Tag: Billy Joel

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Song Of The Day: Billy Joel ‘Summer Highland Falls’

Billy Joel sings 'Summer Highland Falls'
Billy Joel sings 'Summer Highland Falls'
Billy Joel sings ‘Summer Highland Falls’ (screen cap via YouTube)

Making my way these days – COVID, writing, life – Billy Joel’s “Summer Highland Falls” (from his 1976 album Turnstiles) recently bubbled up in my psyche.

I have a real estate listing here in Las Vegas where the market is insanely hot for Sellers, but the flip-side to that is Buyers are having a tough, tough time getting offers accepted with so much competition.

In a wider view, I’m reminded of life’s highs and lows, seeing the other sides — of arguments, positions, perspectives…

“They say that these are not the best of times,” Billy got that right. And amid the pandemic, we find “there is a time for meditation in cathedrals of our own.”

Watching the political landscape, my spirit resonates with the sentiment, “So we’ll argue and we’ll compromise, and realize that nothing’s ever changed…”

And taking in the constantly roiling race relations across the country, I can hear the insight in Billy’s 1976 prose offering, “And as we stand upon the ledges of our lives with our respective similarities, it’s either sadness or euphoria…”

Billy has said in interviews it’s one of his favorite songs he ever wrote. Mine too.

The song began with the chords, but he developed the rolling piano figure to express the manic-ness he often feels.

Humanity in three minutes.

They say that these are not the best of times
But they’re the only times I’ve ever known
And I believe there is a time for meditation
In cathedrals of our own
Now I have seen that sad surrender in my lover’s eyes
And I can only stand apart and sympathize
For we are always what our situations hand us
It’s either sadness or euphoria

So we’ll argue and we’ll compromise
And realize that nothing’s ever changed
For all our mutual experience
Our separate conclusions are the same
Now we are forced to recognize our inhumanity
Our reason coexists with our insanity
But we choose between reality and madness
It’s either sadness or euphoria

How thoughtlessly we dissipate our energies
Perhaps we don’t fulfill each other’s fantasies
And as we stand upon the ledges of our lives
With our respective similarities
It’s either sadness or euphoria

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“It’s Either Sadness Or Euphoria”

Slowing down to think on my podcast this morning, this Billy Joel track (from 1977’s Turnstiles) crept across into my brain.

I love this song like an old friend. For years, Billy would cite the song as one of his favorites.

The lyrics always feel like a calm meditation in search of a less than manic sense of balance.

And, as we “stand upon the ledges of our lives” with that maniac in the White House, I am more and more aware that “our reason coexists with our insanity.”

They say that these are not the best of times
But they’re the only times I’ve ever known
And I believe there is a time for meditation
In cathedrals of our own

Now, I have seen that sad surrender in my lover’s eyes
And I can only stand apart and sympathize
For we are always what our situations hand us
It’s either sadness or euphoria

So we’ll argue and we’ll compromise
And realize that nothing’s ever changed
For all our mutual experience,
Our separate conclusions are the same

Now we are forced to recognize our inhumanity
Our reason coexists with our insanity
And though we choose between reality and madness
It’s either sadness or euphoria

How thoughtlessly we dissipate our energies
Perhaps we don’t fulfill each others fantasies
And as we stand upon the ledges of our lives,
With our respective similarities
It’s either sadness or euphoria

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Sunday Singalong: Billy Joel “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)”

Well, Billy Joel – looks like we finally made it to 2017. We’ll see how your 41 year old prediction plays out.

Released in 1976 on Billy Joel’s Turnstiles album, the piano man wrote “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)” about a New Yorker-turned-Floridian in 2017 reflecting on the dear city they once called home.

In 2001, it was widely viewed as an eerily accurate ballad prophesying the the events of 9/11 and the dark days that followed.

Now with 2017 actually here, the song takes on a different meaning, moving from prophecy to a tribute to a great city that is constantly reinventing itself while struggling to keep its soul in the midst of a dissolving middle-class and artist exodus.

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Trailer: Barbra Streisand “Partners”

Trailer for Babs upcoming album “Partners” featuring duets with Lionel Richie, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Josh Groban and Michael Buble, among many others.

Released date September 16, 2014. Pre-order available on Amazon.

Babs with Babyface

Babs with Michael Buble

Cover art for Partners

Babs with Josh Groban

Babs with son Jason Gould
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Music legend Billy Joel to receive Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song

Billy Joel, the 6th top-selling artist of all time and the 3rd top-selling solo artist of all time, has been announced to receive the prestigious Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

The news was announced by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington:

“Billy Joel is a storyteller of the highest order,” Billington said. “There is an intimacy to his songwriting that bridges the gap between the listener and the worlds he shares through music. When you listen to a Billy Joel song, you know about the people and the place and what happened there. And while there may be pain, despair and loss, there is ultimately a resilience to it that makes you want to go to these places again and again.

“Importantly, as with any good storyteller, the recognition experienced in a Billy Joel song is not simply because these are songs we have heard so many times, but because we see something of ourselves in them.”

Added Joel: “The great composer George Gershwin has been a personal inspiration to me throughout my career. And the Library’s decision to include me among those songwriters who have been past recipients is a milestone for me.”

Just a brief review of his Grammy wins demonstrates the depth and range of his talents: Song of the Year and Record of the Year (“Just the Way You Are,” 1978), Album of the Year (52nd Street, 1979); and Best Rock Vocal Performance Male twice in back-to-back years: 52nd Street (1979) and Glass Houses (1980).

Joel has been  a big idol of mine for decades.  Not only for his melodies, but as mentioned earlier – his storytelling.  As an actor, I was aware at a very early age of the character development and story arc his songs would portray.  The very singular, blue collar “voice” of his songs delivered environment, character and desire.

Bravo for a very well-deserved award, Billy.

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The day Michael Pollack met Billy Joel

Michael Pollack breaks down how this happened:

“So I decided I was gonna go see Billy Joel right when we found out he was coming, and as a childhood idol of mine, right away I knew what I wanted to do when we went there. My roommate and I decided that we would try and find a way to get a question to be asked, and see if we could get on stage. And the day came, I put together a question, and I was raising my hand, and my friends to the right of me kept pointing to me, and finally after a few questions he picked on me and I hesitantly said how “New York State of Mind” was my favorite song, and how I had performed it with his saxophonist Richie Cannata in the past and wondered if I could go up and play it with him. And then he thought for a little — he took a second — and then he just said “Okay.” Which wasn’t quite convincing, but it was good enough. I walked up, we spoke about the arrangement for about 15 seconds — he just went through what he wanted me to play — and then from there, it was just … foggy. It’s hard to remember. I just started playing. I had practiced it a little bit thinking maybe I’d get the chance to go up … I kind of lost myself playing. Then afterward he said to me … he said that I was great, where are you from … and I said, “I’m a Long Islander just like you.” He was like, “Cool.” Then I walked off, and that was it … It was probably the greatest moment of my life, up to date.”

(via reddit)

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The Last Play at Shea

Just watched a fantastic documentary about the last concert at Shea Stadium with Billy Joel in 2008.

The film artfully weaves together the histories of Shea Stadium, the Mets, NYC and Billy Joel’s career. Throughout the film are clips of performances from the last concert at the stadium before it was retired.

Billy Joel is easily one of my very favorite singer/songwriters. He’s been a part of the soundtrack of my life – just as NYC has been a big part of my life’s landscape.

Watch the film – currently on Showtime if you have it. Or rent it, download it, whatever… You’ll be glad you did.