Piano Man (album)
Encyclopedia
Piano Man is a rock
album by Billy Joel
, released in 1973
. Piano Man, Joel's second album and his first with Columbia Records
, emerged out of legal difficulties with his former label, Family Productions, and became his breakthrough album. However, the Family Productions print logo was still used until 1986.
The album was strongly influenced by Elton John
's Tumbleweed Connection
and has a western theme in much of the music and lyrics. Lyrically, this is most noticeable in "The Ballad of Billy the Kid
", musically in "Captain Jack
", "Stop in Nevada", and instrumentally in "Travelin' Prayer."
The single "Piano Man", a fictionalized retelling of Joel's days as a lounge singer in Los Angeles
, peaked at #25 on Billboards Pop Singles chart, and at #4 on the Adult Contemporary singles chart. "Travelin' Prayer" and "Worse Comes to Worst" peaked at #77 and #80, respectively, on the Pop Singles chart, while the album hit #27 on the Pop Albums chart. ("Travelin' Prayer" would later earn Dolly Parton
a Grammy, when she covered it in 1999.)
This edition includes a live 1972 radio broadcast of early songs that Joel recorded out of Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. This radio broadcast was extremely important to the success of Joel's music career because after the show was recorded, the live recording of "Captain Jack
" was played by the Philly station and quickly became "the most requested song in the station's history." After word got out about the popularity of this live "Captain Jack" recording in Philadelphia, people working for Columbia Records
heard the recording and signed Joel to the label. The radio broadcast includes three songs, "Long, Long Time," "Josephine," and "Rosalinda" which never made the cut onto any of Joel's studio albums.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
album by Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
, released in 1973
1973 in music
-January–April:*January 9 – Mick Jagger's request for a Japanese visa is rejected on account of a 1969 drug conviction, putting an abrupt end to The Rolling Stones' plans to perform in Japan during their forthcoming tour.*January 14...
. Piano Man, Joel's second album and his first with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, emerged out of legal difficulties with his former label, Family Productions, and became his breakthrough album. However, the Family Productions print logo was still used until 1986.
The album was strongly influenced by Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
's Tumbleweed Connection
Tumbleweed Connection
Tumbleweed Connection is the third album by English international recording artist Elton John. It is a concept album based on the Country and Western/Americana themes. All songs are written by Bernie Taupin and Elton John with the exception of "Love Song" by Lesley Duncan. It was recorded at...
and has a western theme in much of the music and lyrics. Lyrically, this is most noticeable in "The Ballad of Billy the Kid
The Ballad of Billy the Kid
"The Ballad of Billy the Kid" is a Billy Joel song from the album Piano Man. It is a fictionalized story of Billy The Kid. In an interview from 1975, Joel admitted,"Basically [the song] was an experiment with an impressionist type of lyric...
", musically in "Captain Jack
Captain Jack (song)
"Captain Jack" is a song by Billy Joel featured on his 1973 album Piano Man with a live version on his 1981 album Songs in the Attic. Joel originally wrote the song, an anti-drug song, in 1971, while observing some people from his window obtaining drugs from a dealer named "Captain Jack".It is the...
", "Stop in Nevada", and instrumentally in "Travelin' Prayer."
The single "Piano Man", a fictionalized retelling of Joel's days as a lounge singer in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, peaked at #25 on Billboards Pop Singles chart, and at #4 on the Adult Contemporary singles chart. "Travelin' Prayer" and "Worse Comes to Worst" peaked at #77 and #80, respectively, on the Pop Singles chart, while the album hit #27 on the Pop Albums chart. ("Travelin' Prayer" would later earn Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
a Grammy, when she covered it in 1999.)
