logo
Why ‘Piano Man' is not Billy Joel's best song

Why ‘Piano Man' is not Billy Joel's best song

You like 'Piano Man?' Nothing wrong with that, other than it's not Billy Joel's best song. Los Angeles Times music critic Mikael Wood on why and what actually is Joel's best.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

115-song Billy Joel 'And So It Goes' playlist hits YouTube, Spotify, streaming sites
115-song Billy Joel 'And So It Goes' playlist hits YouTube, Spotify, streaming sites

USA Today

time2 hours ago

  • USA Today

115-song Billy Joel 'And So It Goes' playlist hits YouTube, Spotify, streaming sites

If you're watching 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes," the HBO Max documentary about the performer's career, now there's a music playlist to serve as accompaniment. It's seven hours long. Need a new playlist for weekend listening or an upcoming road trip? Billy Joel has got you covered. Just hours after the second half of documentary "Billy Joel: And So It Goes" hit HBO Max on July 25, streaming services made available a massive playlist of Joel's music from the movie. The 155-track "musical companion" the documentary can be found on Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and other music streaming services. The playlist includes 115 songs that span his five-decade career, ranging from his early bands The Lost Souls and The Hassles to a 2024 performance of "New York State of Mind" from his 100th concert during his Madison Square Garden residency. In addition to the 115 songs, there are also audio clips from the documentary featuring Joel, his first wife, Elizabeth Weber, and others, which serve as introductions to the musical tracks. The version on YouTube also includes official music videos for several songs including "Big Shot," "Pressure" and "The River of Dreams," and live performance videos of songs such as "The Stranger" and "Just the Way You Are." Billy Joel: His 75 best songs, definitively ranked The playlist is produced by creative director Steve Cohen, engineer Bradshaw Leigh and Joel archivist John Jackson and there may be more music coming out of the vault, Cohen told the Ultimate Classic Rock website. Coming to Joel's YouTube channel on Monday, July 28 is a performance of "Piano Man" recorded in 1975 on the U.K. TV show "The Old Grey Whistle Test," Cohen told Ultimate Classic Rock. Among the unreleased live recordings and demo versions included on the playlist, Rolling Stone notes, is the first-ever live performance of 'Scenes From an Italian Restaurant,' recorded May 6, 1977 at Long Island's C.W. Post College. Contributing: Melissa Ruggieri Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @ & @mikesnider & msnider@ What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day

115-song Billy Joel 'And So It Goes' playlist hits YouTube, Spotify, streaming sites
115-song Billy Joel 'And So It Goes' playlist hits YouTube, Spotify, streaming sites

Indianapolis Star

time2 hours ago

  • Indianapolis Star

115-song Billy Joel 'And So It Goes' playlist hits YouTube, Spotify, streaming sites

Need a new playlist for weekend listening or an upcoming road trip? Billy Joel has got you covered. Just hours after the second half of documentary "Billy Joel: And So It Goes" hit HBO Max on July 25, streaming services made available a massive playlist of Joel's music from the movie. The 155-track "musical companion" the documentary can be found on Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and other music streaming services. The playlist includes 115 songs that span his five-decade career, ranging from his early bands The Lost Souls and The Hassles to a 2024 performance of "New York State of Mind" from his 100th concert during his Madison Square Garden residency. In addition to the 115 songs, there are also audio clips from the documentary featuring Joel, his first wife, Elizabeth Weber, and others, which serve as introductions to the musical tracks. The version on YouTube also includes official music videos for several songs including "Big Shot," "Pressure" and "The River of Dreams," and live performance videos of songs such as "The Stranger" and "Just the Way You Are." Billy Joel: His 75 best songs, definitively ranked The playlist is produced by creative director Steve Cohen, engineer Bradshaw Leigh and Joel archivist John Jackson and there may be more music coming out of the vault, Cohen told the Ultimate Classic Rock website. Coming to Joel's YouTube channel on Monday, July 28 is a performance of "Piano Man" recorded in 1975 on the U.K. TV show "The Old Grey Whistle Test," Cohen told Ultimate Classic Rock. Among the unreleased live recordings and demo versions included on the playlist, Rolling Stone notes, is the first-ever live performance of 'Scenes From an Italian Restaurant,' recorded May 6, 1977 at Long Island's C.W. Post College. Contributing: Melissa Ruggieri Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @ & @mikesnider & msnider@

Billy Joel speaks out about rumors he's had DUIs in new documentary
Billy Joel speaks out about rumors he's had DUIs in new documentary

New York Post

time3 hours ago

  • New York Post

Billy Joel speaks out about rumors he's had DUIs in new documentary

The Piano Man is defending his reputation. In the newly released second part of the HBO documentary 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes,' the 76-year-old music icon responded to the longstanding rumor that he's gotten multiple DUIs over the years. 'You know, along with fame comes a lot of gossip, rumors. I didn't like the tabloid kind of press,' Joel said in the doc. 'For example, there's this rumor that I have all these DUIs. That never happened, but people keep repeating the myth: 'Oh, he's got so many DUIs.'' Advertisement 6 Billy Joel performs at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in Nov. 2024. Getty Images 'I never had a DUI,' he added, 'so f–k you.' Joel was first accused of drinking behind the wheel when he crashed a Mercedes-Benz in East Hampton, New York in June 2002. Less than a year later, he drove into a tree in Sag Harbor and had to be airlifted to a hospital. Advertisement 6 Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden in NYC in June 2023. Getty Images The 'Uptown Girl' singer suffered another accident in April 2004 when he crashed into a house in Long Island. The rumors about Joel led to 'Saturday Night Live' referencing his alleged drunk driving in a 2004 sketch that featured Horatio Sanz, who played the singer, chugging a bottle of pineapple schnapps and crashing into several walls and mailboxes while driving a group of girls to a party. However, Joel has repeatedly denied that he's ever gotten a DUI. Advertisement 6 Billy Joel performs in Melbourne, Australia in Dec. 2022. WireImage 'I had gone through a breakup and was really broken up about it, and I decided, 'I'm drinking too much. I should go to rehab,'' Joel told The New York Times Magazine in 2013. 'But people made a connection, like, 'Oh, he went there because he was in a car accident from drinking.' No.' 'I never had a DUI in my life,' he stated. 'That's another fallacy. Look at the police records.' 6 Billy Joel on Father's Day 2025. billyjoel/Instagram Advertisement In his documentary, Joel called the press 'mean' and admitted that he doesn't always enjoy being in the spotlight. 'Having that much attention paid to you is not easy,' he said. In 2005, Joel entered rehab following what he called an 'ultimatum' from his then-wife, Katie Lee. He entered the Betty Ford Center for a stint, then temporarily stopped touring once his time at the center was over. 6 Billy Joel attends MSG Entertainment and Billy Joel special franchise announcement at Chase Square at Madison Square Garden. Getty Images The 'Honesty' singer has been sober for several years now. 'I stopped [drinking] a couple of years ago,' Joel told the Los Angeles Times in 2023. 'It wasn't a big AA kick. I just got to a point where I'd had enough.' 6 Billy Joel at SiriusXM Studios in Los Angeles in Oct. 2024. Getty Images for SiriusXM Advertisement 'I didn't enjoy being completely inebriated, and it probably created more problems in my life than I needed,' he added. Both parts of 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes' are now streaming on HBO Max.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store