Billy Joel has been around for as long as I can remember and has had numerous hits in both the UK and USA, most notably Uptown Girl, Tell Her About it and An Innocent Man. He was often labelled as a “middle of the road” artist because of his piano driven power ballads but this was always unfair as Joel could rock with the best of them (watch his tour of Russia on YouTube).
In my collection I have the “hits compilation” which I delve into from time to time and then realise what a brilliant songwriter and performer he is. He has had his personal troubles over the years, substance abuse, alcohol and mental health problems but this should not diminish his standing of one of Americas greatest songwriters of the last 50 years.
When deciding which track I would choose to illustrate his career I was sorely tempted by An Innocent Man but eventually settled on The River of Dreams. This video with the wonderful imagery, cool singing and brilliant back up vocals is simply his greatest performance.
NB Because of contractual restriction you have to follow the link to YouTube, but it is worth it!
Kindadukish's Blog - I am not a number, I am a free man (The Prisoner) 