The Piano Man
A Reason To Smile
Billy Joel is a music legend. The 76-year-old singer-songwriter has admittedly had a life of ups and downs but has managed always to land on the upside.
You can learn almost all there is to know about Joel’s life in HBO’s new two-part documentary “Billy Joel: And So It Goes.” The trailer is certainly enticing.
Joel’s songs are deeply personal, as though each one tells a snippet of his remarkable life. “If there was a skeleton key unlocking what’s behind the songs, it is my relationships with others,” he explained in the documentary.
If you’re looking for Joel’s body of work all in one place, you are in luck. This week he released a 155-song album, a companion to the documentary, that includes eight new songs. It is available on most music streaming services.
With a catalogue of so many great songs, it was hard to choose just one as our reason to smile, but we went with his most enduring hit and my favorite, “Piano Man.”
Unfortunately, Joel’s most recent headlines have come from a health issue. He had to cancel last fall’s concert tour because of something called normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), a condition where fluid builds up in the brain. Though he recently told Bill Maher that he “feels good. I think they keep referring to what I have as a brain disorder, so it sounds a lot worse than what I’m feeling.”
“I’ve learned that life is a fight. I think music saved my life. It gave me a reason to live,” Joel said.
So many wonderful songs over so many years. Thank you, Billy Joel. You have given us enough reasons to smile to last a lifetime.
If you want to enjoy all the songs chosen for A Reason To Smile, you can listen to this Spotify playlist, which is updated weekly.
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Stay Steady,
Dan
Dan Rather: THANK YOU for sharing that song, and for sharing billy joel with all of us. i've always loved billy joel's music, but my CD player died a decade ago, so i've not listened to any of his music for quite a long time. you've inspired me to dig up his albums on youtube for a listen.
Made me burst into tears. I just hate where we’re at.