Piano Man - Billy Joel (1973) 7/19/22

There is so much cool trivia behind today's Great Song of 1973," it's hard to know where to begin! But I'll give it a shot.

In 1972, Billy Joel's first album, "Cold Spring Harbor," tanked BIG TIME.

So, licking his wounds, and hiding from his record company so he didn't have to record another album for them, he moved to California, where under an assumed name (Bill Martin--Martin being his middle name), took a job as a piano player at the Executive Room Bar.

After a while, Billy got to know some of the regulars, and decided to write "Piano Man" about them (and himself). For example, the "waitress practicing politics" was actually Elizabeth Weber, who later became Billy's first wife.

According to Billy, he just tossed the song together and was incredibly surprised and somewhat embarrassed that it became such a huge hit.

He thought of it as a waltz with an overly repetitive keyboard riff under a string of limericks that went on way too long.

Wait...limericks? The whole song is one limerick after another! Billy cites this particular lyric as the perfect example:

Now John at the bar is a friend of mine, He gets me my drinks for free. And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke, But there's someplace that he'd rather be.

As a single, the song reached #4 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart, and #10 on Canada's Top 40.

It's pretty safe to say that with those chart numbers, Billy might have been a bit too critical of his work.

But regardless of how Billy originally felt about "Piano Man," it became one of his signature songs, and over the years, he has come to terms with it. He now sings it as an encore at his concerts.

It's a "Great Song of the '70s," although Billy still feels sorry for all the lounge pianists who have to play it continually by request.