9. "Piano Man" by Billy Joel {#25; 2/74} [Video: Piano Man (The official video.) And then there is this gem, the original music video for "Piano Man," which features some nice, authentic 1970s peoples: Piano Man (Original 1970s version).]
Here it is, the quintessential Billy Joel song! All of our old friends are here: John at the bar; Paul, the real estate novelist; Davy (who's still in the navy); the waitress; and the old man who seems to be doing who knows what to that tonic and gin. (Dude, get a room!)
(While I'm here, a question. Is Paul a real estate agent who happens to write novels, or is he a novelist who writes about real estate?)
It's a great song. There's some fine harmonica work. There's some "la la la diddy dahs." It is an excellent song.
So, doesn't it seem a little low on the list? Only at #9? If this is the quintessential Billy Joel song, and if I'm such a Billy Joel fan, shouldn't it be a bit higher?
Well, probably. But, the song has three things against it. 1) For one thing, it's almost too popular. It's hard for it to be my favorite song if it is everyone else's favorite song, too.
2) There's the issue of the stupid, chopped up, edited version that's still floating around out there. Every time I hear the edited version, which goes right from John at the bar to the waitress, skipping over Paul and Davy, I get very, very angry. So, as I listen to the song and it's the edited version, I get really angry. And, if I listen to the song and it's not the edited version, there's still a few seconds of annoying anticipation in there where I'm afraid it might be the edited version. I hate the edited version.
And finally, C) there is a little bit too much of an ego in this song. "It's me they've been coming to see." "Man, what are you doing here?" It's got that hint of selfishness and arrogance. A little too much, "I sure am great, aren't I?" (Yes, he is great, but a little humility goes a long way.)
Still, these things only cloud the song up a little bit. It's still easily one of my ten favorite songs of all time!
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Over his career, Billy Joel had 42 different songs land in the Billboard Hot 100. Of those 42, eleven made it into the HondoJoe Top 200, with "Piano Man" being the highest ranking of those eleven. So, here are the 42 hits of Billy Joel, ranked in HondoJoe order:
1. "Piano Man" Hondo #9 {#25; 2/74}
2. "You May Be Right" Hondo #15 {#7; 3/80}
3. "Big Shot" Hondo #21 {#14; 2/79}
4. "Lullabye" Hondo #26 {#77; 3/94}
5. "She's Got a Way" Hondo #71 {#23; 11/81}
6. "Allentown" Hondo #89 {#17; 11/82}
7. "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" Hondo #93 {#9; 7/85}
8. "Pressure" Hondo #102 {#20; 9/82}
9. "Sometimes a Fantasy" Hondo #107 {#36; 10/80}
10. "Movin' Out" Hondo #140 {#17; 3/78}
11. "Tell Her About It" Hondo #165 {#1; 7/83}
12. "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me" {#1; 5/80} ("Should I try to be a straight A student?")
13. "The Longest Time" {#14; 3/84} (Came out in Spring of the year I graduated high school, and has a high school reunion themed video. Why isn't this higher?)
14. "And So It Goes" {#37; 10/90} (I like the simple piano ballads, even if they are sad.)
15. "An Innocent Man" {#10; 12/83} (A note so high Billy wouldn't sing it in concerts.)
16. "Honesty" {#24; 4/79} ("Mostly what I need from you.")
17. "My Life" {#3; 11/78} ("I don't care what you say anymore.")
18. "River of Dreams" {#3; 7/93} (I initially didn't like the gospel-ish sound of it, but it's definitely grown on me over the years.)
19. "Travelin' Prayer" {#77; 8/74} (Fun early HillBilly Joel!)
20. "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" {#17; 9/81} (I really like Songs In the Attic more than I should.)
21. "Keeping the Faith" {#18; 1/85} ("The good old days weren't always good, and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems.")
22. "She's Always a Woman" {#17; 8/78} (Would probably be higher if "she" seemed a little nicer. (I don't want to be cut.))
23. "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" {#27; 7/84} ("Just when I'm in a serious mood, she is suddenly quiet and shy.")
24. "I Go To Extremes" {#6; 1/90} (Some great piano pounding.)
25. "We Didn't Start the Fire" {#1; 10/89} (An even better "history lesson" song than "Rasputin," "The Night Chicago Died," and "Major Tom.")
26. "The Entertainer" {#34; 11/74} ("I'll be put in the back in the discount rack like another can of beans.")
27. "Just the Way You Are" {#3; 11/77} (An excellent song, but it's gone through a bit too much Sinatra-fication over the years.)
28. "Only the Good Die Young" {#24; 5/78} (Loses a lot of points for the message of the lyrics.)
29. "This Is the Time" {#18; 11/86} (Remember that time I was making a list ranking the hits of Billy Joel? That was awesome!)
30. "A Matter of Trust" {#10; 8/86} (Since I was on my mission when it came out, I didn't hear anything from the album The Bridge until a year or so after it came out. And I prefer "Running On Ice" and "Big Man On Mulberry Street" to any of the songs that were released as "hits.")
31. "Don't Ask Me Why" {#19; 8/80} (One of my least favorite songs from the album Glass Houses, and yet it's still a pretty good song.)
32. "The Night Is Still Young" {#34; 10/85} ("Rock and roll music was the only thing I ever gave a damn about.")
33. "Uptown Girl" {#3; 9/83} (It really is a pretty silly song. With a very silly video.)
34. "To Make You Feel My Love" {#50; 8/97} (Billy's final charting single, written by Bob Dylan. I've heard other versions of the song, but I prefer Billy's.)
35. "Modern Woman" {#10; 6/86} (Is it just me, or does this song seem like a bit of a rehash of "Easy Money?")
36. "Downeaster Alexa" {#57; 5/90} ("Tell my wife that I'm trolling Atlantis.")
37. "Goodnight Saigon" {#56; 3/83} (Sorry, never one of my favorites. It always seemed to me that Billy was trying a bit too hard with this one.)
38. "All About Soul" {#29; 11/93} (Meh. So many better songs from this album that weren't released: "Blonde Over Blue," "Shades of Gray," "No Man's Land," to name a few.)
39. "Baby Grand" {#75; 4/87} (No disrespect intended to Ray Charles, but this song never did anything for me.)
40. "Worse Comes to Worst" {#80; 6/74} (If there's a better song about a "woman in New Mexico," I haven't heard it.)
41. "All Shook Up" {#92; 8/92} (From the movie Honeymoon In Vegas, a rare Nicholas Cage movie that is actually watchable.)
42. "That's Not Her Style" {#77; 8/90} (This song is so nondescript that I actually couldn't remember how it went. I had to actually listen to it. And when I did, I was unimpressed.)
COMING UP NEXT: What about Saturday?
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