We Didn't Start the Fire
1989 · From Storm Front
Joel wrote it at forty, after a twenty-one-year-old told him the fifties were dull; he has called the melody terrible.
★ 4.1
The Songs canon
Sourced and sung.
Every song chosen by hand, with the recording to play it.
Browse all 2,393 songs or filter by genre, subject, artist, and year.
Browse all 2,393 songs or filter by genre, subject, artist, and year.
The River of Dreams
1993 · From River of Dreams
Joel woke with the melody, tried to wash it away in the shower, and gave in to gospel.
★ 4.2
It's Still Rock and Roll to Me
1980 · From Glass Houses
Richie Cannata's sax break, Joel needling critics and fashion alike, and his first American number one.
★ 4.8
Honesty
1979 · From 52nd Street
Number twenty-four on the Hot 100, and still a Song of the Year nominee; Ramone cut it at A&R.
★ 5.0
Uptown Girl
1983 · From An Innocent Man
Joel chasing Frankie Valli's falsetto and the Four Seasons' bounce; five weeks at number one, his only UK chart-topper.
★ 5.1
The Longest Time
1984 · From An Innocent Man
Every voice on the record is Joel's, stacked over Doug Stegmeyer's bass; doo-wop rebuilt by one man.
★ 5.6
Only the Good Die Young
1977 · From The Stranger
Liberty DeVitto hated reggae, so the demo's lilt became a shuffle; the radio bans only sold more copies.
★ 5.7
Just the Way You Are (Billy Joel)
1977 · From The Stranger
Bebop alto player Phil Woods takes the solo, and the melody Joel dreamed won Record and Song of the Year.
★ 6.2
Piano ManBilly Joel
Piano Man
1973 · From Piano Man
A lounge gig, a fake name, Bill Martin, and every regular at the Executive Room written into a verse.
★ 7.5