Legacy edition
Columbia Records released a 2-disc legacy version of Piano Man in November 2011.This edition includes a live 1972 radio broadcast of early songs that Joel recorded out of Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. This radio broadcast was extremely important to the success of Joel's music career because after the show was recorded, the live recording of "Captain Jack
Captain Jack (song)
"Captain Jack" is a song by Billy Joel featured on his 1973 album Piano Man with a live version on his 1981 album Songs in the Attic. Joel originally wrote the song, an anti-drug song, in 1971, while observing some people from his window obtaining drugs from a dealer named "Captain Jack".It is the...
" was played by the Philly station and quickly became "the most requested song in the station's history." After word got out about the popularity of this live "Captain Jack" recording in Philadelphia, people working for Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
heard the recording and signed Joel to the label. The radio broadcast includes three songs, "Long, Long Time," "Josephine," and "Rosalinda" which never made the cut onto any of Joel's studio albums.
Side one -
- "Travelin' Prayer" – 4:16
- "Piano ManPiano Man (song)"Piano Man" was Billy Joel's first major hit and his signature song. "Piano Man" was released as a single in November 1st, 1973 and has been on several albums...
" – 5:37 - "Ain't No Crime" – 3:20
- "You're My HomeYou're My Home"You're My Home" is a single by Billy Joel. It was originally on Billy Joel's 1973 album Piano Man, and also appears on Songs in the Attic , The Ultimate Collection The Essential Billy Joel and 12 Gardens Live ....
" – 3:14 - "The Ballad of Billy the KidThe Ballad of Billy the Kid"The Ballad of Billy the Kid" is a Billy Joel song from the album Piano Man. It is a fictionalized story of Billy The Kid. In an interview from 1975, Joel admitted,"Basically [the song] was an experiment with an impressionist type of lyric...
" – 5:35
Side two -
- "Worse Comes to Worst" – 3:28
- "Stop in Nevada" – 3:40
- "If I Only Had the Words (To Tell You)" – 3:35
- "Somewhere Along the Line" – 3:17
- "Captain JackCaptain Jack (song)"Captain Jack" is a song by Billy Joel featured on his 1973 album Piano Man with a live version on his 1981 album Songs in the Attic. Joel originally wrote the song, an anti-drug song, in 1971, while observing some people from his window obtaining drugs from a dealer named "Captain Jack".It is the...
" – 7:15
Disc 1: Original Album
- "Travelin' Prayer" – 4:16
- "Piano ManPiano Man (song)"Piano Man" was Billy Joel's first major hit and his signature song. "Piano Man" was released as a single in November 1st, 1973 and has been on several albums...
" – 5:37 - "Ain't No Crime" – 3:20
- "You're My HomeYou're My Home"You're My Home" is a single by Billy Joel. It was originally on Billy Joel's 1973 album Piano Man, and also appears on Songs in the Attic , The Ultimate Collection The Essential Billy Joel and 12 Gardens Live ....
" – 3:14 - "The Ballad of Billy the KidThe Ballad of Billy the Kid"The Ballad of Billy the Kid" is a Billy Joel song from the album Piano Man. It is a fictionalized story of Billy The Kid. In an interview from 1975, Joel admitted,"Basically [the song] was an experiment with an impressionist type of lyric...
" – 5:35 - "Worse Comes to Worst" – 3:28
- "Stop in Nevada" – 3:40
- "If I Only Had the Words (To Tell You)" – 3:35
- "Somewhere Along the Line" – 3:17
- "Captain JackCaptain Jack (song)"Captain Jack" is a song by Billy Joel featured on his 1973 album Piano Man with a live version on his 1981 album Songs in the Attic. Joel originally wrote the song, an anti-drug song, in 1971, while observing some people from his window obtaining drugs from a dealer named "Captain Jack".It is the...
