Billy Joel: Song by Song

By: Pak, Eugene M.

Covering over 120 songs, this guide details inspirations, recordings, and meanings across his diverse styles.

Perhaps no recording artist since The Beatles has crafted as diverse and broad a body of music as Billy Joel. His diversity of styles, poignant lyrics, and gift for timeless melodies have resulted in tender ballads like "Just The Way You Are" and hard-rocking tunes like "You May Be Right." Artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Garth Brooks, The Beastie Boys, Dolly Parton, and many others have covered Billy's songs or praised his music. He surprised his fans with an album of classical piano compositions in 2001 and received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Music in 2014. His ten-year residency at Madison Square Garden from 2014 to 2024 broke numerous records for that storied venue.

But while many are familiar with hits like "Uptown Girl," there is much more depth to Billy's catalog than such hits. Billy Joel: Song by Song provides an in-depth look at each of his over 120 songs, from obscure early tunes to his greatest hits. The background and inspiration behind each song is discussed, as wells as the recording and meaning of each song--songs which have become the soundtrack of our lives.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1036190943
• ISBN13: 9781036190941
• Release Date: March 2027
• Publisher: Fonthill Media