Wikipedia

Piano Man (song)

For other songs with the same title, see Piano Man (disambiguation) § Music.

"Piano Man" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel. First released as a single in the US on November 2, 1973, it was included on Joel's 1973 album Piano Man. The song is sung from the point of view of a piano player at a bar, describing the patrons. "Piano Man" is based on Joel's real-life experiences as a lounge musician in Los Angeles from 1972 to 1973, which he had decided to pursue in an effort to escape his contracted New York City–based record company at the time, Family Productions, following the poor commercial performance of his debut album, Cold Spring Harbor (1971).

"Piano Man"
German vinyl single
Single by Billy Joel
from the album Piano Man
B-side"You're My Home"
ReleasedNovember 2, 1973 (1973-11-02)
RecordedSeptember 1973
Genre
Length
  • 5:40 (album version)
  • 4:30 (single version)
  • 3:05 (SP radio edit version)
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Billy Joel
Producer(s)Michael Stewart
Billy Joel singles chronology
"She's Got a Way"
(1971) 		"Piano Man"
(1973) 		"Worse Comes to Worst"
(1974)
Music video
"Piano Man" on YouTube

Joel's first major hit and his signature song, "Piano Man" peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in April 1974.[4][5] Following Joel's breakthrough as a popular musician with the release of The Stranger, it became one of his most well-known songs.

In 2013, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[6] In 2015, the Library of Congress selected "Piano Man" for preservation in the National Recording Registry for its "cultural, historic, or artistic significance".[7]

"Piano Man"
A sample of Billy Joel's "Piano Man" from Piano Man
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Overview

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Song background

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"Piano Man" is a fictionalized retelling of Joel's own experience as a piano-lounge singer for six months in 1972–73 at the now defunct Executive Room bar in the Wilshire district of Los Angeles.[8] In a talk on Inside the Actors Studio, Joel said that he had to get away from New York due to a conflict with his then recording company and hence lived in Los Angeles for three years with his first wife. Since he needed work to pay the bills, but could not use his common name, he worked at the Executive Room bar as a piano player using the name "Bill Martin" (Joel's full name is William Martin Joel).[9]

Joel has stated that all of the characters depicted in the song were based on real people.[10] Joel had moved from New York to L.A. to record his first album, Cold Spring Harbor, which was marred by a mastering error by the album's producers at Family Productions, the first label that signed Joel. After this bad experience, Joel wanted to leave his contract with Family Productions for Columbia Records, but the contract that he had signed made this very difficult, so Joel stated that he was "hiding out" at the bar while lawyers at Columbia Records tried to get him out of his first record deal.[11]

Content

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The verses of the song are sung from the point of view of a bar piano player who focuses mainly on the "regular crowd" that "shuffles" into the bar at nine o'clock on a Saturday: an old man, John the bartender, the waitress, businessmen, and bar regulars like "real estate novelist" Paul and naval serviceman Davy. Most of these characters have broken or unfulfilled dreams, and the pianist's job is to help them "forget about life for a while", as the lyrics state. The pianist makes money when the patrons "sit at the bar, and put bread in my jar, and say, 'Man, what are you doin' here?'" The chorus, in bar-room sing-along style, comes from the bar patrons themselves, who say, "Sing us a song, / You're the piano man; / Sing us a song tonight. / Well, we're all in the mood for a melody, / And you've got us feeling all right." As for the lyrics, Joel has observed that with their five-line grouping, they were more in the form of a limerick than a typical poem.[12]

Reception

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Cash Box said that the "soft, tender narrative tune, reminiscent of that material being spun by Harry Chapin, is going to attract a ton of folks looking to sink their teeth into an equal blend of music and lyric".[13] Record World described it as "a lengthy (4:30) story song that is reminiscent of Harry Chapin's 'Taxi' in style and sound".[14]

Releases

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The song was released as a single on November 2, 1973, and was the second track on Joel's Piano Man album. It was later released on several greatest hits collections.

Composition

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The sheet music for the song is in the key of C major, though in later performances Joel sings it in the key of Bb major because of his age and deepened voice. It has a 3
4 fast waltz time signature[15] and begins with a jazzy piano solo before moving into its piano and harmonica introduction. The verses and the chorus feature a descending walking bassline in C that ends with a D–G turnaround. Instrumentally, Joel's 1973 version features piano, harmonica, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, accordion, mandolin, and drums.

Track listing

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7-inch US single (1973)

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  1. "Piano Man" – 4:30
  2. "You're My Home" – 3:08

Personnel

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Credits adapted from Allmusic[16]

Popularity

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The single broke into the Billboard Top 40 in April 1974 at number 30,[17] going on to ultimately peak at number 25, making it Joel's first top 40 hit. In Canada, the song peaked at number 10 and established Joel as a star there.