" – 7:15
Disc 2: Live at Sigma Sound Studios, April 15, 1972
- "Introduction By Ed Sciaky" - 0:29
- "Falling Of The Rain" - 2:33
- "Intro To Travelin' Prayer" - 0:17
- "Travelin' Prayer" - 3:11
- "Intro To Billy The Kid" - 0:50
- "The Ballad of Billy The Kid" - 5:36
- "Intro To She's Got A Way" - 1:03
- "She's Got A Way" - 3:08
- "Intro To Everybody Loves You Now" - 1:19
- "Everybody Loves You Now" - 2:56
- "Intro To Nocturne" - 0:59
- "Nocturne" - 2:46
- "Station ID and Intro To Turn Around" - 1:31
- "Turn Around" - 3:26
- "Intro To Long, Long Time" - 1:19
- "Long, Long Time" - 4:46
- "Intro To Captain Jack" - 1:19
- "Captain Jack" - 6:56
- "Intro To Josephine" - 1:40
- "Josephine" - 3:23
- "Intro To Rosalinda" - 0:33
- "Rosalinda" - 3:03
- "Tomorrow Is Today" - 5:11
Personnel
- Billy JoelBilly JoelWilliam Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
– harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, piano, VocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Larry CarltonLarry CarltonLarry Carlton is an American jazz, smooth jazz, jazz fusion, pop, and rock guitarist and singer. He has divided his recording time between solo recordings and session appearances with various well-known bands...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Eric WeissbergEric WeissbergEric Weissberg is an American banjo player, best known for the theme from the movie Deliverance.-Biography:Eric Weissberg went to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, then the Juilliard School of Music. He joined an early version of the Greenbriar Boys , but left before they made any recordings....
– banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new... - Billy Armstrong – violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Richard BennettRichard Bennett (guitarist)Richard Bennett is a touring sideman, session veteran, and record producer. As a touring sideman, he performed with Neil Diamond for 17 years, and Mark Knopfler since 1994. As a session player, he has worked with artists ranging from Billy Joel and Barbra Streisand to Rodney Crowell and Vince Gill...
– guitar - Rhys ClarkRhys ClarkRhys Edward Clark is an Australian drummer who has played with such artists as Hoyt Axton, Freddy Fender, and most notably Billy Joel, backing him on drums from 1971 to 1975 and also playing on his albums Cold Spring Harbor and Piano Man...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(track 10) - Laura Creamer – vocals
- Mark Creamer – vocals
- Wilton FelderWilton FelderWilton Lewis Felder is both a saxophone and bass player, and is best known as a founding member of The Crusaders, initially called the Jazz Crusaders. Felder, Wayne Henderson, Joe Sample, and Stix Hooper founded the group while in high school in Houston...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, keyboards - Emory Gordy, Jr.Emory Gordy, Jr.Emory Gordy, Jr., born December 25, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia, is an American musician and music producer. Since 1989, he has been married to country music artist Patty Loveless. Gordy was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1992...
– bass - Fred Heilbrun – banjo
- Michael OmartianMichael OmartianMichael Omartian is an Armenian-American singer-songwriter, keyboardist, and music producer. He has been a participant in over 350,000,000 albums and CD’s sold worldwide, as a producer, arranger, artist or musician, during a career that has spanned over 38 years...
– accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist.... - Dean ParksDean ParksDean Parks is an American session guitarist and record producer from Ft. Worth, TX.-Albums:Dean was member of The North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher in 1970. Dean is best-known through his many contributions to albums by Steely Dan...
– guitar - Susan Steward – vocals
- Ronnie Tutt – drums (tracks 1-9)
Production
- Producer: Michael Stewart
- Engineer: Ron Malo
- Remastering: Ted JensenTed JensenTed Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
- Arranger: Michael OmartianMichael OmartianMichael Omartian is an Armenian-American singer-songwriter, keyboardist, and music producer. He has been a participant in over 350,000,000 albums and CD’s sold worldwide, as a producer, arranger, artist or musician, during a career that has spanned over 38 years...
- Design: Beverly Parker
- Illustration: Bill Imhoff
Charts
Album| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart (The Official Charts Company) | 98 |
| US Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
27 |