Piano Man (song)
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| “Piano Man” | |||||
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| Single by Billy Joel from the album Piano Man |
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| B-side | "You're My Home" | ||||
| Released | November 2, 1973 | ||||
| Format | 45 rpm single | ||||
| Recorded | Sept. 17-20 & 26, 1973, Los Angeles | ||||
| Genre | Piano rock blues-rock Power Ballad |
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| Length | 5:38 (3:05 some editions) | ||||
| Writer(s) | Joel | ||||
| Producer | Michael Stewart | ||||
| Certification | Gold | ||||
| Billy Joel singles chronology | |||||
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| Piano Man track listing | |||||
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"Piano Man" was Billy Joel's first major hit and is considered Joel's signature song. The verses of the song are sung from the point of view of a bar piano player who focuses mainly on everyone else at the bar: John the bartender, the waitress, and bar regulars like Paul and Davy. Most of these characters have unfulfilled dreams, and the pianist's job, it seems (with the help of alcohol), is to help them "forget about life for a while". The chorus, in bar-room sing-a-long style, comes from the bar patrons themselves, who plead, "Sing us a song. / You're the piano man. / Sing us a song, tonight. / Well, we're all in the mood for a melody, / and you've got us feeling alright."[1]
"Piano Man" has been released as a single and on several albums.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
[edit] Song background
"Piano Man" is a fictionalized retelling of real people Joel met during his days as a piano-lounge singer in Los Angeles, after the failure of his first album, Cold Spring Harbor.[2] Joel's own personal feelings about this failure are expressed in the failed dreams of the bar patrons in his song. At the time, Joel was trying to get out of a bad deal with the record company Family Productions, so, according to Joel, he was "hiding out" at the bar, performing under the name Billy Martin while Columbia Records tried to get him out of the deal.[3]
[edit] Releases
It was first released as the second track on Joel's Piano Man album and was later released on several greatest hits collections, including Essential Billy Joel. It is in the key of C Major and has a slow 6/8 time signature.
When originally issued as a single, the song was deemed too long by record executives (5 minutes and 38 seconds), so two verses were cut in half and spliced together for the release as a 45. Later, Billy Joel's song "The Entertainer" mentions this event by commenting, "It was a beautiful song, but it ran too long. If you're gonna have a hit, you gotta make it fit. So they cut it down to 3:05."
[edit] Popularity
The song has been one of Joel's greatest hits. It peaked at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Today it remains popular, and ranks as Joel's #1 song on the iTunes Music Store as of June 2007.
During the first Face to Face tour featuring Elton John and Joel, ads promoted the event as "Rocket Man meets Piano Man".[citation needed]
The song was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic on his 2003 album Poodle Hat ("Ode to a Superhero"). Yankovic's parody is about Spider-Man and chronicles the story of his first movie.
The song was also parodied by The Squadron at Newcastle United Jets F.C. games, when Mario Jardel played for the club. The lyrics would be sung as Jardel came on as a substitute or when he did something positive with the ball. The lyrics would be sung as: "Score us a goal, Super Mario, Score us a goal, tonight. We were all in the mood for a victory, And you got us feelin' alright."
[edit] Chart positions
| Charts | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 25 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 4 |
[edit] References
- ^ Piano Man lyrics by Billy Joel. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
- ^ Dear Superstar: Billy Joel Article on Blender :: The Ultimate Guide to Music and More
- ^ Billy Joel: The Life and Times of An Angry Young Man by Hank Bordowitz
