Top 10 best Billy Joel songs of all time

William Martin Joel (May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Since the 1970s, he has had a successful solo music career. From 1971 to 1993. Joel released twelve studio albums in the genres of pop and rock music, and in 2001 he released his only studio album of classical music.

Singers Room writes: "Joel is one of the best-selling artists in the world (over 160 million records). His 1985 compilation album Greatest Hits - Volume I & Volume II is still one of the best-selling albums in the United States.

Over the years of his solo career, Joel has written 33 hit songs that reached the Top 40 in the United States, 3 of which ("It's Still Rock and Roll to Me", "Tell Her About It" and "We Didn't Start the Fire") reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The musician has been nominated for 23 Grammy Awards and won 6 of them, including Album of the Year for 52nd Street. Joel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1992), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999), and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (2006).

Since the beginning of his solo career, Joel has toured extensively, performing concerts around the world. In 1987, he became one of the first artists to tour the Soviet Union after the country's ban on rock music was lifted.

Although Joel hasn't released a studio album since his 2001 classic Fantasies & Delusions, he continues to tour periodically and perform one-off concerts.

Piano Man

"Piano Man" was included in Joel's 1973 album of the same name as the first single in North America, and then released as a single on November 2, 1973.

In the video, Joel performs the song while playing the piano in a bar. He recalls his experiences and the people he encountered. The song "Piano Man" is based on Joel's real-life experience when he worked as a lounge musician in Los Angeles in 1972-1973.

Joel's first big hit was #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1974. In 2013, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2015. the Library of Congress selected "Piano Man" for preservation in the National Recording Registry for its "cultural, historical, and artistic significance."

Just the Way You Are

"Just the Way You Are" is a song by Billy Joel from his fifth studio album The Stranger (1977). It was released in September 1977 as the lead single of the album and became the musician's first single to reach the Top 10 in the United States (3) and the Top 20 in the United Kingdom (19), as well as Joel's first gold single in the United States. The song also topped the Billboard Easy Listening Chart throughout January 1978.

In 1979, "Just the Way You Are" also won two Grammy Awards in the categories of Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

Uptown Girl

The lyrics tell the story of a working-class man trying to win the affections of a rich "uptown girl."

The song was released on September 29, 1983, on the band's ninth studio album, An Innocent Man (1983).

"Uptown Girl" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks. It also reached number one in the UK for five weeks, becoming his only number one hit in that country. It became the second best-selling single of 1983 in the UK, behind only the Culture Club single "Karma Chameleon", which Joel knocked out of the top spot on November 1, 1983. The song also became the 19th biggest single of the 1980s in the UK, (975,000 copies).

In total, as of 2023, more than 1.2 million copies have been sold.

Only the Good Die Young

"Only the Good Die Young" is a song from Billy Joel's 1977 rock album The Stranger, also released as the third of four singles.

The song "Only the Good Die Young" was controversial for its time: its lyrics are written from the point of view of a young man who decided to have sex with a Catholic girl. The plot was inspired by Joel's high school love, Virginia Callahan. The young man believes that the girl refuses him because she comes from a religious Catholic family and considers premarital sex to be sinful.

She's Always a Woman

"She's Always a Woman" is a song by Billy Joel from his 1977 album The Stranger. It is a song about love for a woman and her charming flaws. The single reached #17 in the US in October 1978 and #53 in the UK in 1986 when it was released as a double A-side with "Just the Way You Are".

My Life

"My Life" is a song by Billy Joel that first appeared on his 1978 album 52nd Street. In the fall of 1978, a single version was released, which reached number 2 on the American contemporary music chart. Early the following year, it reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Vienna

"Vienna" is a song from Billy Joel's 1977 album The Stranger, released as the B-side to his single "Just the Way You Are".

As of September 2023, this song is the fourth most streamed song by Joel on Spotify, with over 411 million streams on this platform alone.

The Longest Time

"The Longest Time" was released in 1984 as the fourth single from the 1983 album An Innocent Man. In keeping with the album's theme of Joel's musical influences, the song is in the style of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. It peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. In the UK, the song reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart.

It's Still Rock and Roll to Me

"It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" is a song from Billy Joel's hit album Glass Houses. Released in 1980, the song was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks.

The song spent 11 weeks in the top ten and became the 7th biggest hit of 1980 according to the American Top 40.

In the lyrics, Joel criticizes the music industry and the press, commenting on the new musical styles of the time ("new wave") as a reinterpretation of old musical styles. The song also touches on the changing trends and attitudes of the era.

As a result, the single was certified platinum by the RIAA for selling over 1 million copies in the US.

Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)

"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" was written and recorded by Billy Joel, and originally appeared on his 1977 album The Stranger as the title track.

The lyrics describe the singer's disgust with the bourgeois aspirations of New York's working and lower middle class, who are proud to work long hours to afford to look like people who have "made it."

A live performance of "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" can be heard on the albums 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert and 12 Gardens Live.