Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia
Episode: “Still Billy Joel to Me, Part 2”
Host: Chris Molanfi
Date: August 26, 2022

Episode Overview

In this rich continuation of Billy Joel’s chart journey, Chris Molanfi dives into the miraculous reinvention and surprising hit streak of the “Piano Man” through the ’80s and ’90s—and his ever-mutating sound. Focusing on Joel’s post-1970s era, the episode explores how Joel’s mastery of musical pastiche, willingness to hop genres, and engagement with both nostalgia and innovative pop trends forged a wildly successful second act, culminating in some of his biggest hits and defining his legacy as more than “just” the Piano Man.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The “An Innocent Man” Era and Musical Homage (00:12–11:29)

• Joel’s Concept Album:
  Joel consciously assembled his 1983 album An Innocent Man as a series of open tributes to the musical styles of his youth.
  “What if he packed a range of musical personae into a single album? What if on every track he was, in essence, a different artist from the past?” (01:45)

• Singles and Their Inspirations:

  • “Tell Her About It” (Motown/Supremes homage, 03:33)
  • “Uptown Girl” (Doo-wop/Four Seasons, 06:47)
  • “An Innocent Man” (Drifters, Ben E. King, 07:56)
  • “The Longest Time” (Frankie Lyman & the Teenagers, a cappella doo-wop during the synth-pop radio era, 08:48)
  • “Leave a Tender Moment Alone” (Inspired by Bacharach-David, performed with harmonica, 09:30)
  • “Keeping the Faith” (Betty Wright’s “Clean Up Woman,” with a music video Easter egg, 10:52)

• Notable Chart Facts:
  The album spun off six top 30 hits, the best ratio of Joel’s career, and the track “Uptown Girl” became his biggest UK hit.

Memorable Moment:
“Joel is a one man, Holland Dozier Holland, the legendary Motown songwriting team.” (04:22)

2. Mid-80s: Greatest Hits and Broadway Vibes (11:30–17:19)

• Greatest Hits, Volume I & II:
  Joel issued a defining compilation, which included the synth-pop meets doo-wop track “You’re Only Human (Second Wind),” a heartfelt song on depression and suicide prevention (written from Joel’s personal experience, 12:53).

• The Bridge (1986):
  The album moves through Broadway influences (e.g., “Modern Woman”), urbane pop (“Running on Ice”), horn-driven tracks (“Big Man on Mulberry Street” inspired a Moonlighting musical episode), and strong guitar-led hits (“A Matter of Trust,” 16:07).
  “The Bridge was a hodgepodge. Its biggest hit, A Matter of Trust was a rare song Joel wrote primarily for the guitar.” (16:07)

3. Soviet Union Tour and New Directions (17:19–20:57)

• Historic Concerts:
  Joel performs in Moscow and Leningrad as part of Gorbachev’s glasnost cultural outreach, becoming the first Western pop star to play in the Soviet Union under communism.
  “The triumph of the Russian tour could well have been a capper to Billy Joel's career...” (18:57)

• Personal/Professional Challenges:
  Behind-the-scenes turmoil: producer changes and a protracted lawsuit over management fraud.

4. “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and Billy Joel’s Final Chart Peak (20:58–27:05)

• Origins and Intent:
  Supposedly written as a retort to a young person who claimed nothing happened in the ’50s; Joel built it as a “history professor” exercise and drew structural inspiration from REM’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” and hip-hop’s rise.

  • “It is quite literally, to paraphrase the Simpsons, the old man yells at cloud of pop hits. And yet We Didn't Start the Fire is beloved by generations of young people. School kids memorize its history lesson lyrics Hamilton style.” (22:55)

• Sound & Reception:
  Joel’s third and final #1 pop hit, built around guitars and synths—not the piano.
  “We Didn’t Start the Fire led off the release of Joel’s 1989 album Stormfront, his first LP in more than a dozen years not to be produced by Phil Ramone.” (24:30)

5. Country Crossovers and Late Career Hits (27:06–32:00)

• “Shameless” goes Country:
  Garth Brooks covers Joel’s “Shameless,” taking it to #1 on the country charts, and later duets with Joel in a famed Central Park concert.
  “In 1991, rising country megastar Garth Brooks heard Shameless for what it was, a country song waiting to happen.” (28:07)

• Billboard Chart Evolution:
  The early ‘90s SoundScan era exposes both the surging popularity of country/hip hop and the decline of Boomer rock stars, yet Joel remains resilient with the River of Dreams album.

