Top 10 Songs by Billy Joel

Billy Joel, or should I say William Martin Joel, has wooed the world with his popular hits from 1973 up until his retirement in 1993. He has won six Grammy Awards and has solidified his status as one of the world’s foremost musical icons by being inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His top 10 songs ever written include:

10. My Life: This song is most recognized as the theme song for Tom Hanks’ TV sitcom, “Bosom Buddies.” It is also remains one of Joel’s most impressive singles. This song was released on the album, “52 Street,” in 1978.

9. And So It Goes: This song was written in the early 1980s about his then girlfriend, Supermodel Elle MacPherson. It is said the Joel knew the relationship would not last due to their different backgrounds, so he wrote this song predicting their future breakup.

8. Only the Good Die Young: When this song first came out in 1977, it was not very popular. Because it is about a young Catholic girl not giving into premarital sex, it caused major turmoil with religious officials. It caused so much commotion it ended up shooting to the top of the charts, becoming one of that year’s most popular songs!

7. Scenes from an Italian Restaurant: This song was written about popular high school kids that had a lot going for them but ended up not going anywhere in life. They peaked too soon. It has been said that the restaurant in the song is a real restaurant in Syosset called Christiano’s.

6. Big Shot: This is one of his best songs in a true musician’s mind due to the accentuation of horns, with piano, and “attitude riffs” of the guitar. The song portrays an angry side of Joel and is one of his more “Rock and Roll” type songs.

5. She’s Always a Woman to Me: This song was written about the love Joel had for his first wife despite her flaws. He lost all passion for the song after their divorce and even lost all desire to perform it publicly.

4. The River of Dreams: Joel wrote this song after dreaming one night that he was walking in his sleep. This song is an eclectic mix of styles and themes and it has been said that the lyrics are about searching for the meaning of life. This song was apart of his last pop rock album ever made. His then wife, Christie Brinkley, painted the cover of that album.

3. Uptown Girl: This song was written about his then girlfriend, Christie Brinkley. She was a beautiful model with popularity and wealth and he considered himself to be a working class “regular” guy. This is why he seemed shocked when she went for him. Brinkley appeared in the video, and they married two years later.

2. We Didn’t Start the Fire: This classic refers to the major life changing events of the 1950s up to the 1990s. This is one of the only songs where Joel wrote the lyrics before the music. It was his third number one hit to top the charts.

1. Piano Man: This American classic was one of Joel’s first songs to become popular. It came out in 1973 and was written about a piano bar that Joel had worked at. The characters in the song are all real people he had encountered while at this bar. The song still remains one of America’s favorites and is commonly heard nationwide in karaoke bars! Up until Joel retired, he often used this song as his encore to almost all live performances!

*Note: These are striclty my opinions!