Piano Man (Billy Joel album)

For the greatest hits album, see Piano Man: The Very Best of Billy Joel.
Piano Man
Studio album by
Billy Joel
ReleasedNovember 14, 1973 (1973-11-14)
RecordedSeptember 1973
StudioDevonshire, Los Angeles, California
Genre
Length42:51
LabelFamily Productions/Columbia
ProducerMichael Stewart
Billy Joel chronology
Cold Spring Harbor
(1971) 		Piano Man
(1973) 		Streetlife Serenade
(1974)
Singles from Piano Man
  1. "Piano Man"
    Released: November 2, 1973
  2. "The Ballad of Billy the Kid"
    Released: April 1974 (UK)
  3. "Worse Comes to Worst"
    Released: June 1974
  4. "Travelin' Prayer"
    Released: August 1974[2]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Christgau's Record GuideC[4]
CreemD+[5]
Disc[6]
Rolling Stonepositive[7]

Piano Man is the second studio album by American recording artist Billy Joel, released on November 14, 1973, by Columbia Records.[8] The album emerged from legal difficulties with Joel's former label, Family Productions, and ultimately became his first breakthrough album.

The title track, a fictionalized retelling of Joel's experiences with people he met as a lounge singer in Los Angeles, peaked at No. 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 on the Adult Contemporary singles chart. "Travelin' Prayer" and "Worse Comes to Worst" peaked at No. 77 and 80 on the Hot 100, respectively, while the album itself peaked at No. 27 on the US Billboard 200. The album was certified gold by the RIAA in 1975, but Joel received only $8,000 in royalties (US$45,299 in 2023 dollars[9]).[10]

  1. ^ "Piano Man by Billy Joel – Classic Rock Review". 29 January 2013.
  2. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 436. ISBN 978-0-86241-541-9.
  3. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Piano Man". AllMusic. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  4. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: J". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 27, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert (March 1974). "The Christgau Consumer Guide". Creem. Retrieved March 3, 2012 – via robertchristgau.com.
  6. ^ Rosemary, Horide (10 May 1975). "Billy Joel – Piano Man" (PDF). Disc. Sutton: IPC Specialist and Professional Press Ltd. p. 20. ISSN 0308-1168. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023 – via World Radio History.
  7. ^ Breschard, Jack (March 14, 1974). "Billy Joel Piano Man > Album Review". Rolling Stone. No. 156. Archived from the original on November 4, 2008. Retrieved November 29, 2008.
  8. ^ "RIAA". Recording Industry Association of America.
  9. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  10. ^ Bielen, Ken (2011). The Words and Music of Billy Joel. ABC-CLIO. pp. 29–30, 116. ISBN 9780313380167.