Billy Joel is a music legend, with 13 studio albums under his belt, as well as compositions and live performances. One of his most famous songs is “Piano Man,” which has transcended time to remain one of the greatest songs ever recorded. This popular release has a rather interesting backstory, centered around his work during a label dispute.
Read on to learn more about the iconic track, as well as the closing of the famed musicians Madison Square Garden residency after a decade of performances.
Disputes with Billy Joel’s label
Billy Joel moved from New York City, New York, to Los Angeles, California, to work on his debut album, Cold Spring Harbor, with record label Family Productions. However, the release was overshadowed by an error that shouldn’t have happened; the producers had mastered it at the wrong speed, resulting in Joel sounding like a chipmunk.
Angered by the label’s mistakes and the tight constraints of his contract, Joel was looking for a change. He wished to switch to Columbia Records, but found himself embroiled in a legal battle, as his deal with Family Productions made leaving difficult.
While this was going on, Joel took a job as a piano-lounge singer at the Executive Room in Los Angeles’ Wilshire district. As he couldn’t use his real name, he performed under the pseudonym “Bill Martin.”
Speaking to Alec Baldwin about that time in his life, the musician said said:
“I dropped out of sight. I had to get out of this horrible deal I’d signed. I signed away everything – the copyrights, publishing, record royalties, everything. My first child. I gave it all away, and I said, ‘I’ve got to get out of this deal,’ and I hid in LA and I worked in a piano bar under the name Bill Martin.”
Inspiration behind “Piano Man”
“Piano Man” is a fictionalized retelling of Billy Joel’s own experiences working at the Executive Room. In an interview with Inside the Actors Studio, Joel revealed those mentioned in the song are based on real people he encountered while working at the bar.
“John at the bar” was the bartender who worked during Joel’s shifts, while “Paul the real estate novelist” references a real estate agent named Paul who sat at the bar each night, working on what he hoped would be the next great American fiction novel. In a sweeter reference, “the waitress practicing politics” was the musician’s first wife, Elizabeth Weber, with whom he moved to Los Angeles in 1972. They married a year later. At the time, she worked as a waitress at the Executive Room.
Finally, “Davy” was inspired by US Navy sailor David Heintz. Speaking with Songfacts, Heintz’s daughter shared how her father met Joel and the feelings she has regarding edits that have since been made to the radio version of the single. “He met Billy Joel in a pub in Spain in 1972 while he was in the Navy,” she explained. “He married while he was in the Navy, had three children. He passed away in 2003 of ALS. It really hurts when I hear this song played on the radio and they leave this part out.”
“Piano Man” wasn’t originally a hit
Before its release, “Piano Man” underwent numerous edits, as executives at Columbia Records had deemed it too long. To make it a more acceptable length for airplay, two verses were shortened and spliced together. A promotional 45″ vinyl contained an even shorter version of the song, with the fourth verse and final chorus removed.
“Piano Man” was released as a single on November 2, 1973, and appeared on Billy Joel’s second album of the same name. While it’s now considered one of the greatest songs ever, it initially failed to perform on the charts, reaching just 25 in the United States and 10 in Canada.
The single didn’t become a hit until the release of Joel’s 1977 album, The Stranger. While it has since been deemed one of Rolling Stone‘s 500 greatest songs of all time, the musician has since come out and said its success was a surprise.
“I have no idea why that song became so popular,” he told Metro in an interview. “It’s like a karaoke favorite. The melody is not very good and very repetitious, while the lyrics are like limericks. I was shocked and embarrassed when it became a hit. But my songs are like my kids and I look at that song and think: ‘My kid did pretty well.'”
Announcing the end of his Madison Square Garden residency
In June 2023, Billy Joel announced he was ending his Madison Square Garden residency, with his last show scheduled to take place in July of the following year. The news came after 10 years of performances at the iconic New York City venue, and would mark his 150th show at the location.
“I’m kind of flabbergasted that it lasted as long as it did,” Joel said in a press release. “My team tells me that we could continue to sell tickets, but ten years, 150 shows – all right already!” Outside of a 20-month break during the COVID-19 pandemic, the famed musician put on performances every month.
In a 2021 interview with USA Today, Joel shared his first memories of Madison Square Garden, recalling, “I remember going there for the first time as a child with my parents to see a Christmas show featuring Gene Autry… It felt like the grandest place imaginable.”
Billy Joel bids adieu to Madison Square Garden
On July 25, 2024, Billy Joel put on his final show at Madison Square Garden in front of a sold-out crowd of fans who wished to give the famed musician a proper send-off. The highly-anticipated performance was attended by Hollywood’s finest, including Jimmy Fallon, Paul Rudd and even former US President Bill Clinton.
Along with performing his slew of hits, Joel allowed Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose to take to the stage. Along with performing two covers – “Live and Let Die” by Wings and “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC – the famed singer also sang alongside Joel for the last song of the night, “You May Be Right.”
Along with Rose, Joel also shared the stage with his daughters, who arguably stole the show. Speaking to the audience of nearly 20,000 dedicated fans, the musician said his residency at Madison Square Garden has “been a dream come true.”
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“We don’t want to go either, but it’s time,” Joel added later in the evening. “It’s 10 years. None of us knew we were going to be able to do this for this long. This has been the most amazing gig that we’ve ever done ever.”