Initially, "Piano Man" was a moderate hit in the US. However, following the 1977 release of Joel's album The Stranger, the song became one of his best-known and best-loved songs.[18]

During the first Face to Face tour featuring Elton John and Joel, ads promoted the event as "Rocket Man meets Piano Man".[19]

"Piano Man" was ranked number 421 in the 2004 list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Ultimate Classic Rock placed it at number 63 in its "Top 100 Classic Rock Songs" list.[20]

"Piano Man" was selected as one of 25 sound recordings in 2015 to be preserved by the Library of Congress National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[21]

In addition to selling more than five million copies in America alone, "Piano Man" is Joel's most-streamed song on Spotify (799+ million[22]) and YouTube (251+ million[23]).

Americans tuning in to a Sunday, April 14, 2024 CBS broadcast of Joel's 100th concert in his Madison Square Garden residency became enraged when local affiliates abruptly cut away in the middle of the song to air their late newscasts. CBS blamed the issue on a "timing error" (the special had been delayed 30 minutes due to Masters Tournament coverage running long) and announced it would rebroadcast the entire program later in the week.[24] A rebroadcast of the entire show aired on April 19, and the error had been fixed.

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[38] Platinum 90,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[39] Gold 250,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)[40] Gold 30,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[41] 5× Platinum 150,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[42] Platinum 60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[43] 2× Platinum 1,200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[44] 5× Platinum 5,000,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "200 Greatest Soft Rock Songs". Entertainment.expertscolumn.com.
  2. ^ Church, Joseph (2019). Rock in the Musical Theatre: A Guide for Singers. Oxford University Press. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-19-094349-3.
  3. ^ Molanphy, Chris (April 30, 2020). "Still Billy Joel to Me Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  4. ^ Billboard. April 20, 1974. p. 56. Retrieved October 8, 2016 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "Billy Joel: Chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  6. ^ "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame | Hall of Fame Artists". Grammy.com.
  7. ^ ""Piano Man," "I Will Survive" and Wilt Chamberlain's 100-Point Game Receive Designation". Library of Congress. March 23, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  8. ^ Joel, Billy. "Billy Joel Interview". CBS This Morning (Interview). Interviewed by Charlie Rose. YouTube. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  9. ^ "Major 7th chords: a talk with Billy Joel". The Actors Studio, USA. 1999.
  10. ^ Bordowitz, Hank (March 1, 2011). Billy Joel: The Life and Times of An Angry Young Man. Backbeat Books. p. 73. ISBN 9781617130786. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  11. ^ Bordowitz, Hank (2005). Billy Joel: The Life and Times of An Angry Young Man. Billboard Books. ISBN 9780823082506.[full citation needed]
  12. ^ "Billy Joel – Q & A with the Press Club, 2015". YouTube. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  13. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. November 10, 1973. p. 16. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  14. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. November 17, 1973. p. 1. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  15. ^ "Piano Man". MusicNotes. July 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  16. ^ Piano Man - Billy Joel | Album | AllMusic, retrieved May 27, 2024
  17. ^ "How Billy Joel Pushed Forward With 'Piano Man'". Ultimate Classic Rock. November 9, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  18. ^ "No. 63: Billy Joel, 'Piano Man' – Top 100 Classic Rock Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. April 10, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  19. ^ "Rocket Man". plantcity2.tbo.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  20. ^ "TOP 100 CLASSIC ROCK SONGS". Ultimateclassicrock.com. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  21. ^ "Billy Joel 'Piano Man' to Be Inducted in Library of Congress National Recording Registry". Billy Joel Official Site. March 23, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  22. ^ "Billy Joel". Spotify. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  23. ^ Billy Joel - Piano Man (Official HD Video), December 9, 2009, retrieved February 5, 2024
  24. ^ Evans, Greg (April 15, 2024). "CBS To Rebroadcast Billy Joel Concert After 'Piano Man' Debacle". Deadline.
  25. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 156. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  26. ^ "RPM Top Singles". RPM Weekly. April 27, 1974. Archived from the original on January 10, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  27. ^ "RPM Pop Music Playlist". RPM Weekly. May 25, 1974. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  28. ^ "Billy Joel Chart History – Euro Digital Songs". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  29. ^ "IRMA : Irish Charts – Singles, Albums & Compilations". Archived from the original on January 5, 2007. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  30. ^ "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  31. ^ "Billy Joel – Piano Man" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  32. ^ "Billy Joel Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  33. ^ "Billy Joel Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  34. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, April 27, 1974". Archived from the original on February 21, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  35. ^ "1974 Wrap Up". RPM Weekly. December 28, 1974. Archived from the original on January 15, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  36. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-142-0.
  37. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1976". Kent Music Report. December 27, 1976. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Imgur.
  38. ^ "Danish single certifications – Billy Joel – Piano Man". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  39. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Billy Joel; 'Piano Man')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  40. ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved October 6, 2021. Type Billy Joel in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Piano Man in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
  41. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Billy Joel – Piano Man". Radioscope. Retrieved December 17, 2024. Type Piano Man in the "Search:" field.
  42. ^ "Spanish single certifications – Billy Joel – Piano Man". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  43. ^ "British single certifications – Billy Joel – Piano Man". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  44. ^ "American single certifications – Billy Joel – Piano Man". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
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