The Entertainer (Billy Joel song)

For other uses, see The Entertainer (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with The Entertainer (rag).
"The Entertainer"
Single by Billy Joel
from the album Streetlife Serenade
B-side"The Mexican Connection"
ReleasedNovember 1974
RecordedDevonshire Sound, Hollywood, California
Genre
Length3:41 (album version)
3:11 (single version)
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Billy Joel
Producer(s)Michael Stewart
Billy Joel singles chronology
"The Ballad of Billy the Kid"
(1974) 		"The Entertainer"
(1974) 		"Say Goodbye to Hollywood"
(1976)

"The Entertainer" is a single by singer Billy Joel released as the only single from his 1974 album Streetlife Serenade. The song peaked at #34 on the US charts.[2] The song is a cynical and somewhat satirical look at the fleeting fame of a musician and fickle public tastes ("Today I am your champion / I may have won your hearts / But I know the game / You'll forget my name / (And I won't be here / in another year) / if I don't stay on the charts"); this theme would be examined in the later song "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me".

  1. ^ Ricci, Charlie (11 October 2019). "Here's Why You Should Give Billy Joel's 'Streetlife Serenade' Another Listen". The Something Else! webzine.
  2. ^ Dean, Maury (2003). Rock N' Roll Gold Rush. Algora. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-87586-207-1.