An Innocent Man (song)

"An Innocent Man"
Single by Billy Joel
from the album An Innocent Man
B-side"I'll Cry Instead" (live)
ReleasedDecember 1983[1]
Genre
Length5:17
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Billy Joel
Producer(s)Phil Ramone
Billy Joel singles chronology
"Uptown Girl"
(1983)
"An Innocent Man"
(1983)
"The Longest Time"
(1984)

"An Innocent Man" is a 1983 song performed by Billy Joel released as the third single from his album of the same name. The song, whose musical style is an homage to Ben E. King and the Drifters, reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the third consecutive top 10 single from the album.[4] It also spent one week at No. 1 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart.[5]

Joel was quoted in a 1997 interview describing the high notes he sang during the song: "I had a suspicion that was going to be the last time I was going to be able to hit those notes, so why not go out in a blaze of glory? That was the end of Billy's high note."[5]

  1. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 437. ISBN 978-0-86241-541-9.
  2. ^ a b Mitchell, Matt (January 20, 2024). "The 25 Greatest Billy Joel Songs of All Time". Paste. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  3. ^ Molanphy, Chris (April 30, 2020). "Still Billy Joel to Me Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications)
  5. ^ a b Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)