6. “River of Dreams” & Transition to Classical (32:01–36:19)

• The 1993 Album:
  Title track draws inspiration from both Paul Simon’s “Graceland” and the Tokens’ “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” mixing African rhythms and doo-wop harmonies for a major pop hit, debuting at #1.
  “The river of Dreams, with its doo wop and R and B vocals also invoked the classic style of the token's 1961 chart topping hit the Lion Sleeps Tonight…” (34:08)

• Pop Farewell:
  “Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)” originally a classical piece, marks Joel’s turn toward more classical composition and away from pop records.
  “Joel simply decided to take himself out of the game with one last chart topping album under his belt.” (35:46)

• Embracing Instrumental Work:
  In 2001, Joel releases a full classical album, Fantasies and Delusions.
  “I guess I got to a point in my life I just thought that I had said all I wanted to say. With lyrics... for the last eight years all I've been writing is instrumental music and it speaks for me.” — Billy Joel (35:58)

7. Legacy, Live Performance, and Fan Culture (36:19–End)

• Live Performance & Residencies:
  Even after pop songwriting, Joel’s concerts (notably his ongoing Madison Square Garden residency) remain in demand, with Joel polling audiences for deep cuts vs. hits:
  “First choice would be a song called Just the Way youy Are. The other choice is song called Vienna.” — Billy Joel (39:23)

  • Fans almost always choose “Vienna,” an album track inspired by German cabaret music, not originally a hit.

• Self-aware Legacy:
  Molanfi notes Joel’s catalog resists easy summarization—the “Billy Joel sound” is always crowd-pleasing, sentimental, but highly eclectic.

  “Billy Joel will never fully kick the moniker Piano man, but it's also one more reminder the Billy Joel sound… contains multitudes.” (39:50)

Notable Quotes & Their Timestamps

• “Joel is a one man, Holland Dozier Holland, the legendary Motown songwriting team.” — Chris Molanfi (04:22)
• “The album had so exceeded expectations that Joel and his label almost didn't think it necessary to issue a sixth single at all.” — Chris Molanfi on “Keeping the Faith” (09:58)
• “Indisputably, it was written by a baby boomer ranting at a younger person. It is quite literally, to paraphrase the Simpsons, the old man yells at cloud of pop hits. And yet We Didn't Start the Fire is beloved by generations of young people.” — Chris Molanfi (22:55)
• “I guess I got to a point in my life I just thought that I had said all I wanted to say. With lyrics I may write songs again, I don't know. But for the last eight years all I've been writing is instrumental music and it speaks for me.” — Billy Joel (35:58)
• “First choice would be a song called Just the Way youy Are. The other choice is song called Vienna.” — Billy Joel polling concert audiences (39:23)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:12 — Joel pivots to “An Innocent Man”; homage becomes a theme
• 03:33 — “Tell Her About It” and Motown tribute
• 06:47 — “Uptown Girl” as doo-wop pastiche
• 08:48 — “The Longest Time” a cappella success
• 10:52 — Easter egg in “Keeping the Faith” video
• 12:53 — “You’re Only Human (Second Wind)” and suicide prevention
• 16:07 — “A Matter of Trust” as guitar-driven Joel
• 20:58 — Origins of “We Didn’t Start The Fire”
• 28:07 — Garth Brooks’ influence and country crossover
• 34:08 — “River of Dreams” and its layered influences
• 35:58 — Joel on his transition to classical music
• 39:23 — Audience song polling (“Just the Way You Are” vs. “Vienna”)

Tone & Style

Chris Molanfi’s narration is energetic, witty, and deeply informed—steeped in pop trivia but always tying the history to the quirks and contradictions of Joel’s career. He blends reverence for Joel’s achievements with a critical perspective and plenty of wry observations.

Summary

This episode reveals Billy Joel as an artist whose greatest hits often defied his own branding, highlighting his playful engagement with musical history, his knack for writing indelible, radio-friendly melodies in a dizzying range of styles, and his enduring appeal—even as he retires from pop stardom. The podcast offers listeners a tour through the surprising turns in Joel’s career, through chart facts, musical influences, and even the singer’s own self-effacing humor, painting a portrait of an artist who, above all, refused to have just “one sound.”