The Stranger (album)

The Stranger
Studio album by
Billy Joel
ReleasedSeptember 29, 1977 (1977-09-29)
RecordedJuly–August 1977
StudioA & R, New York City
Genre
Length42:34
LabelColumbia
ProducerPhil Ramone
Billy Joel chronology
Turnstiles
(1976) 		The Stranger
(1977) 		52nd Street
(1978)
Singles from The Stranger
  1. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"
    Released: September 1977[3]
  2. "Just the Way You Are"
    Released: November 1977
  3. "She's Always a Woman"
    Released: April 1978 (UK)
  4. "The Stranger"
    Released: May 1978 (Aus.)
  5. "Only the Good Die Young"
    Released: May 1978

The Stranger is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on September 29, 1977, by Columbia Records. It was the first of Joel's albums to be produced by Phil Ramone, with whom he would work for five subsequent albums.[4]

Joel's previous album, Turnstiles (1976), had sold modestly and peaked low on the US charts, prompting Columbia to consider dropping him if his next release sold poorly. Joel wanted the new album to feature his touring band, formed during the production of Turnstiles. The band consisted of drummer Liberty DeVitto, bassist Doug Stegmeyer, and multi-instrumentalist Richie Cannata, who played the saxophone and organ. Seeking out a new producer, he first turned to veteran Beatles producer George Martin before coming across and settling on Ramone, whose name he had seen on albums by other artists such as Paul Simon. Recording took place over three weeks, featuring DeVitto, Stegmeyer, and Cannata. Other studio musicians filled in as guitarists on various songs.

Spending six weeks at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart, The Stranger was Joel's critical and commercial breakthrough. 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 (Anthony's Song)", "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: Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Just the Way You Are". It remains his best-selling non-compilation album to date and surpassed Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Water (1970) to become Columbia's best-selling album release, with more than 10 million units sold worldwide. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album number 70 in its 2003 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", repositioned to number 169 in a 2020 revision.[5][6] In 2008, The Stranger was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference goodman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Billy Joel - the Stranger".
  3. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (January 25, 1995). Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 436. ISBN 978-0-86241-541-9.
  4. ^ Gallucci, Michael (September 29, 2017). "How Billy Joel Finally Hit the Big Time With 'The Stranger'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  5. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. May 31, 2009.
  6. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. December 31, 2023.
  7. ^ https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#s [bare URL]