Hi, Im new to the Staright Dope Message Board, and I wanted to start out with this question:
Which Artist do you like better: Billy Joel or Elton John?
Which Artist plays the piano better?
Which Artist has sold more cd’s?
I personlly perfer, Billy Joel, mostly because I like his songs a bit more, but to me, the fact that he writes his own songs is an added Bonus, and makes him more of a genius than Elton John.
Opinion/ Awnsers?
You are aware that most of the Elton John songbook was written by him and his writing partner Bernie Taupin?
Actually, Elton John has stated that he hates writing lyrics, because he is bad with words, taupin does most of his lyrics. Of course, Elton John may contribute to his lyrics, but he is no songwriter. My source is his own documentary in the "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 30th anniversary edition special.
Hey, come on…“Cheddar Cheese Girl” would have been a smash hit with the right producer 
Elton John is a songwriter. Many great songwriters work with partners. It doesn’t change the fact that he’s a songwriter who’s written a lot of great songs.
So is Billy Joel. For my money, it’s a toss-up between them. I think Joel is probably a better piano player technically, but Elton John plays with more feeling. Both have written big hits, although I’m guessing that Elton has sold more records (not that that matters). Elton John rocked harder back in the day, but Joel has a better gift for beautiful melodies.
Take your pick. I like 'em both.
Far and away, Billy Joel. Elton is very good, but they’re in two totally different leagues.
See above.
Hard to say, exactly. I found a list on a couple of different sites listing Elton John at 94 million sold, above Billy Joel’s 81 million. However, both myself and some of the posters at those sites question the accuracy of some of those numbers. It’s certainly possible that they’re at least in the ballpark, though.
Incidentally – welcome aboard, and thanks to your typo, I’ll now be seeing this as the “Starlight Dope Message Board” for awhile.
Like the normal board, but on rollerskates!
Heh…someone needs to start an “If the Straight Dope Were Written By Andrew Lloyd Webber” thread…
I think Billy Joel does a terrific rendition of “Your Song,” and Elton John does a great version of “I Love You Just the Way You Are*”
Joel is, of course, the better lyricist; he’s one of the best in pop, so that gives him the edge. I also think Joel has a slight edge in the songwriting ability: John has put out some really mediocre stuff, like “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” Also, Joel is not afraid to rock out, whereas, Elton got away from that after 11/17/70.
*They do perform these when they tour together.
As for right now. my money is with Billy Joel. Since Elton can’t hit anymore high notes and he started with the Disney crap.
Really? I always thought Elton had the better voice, and I still do. The thing that is amazing about Billy are his lyrics: Keeping the Faith (“cause the good old days werent always good and twommorw aint as bad as it seems”), Only the Good Die Young (“They showed you a statue, told you to pray, They built you a temple and locked you away”) and Until the Night (among many others) (his most underated song by far) are very quotable and will continue to be true many years from now.
I will always love Joel more then John. Elton John is responsible for that Candle in the Wind crap and I will never forgive him for it.
why is that candle in the wind “thing” crap?
Billy Joel is just straight-up classy. He has an elegance and sophistication that Elton John lacks.
Speaking as somebody who listens to both musicians, but also plays both of their songs on the piano, I’d have to say that Elton’s classical background shows up more in his writing — in his prime he was much more apt than Billy to play in five flats just for the hell of it, or to do complex shifting harmonies. (I’m thinking here of the instrumental passages of “Tonight” and “Funeral for a Friend” and the opening chords of “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word.” I’m also thinking of the B double-flat, C flat, B flat minor change in “All the Girls Love Al ice.”)
I’d give Elton the edge in technical proficiency with composition.
On the other hand, Billy knows how to rock that keyboard. He’s not afraid to make a synth into a lead instrument (as in “Pressure”) or to ditch the piano altogether (as in “Close to the Borderline”). He knows when it’s right to play a Rhodes (“Just the Way You Are”) or a Wurlitzer (“A Room of Our Own”) or the real thing (“Baby Grand”). As a result, I think Billy comes out with a more adventurous and pleasing blend of different sounds on his four best albums than Elton does. Not only that, but Billy knows when to use the talents of his band, to let Richie Cannata or Mark Rivera or Dave Brown rattle out a few bars. Elton’s band is, sadly, pretty forgettable; the only instrumentalist I really like is Nigel Olssen, the drummer, but he’s got nothin’ on Liberty Devito.
Overall, I like listening to Billy better. I still listen to them both, of course.
I thought this was a Celebrity Deathmatch. So in a fight between a Brooklyn thug and an English fancyboy, who do you think would win?
Billy Joel. I have a soft spot in my heart for NYC musicians. 
Plus, his music helped me though some akward years while growin up, before I discovered Elton John.
Libery Devitto plays drums like a man posessed. Easily the “John Bonham” of American pop rock. My mom’s theory was that his thing was heroin or speedball. Does anyone know if there’s any truth in this?
I like 'em both, but I prefer Billy Joel. He strikes me as being much more down-to-earth than Elton.
There’s just something so–American–about Billy Joel. He’s the quintessential New Yorker. He’s the guy you’d hang out with down out the corner bar, a regular Joe who’s really hip and knows the score. If I were to choose any figure in the entertainment world as an example of what the average Yank is like at his best, it would be either Tom Hanks or Billy Joel–or their public personas, at least. This comes across in Joel’s music, and it’s what keeps bringing me back to him.
