Billy Joel has sold over 150 million records, produced thirty-three Top-40 hits, received six Grammy Awards, and been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Fans celebrate him, critics deride him, and scholars have all but ignored him. This first-of-its-kind collection of essays offers close analysis and careful insight into the ways his work has impacted popular music during the last fifty years. Using diverse approaches, this volume serves as a model for how any scholar can approach the study of popular music. Ultimately, these chapters interrogate how popular music frames our experiences, constitutes our history and culture, and gains importance in our daily lives.
Joshua S. Duchan is associate professor of music and director of graduate studies in the Department of Music at Wayne State University. Ryan Raul Banagale is associate professor of music and director of performing arts at Colorado College.
Foreword by Billy Joel Introduction: "The Stranger": Locating Billy Joel in Popular Music Studies Ryan Raul Banagale and Joshua S. Duchan Part I: "Somewhere Along the Line": Considering Tradition Chapter One: From Liverpool to Hicksville: Sgt. Pepper Meets The Nylon Curtain Joshua S. Duchan Chapter Two: Movin' Out on Thunder Road: Images of Ambition, Escape, and Authenticity in Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen John J. Sheinbaum Part II: "This Is the Time": Performance Analysis Chapter Three: Billy Joel, Piano Culture, and Rock's Road Not Taken Jonathan D. Bellman Chapter Four: Form, Lyrics, and the "Short-Short-Long" Pattern in Billy Joel's Music Don Traut Part III: "You're My Home": Imagined Locations Chapter Five: "The Downeaster 'Alexa'": Billy Joel Signifies Folk Morgan Jones Chapter Six: "Nothing Rhymes With Bethlehem": City Branding Schemes and the Strategic Deployment of Billy Joel's "Allentown" Sarah Messbauer Part IV: "Stop in Nevada": Live Performance Chapter Seven: "She's Got a Way": Gendered and Physical Embodiment in Interpreting Billy Joel in American Sign Language Elyse Marrero Chapter Eight: Twenty-First-Century Patronage: The Road to Billy Joel's Madison Square Garden Concert Residency Stan Soocher Part V: "Just the Way You Are": Arranging Billy Joel, Arranging Ourselves Chapter Nine: Scenes From a Music Museum: The Piano Man's Notebooks in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Jason Hanley and Kathryn Metz Chapter Ten: Disavowing Billy Joel: Taste Shaming and "Schlock" Fandom James Deaville Chapter Eleven: My Lives: Greatest Hits and the Arranging of a Career Ryan Raul Banagale Part VI: Transcript Chapter Twelve: "Take the Phone Off the Hook": A Public Interview with Billy Joel, interviewed by Ryan Raul Banagale and Joshua S. Duchan About the Editors and Contributors Discography
Duchan and Ban agale have brought together 12 essays on musician Billy Joel (b. 1949), preceded by an introduction and a brief foreword by Joel. Though there have been many biographies of Joel, this is a valuable addition to the scholarship. . . The book concludes with Ban agale and Duchan's 2016 interview with Joel. Many of the essays include music transcriptions. A discography lists Joel's dozen solo studio albums; bibliographical references stand in for a bibliography. This is a useful addition to the literature on Joel's musical heritage. Recommended. * Choice * Ultimately, I leave the interpretation of my music to others. I've said all I can, in the music and in interviews. I'm flattered that the last few years have seen an increase in interest in my music on the part of musicologists and other scholars, seeking better understandings of my songs and their place in American history and culture. If that all continues, great. And the chapters in this book are a very good place to start. -from the Foreword by -- Billy Joel A wide-ranging look at the work of a pop master. This illuminating collection of essays offers diverse perspectives on Joel's music, making a compelling scholarly case for his legacy as one of rock's great songwriters and performers. -- Albin Zak, University at Albany We learn from many insightful perspectives how to fully appreciate Joel's intriguing body of work. The writers have geared their presentations for the non-specialist reader, a great feat given the multileveled complexity of the lyrics, music, and sonics in Joel's catalog. The collection is topped-off with a penetrating discussion with The Man himself-Bravi! -- Walter Everett, The University of Michigan
