It's Still Billy Joel To Me

Life Along 52nd Street  

MY LIFE by WILLIAM JOEL

"Got a call from an old friend
We used to be real close ...
Said he couldn't go on the American way,
Closed the shop, sold the house,
Bought a ticket to the West Coast ...
Now he gives them a standup routine in L.A."

The kid was only seven, and it was probably strange that he was such a Billy Joel fan. Something about the song "My Life," and then the rest of the 52nd Street album grabbed him and he became a lifelong Billy Joel fan.

Listening to the LP on his parents' record player in 1978, his dad said to him, "Do you know what that means? A stand up routine in L.A.?"

The boy looked at his dad quizzically, and said, "…Not really," wondering if he had stumbled on something he shouldn't have.

His dad explained that a stand up routine in L.A. would be a comedy routine, kind of like Richard Pryor. The kid went along with the explanation, even though he wasn't sure who Richard Pryor was at the time. He always wondered why his dad had chosen that line to talk about; really, what is the American way? What constitutes the West Coast? What exactly is L.A. No, the conversation revolved around a standup routine in L.A. And it didn't really matter because Billy Joel would be one of the kid's favorites forever.

Billy Joel in 1978. Images may be subject to copyright

BILLY JOEL IN 1978

Billy Joel (and his infamous band) were at the top of the game in 1978. He was a year past releasing the breakthrough album, The Stranger, and a year or so ahead of the follow–up to 52nd Street, Glass Houses. His string of albums from 1977 through 1983 are rock 'n' roll master pieces. Even thought An Innocent Man sounds nothing like The Stranger, Mr. Joel was on a helluva roll. It is amazing to consider that Billy Joel has not released an LP of new material since August of 1993. Yet, he still sells out wherever he plays.

Maybe someday we'll find out why Mr. Joel hasn't released a new album since August 10, 1993, and it might even shock us. I expect, however, the great rock 'n' roller will continue to tour and be popular as ever — next year he will be touring many Major League Baseball stadiums.

In a Rolling Stone piece in May 2019, Mr. Joel said,

"No, it’s a fair question, and I still write music. I just don’t record it, and they’re not in song form. It’s another kind of music altogether. It’s purely for my own edification. I don’t feel compelled to record it. I don’t feel compelled to make myself be relevant. Like I said, I lived the rock & roll life, and I’m not writing that anymore." 

BILLY JOEL TODAY

Mr. Joel indicated that he was done recording on his final song on his River of Dreams, e.g. the final album, in 1993:

"And these are the last words I have to say
Before another age goes by
With all those other songs I'll have to play
But that's the story of my life …" 

Mr. Joel has had an incredible career, and his "debut" solo album famously was recorded and released with an incorrect speed, so he sounds like a chipmunk singing. That incorrect release is now a collectors' item. The aforementioned kid from earlier still loves the song "My Life" and still can't believe that he was a Billy Joel fan when he was seven! No matter what, it's still Billy Joel to me (with kindness and regards toward Weird Al Yankovic.