Here's the Thing! 27/03/24
"Piano Man"
Here’s the Thing!
Let's get straight to the point!
“Piano Man”
by Billy Joel
I’m not a Billy Joel fan, not by any means. Of course, he’s penned a vast catalogue of superb pop hits — “Uptown Girl”, “Tell Her About It”, “Just The Way You Are”, and “She’s Always A Woman” to name but a few. However, these songs, and Billy Joel’s style, well, it’s simply not my cup of tea.
That said, one of his songs, “Piano Man”, his first big hit (in 1973), from the album of the same name, and the song that put him on the map and the road to stardom, is one of my all-time favourite songs. In particular, I love this 1975 performance below on the BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test.
The song’s inspiration is well documented — just for example here on Wikipedia. Here it is in brief from RollingStone.
In late 1972, a new piano player calling himself Bill Martin began playing regularly at the Executive Room bar in Los Angeles. Few people there knew he was a New Yorker named Billy Joel who had released his debut album, Cold Spring Harbor, the previous year. He only stayed around the bar for a few months, but it was enough time to find the inspiration for the song “Piano Man.” He says the characters were drawn from real life, but Davy from the navy and Paul the real estate novelist have yet to step forward.
The storytelling within the lyrics and the way Joel captures each character is — perfect. Honest. True-to-life. Down-to-earth. Uncontrived. Simple. Just like an old 35mm Instamatic snapshot. I think that’s what comes across, the honest banal simplicity, the quiet desperation, the drudgery and the dreams… and I think that is why I (amongst almost countless millions of others) like and continue to play this song so much. An example of everyday storytelling genius at its best.
And the official video for the single
Please note: I have another infotainment channel on Substack, called Unleashed & Unlimited, where I post podcasts, articles and content unrelated to music.🖋🎥🎙