I like Elton, but I just don’t feel like I share his world.
(Hanks is a New Yorker too, isn’t he?)
Asking me to choose between Billy Joel and Elton John is like asking me which child I like better. I love them both with all my heart, and indeed they are the reason I learned to play piano and write songs in the first place, and continue to do so professionally to this day.
Just to touch on a few points throughout the thread: To say Elton is not a songwriter just because he doesn’t write lyrics is absurd. Ever hear of George Gershwin?
One thing to also keep in mind is that Elton has released almost twice as many albums as Billy. Obviously quantity doesn’t equal quality, but it’s important to realize that just the sheer number of songs Elton has released is damned impressive. On the other hand, because Billy has released fewer albums, his songs are a little more solid, and there are fewer “flops” on his albums. But when you include all the work Elton has done for film and musical theatre, his prolificacy is astounding.
Somebody mentioned Elton not being able to hit the high notes anymore… He had what was thought to be throat cancer around the time the “Live in Australia” album came out in the late 80’s. The subsequent operation left him with a much lower voice which he has come to embrace, and personally I kind of prefer. It sounds much more soulful, almost African-American. And Billy frequently has other singers (sometimes female Crystal Taliefero) hit his high notes for him nowadays (especially on something like “An Innocent Man”). There’s just no way you can rock for 30 years and not do some damage to your voice.
As far as playing goes, they were both classically trained (one of the many randomly interesting things they have in common) and I doubt one could play rings around the other. What I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall if they ever got into some “piano-duel” during rehearsal on their tour! On the other hand, Billy also plays guitar, and Elton does not.
Look, the bottom line is that each artist has their pros and cons. Billy has songs that are timeless… they sound just as good now as they did 30 years ago. But he also has cliched lyrics at times and is derided by critics. His albums (especially the early ones) tend to sound flat and lifeless, and are not a good representation of how he sounds live.
And Elton has written songs that even villagers in Mumbai know by heart, and has managed to keep up with the current styles of music, reinventing himself as needed (although not annoyingly so, like Madonna IMO). He has also branched off into musical theatre and film scores, and that’s pretty badass. Bernie Taupin has provided him (and us) with some of the most heartfelt, non-trite poems in the history of songwriting, but would we have ever heard of them (or him) if Elton didn’t put them to a melody?
My vote is equal. Both brilliant songwriters and musicians, both inspirations, both will be getting airplay hundreds of years from now. And that’s just fine with me.
I’ve actually thought a good deal about this question overnight because, frankly I think they are two of the best musicians and writers in pop music and I really like them both greatly.
Here is my 2 sheckles on their pros and cons:
Sir Elton:
Pros:
can turn anything into a viable song. His ability to simply make music that fits words is truly amazing.
His gift for melody is impressive as well.
I miss his falsetto and soaring high voice, but have also embraced his more soulful post-operation voice.
Writes in a number of styles without losing what makes a song “his” and I love to hear his stuff covered, because there is so much in it for another musician to grab on to.
Will fight passionately for his music when he feels it is needed.
Has sought new markets and challenges in which to work
Cons:
E is just a touch shallow, which is among the reasons why he doesn’t write lyrics.
E is just a touch lazy which means he doesn’t challenge himself much in terms of music and can fall back on basic riffs or phrasings that will work without asking if he can make it better.
Could have released one album for every two he put out.
Doesn’t really seem to do more than consult on arrangements.
Billy Joel
Pros:
okay, this isn’t really a spoiler, but it is way off topic. On the other hand: Go Billy!!!
Got to sleep with Christie Brinkley (okay, I just had to say it, I mean look at the guy, in his world Christie Brinkley did him – that makes him Wilt Chamberlin in my book-- back to the subject at hand)
Works in a variety of styles
works very hard at each piece, challenging himself with each individual project
Has not only a gift for melody, but a sense of how words work within the flow of a song.
Writes very personal and revealing work, but can still have fun when he wants.
Has a versatile voice that, while it isn’t the sweetes, has a great deal of character
Has a strong hand in song arrangements and recording techniques – really understands the full process of making a CD/album.
Cons:
Hasn’t found a scriptwriting partner to work with to make a musical with his unique style of music (though Moving out is a nice show, it is a “Hits” show which I don’t especially care for)
Sometimes can overwork material leaving it a bit starchy when it should have a looser feel to it (thank goodness didn’t do it to “Keeping the Faith”)
Should have picked a better Disney vehicle than “Oliver and Company”
Whoever thought to put them on tour together was brilliant – whoever priced me out of the experience was a jerk.
I think they are both great with Joel being more serious about the work he does and Elton not working as hard as he could because, frankly he has more innate talent than most people dream of and that is usually good enough.
All things being equal, if Elton were to develop Joel’s work ethic, he would outstrip him like Mozart did Salieri in the movie Amadeus (that’s a movie not real life folks) because his starting point in the talent department is a bit higher. In the end they both have good days (Stilletto/Your Song) and bad days (Jamaca Jerk-off/Oliver and Company).
Both should endure nicely (asuming people in general endure).