Sept 29th in Pop History
On this day in:
1977: Billy Joel released the album The Stranger. That was his turning point…
Some people may not realize how popular Billy Joel is as a pop/rock star. He is actually the fourth-best-selling solo artist ever (only trailing Elvis, Michael Jackson, & Garth Brooks) (Even ahead of Elton John, Madonna, & Mariah Carey!). He has sold more than 150 million records worldwide. That’s a lot.
Anyway, this 1977 album, The Stranger, was the big breakthrough for Joel. He had previously had the huge hit single, Piano Man in 1973 — a great record. But no artist longs to be a one hit wonder. Listen to his song The Entertainer (on my Playlist below) to get his take on the rat race of the music industry. So anyway, just when his record label is considering ditching him, he creates The Stranger. It went on to surpass Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water to become Columbia's best-selling album release ever, and remains his best-selling non-compilation album to date, with more than 10 million units sold worldwide.
Needless to say, Columbia didn’t drop him!
Spending six weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, The Stranger changed everything for Billy Joel. Four singles were released in the US, all of which became top-40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: Just the Way You Are (No. 3), Movin’ Out, She’s Always a Woman (both No. 17), and Only the Good Die Young (No. 24). Other songs, such as Scenes from an Italian Restaurant and Vienna have become staples of his career and are frequently performed in his live shows.
The album won two awards at the 1978 Grammy Awards, winning Record of the Year as well as Song of the Year for Just the Way You Are. Rolling Stone later named The Stranger one of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
William Martin Joel, or Billy Joel, singer-songwriter, commonly nicknamed “the Piano Man" after his first major hit and signature song, and album, has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s. He released 12 studio albums from 1971 to 1993 as well as one studio album in 2001. As mentioned previously, he is one of the best selling artists ever, fourth-best-selling solo artist ever, and seventh-best-selling all around artist ever (surpassed only by the 3 mentioned above, and by 3 rock groups, namely The Beatles, The Eagles, and Led Zeppelin). His 1985 compilation album Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2, is one of the best-selling albums ever, currently in 6th place among all other albums.
Billy Joel has given irrefutable proof that the piano is a rock and roll instrument.
To quote the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, “As an artist, Joel has exhibited stylistic daring and impeccable musicianship while assembling one of the great catalogs of popular songs in this century.”
Check out my Billy Joel Playlist on Spotify:
My version of his Greatest Hits (link below)
And continuing on Sept. 29th…
• 1956 - Bill Haley & The Comets had 5 songs simultaneously on the UK Top 30; Rockin Through The Rye, Saints Rock n' Roll, Rock Around the Clock, Razzle Dazzle, See You Later Alligator
• 1973 - Grand Funk Railroad hit # 1 on the charts with We're An American Band
Also, on this day in…
• 1976 - Enjoying his birthday celebration (a little too much) 1950s rock and roller Jerry Lee Lewis accidentally shot his bass player Norman Owens in the chest. Lewis was blasting holes in a door. Owens survived but sued his boss
• 1977 - The # 1 song on the Hot 100 was Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band by Meco (a 15-minute song made up of Star Wars music set to a disco beat, including an R2-D2 solo)
