minor hit, debuting at No. 30 and peaking at No. 25, but the song didn't reach icon status until the release of his album The Stranger in 1977, which spawned hits including "Just the Way You Are," "Movin' Out," "Only the Good Die Young," "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" and "She's Always a Woman to Me." The new interest in The Stranger led fans to discover Joel's prior work, giving some delayed glory to "Piano Man" the single as well as the album.
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Was "Piano Man" a No. 1 hit?
Nope! In fact, "Piano Man" peaked at No. 25 in the United States when it was first released. It performed better in Canada, where it reached No. 10. Even then, Joel insists he's surprised at its success and revealed that it was his record label's idea to release the song as a single.
"I was really flabbergasted that is was considered a hit. It was quite long; in its original form, it was over seven minutes long," he told The Library of Congress. "They had to edit it down so they could play it on the radio. It's not your typical pop song—it's in waltz time; it's five minutes long even with the edit. It's kind of a depressing song: a bunch of people drinking their troubles away, asking the piano man to make them feel better. I was surprised it became so well-known."
