# Which Billy Joel single and album are your favorites? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 20, 2014, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174 "2014-03-20T19:07:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/21 "2014-03-21T01:34:49Z")
The Stranger, but I LOVE Billy Joel. My favorite ong is Only the Good Die Young, because it takes me back to such a happy time in my life. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/22 "2014-03-21T02:06:59Z")
Love the Piano Man album as a whole, but I’d have to say that “New York State of Mind” and “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” are my favourite songs. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/23 "2014-03-21T02:07:21Z")
Even though almost all of my favorite songs of his are found on _The Stranger_, I chose _Piano Man_. It just works so well as a cohesive whole - plus, the title track is the first Billy Joel song I ever heard, and it’s the number one thing I associate him with. Something about the lyrics - _And the waitress is practicing politics As the businessmen slowly get stoned Yes they’re sharing a drink they call loneliness But it’s better than drinking alone_ are crushingly depressing, but so moving. More favorites: “Movin’ Out,” “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant,” “Vienna,” “Just the Way You Are,” “New York State of Mind,” the list goes on and on and on . . . ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/24 "2014-03-21T04:41:06Z")
He was on the Tonight Show tonight with Jimmy Fallon, and wow, wow, wow. They need to do an album together. Wait. Jimmy Fallon can SING? ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/25 "2014-03-21T04:47:20Z")
“Leave a Tender Moment Alone” is a great performance and must have been difficult to sing without running out of breath. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/26 "2014-03-21T06:44:49Z")
I have to go with “An Innocent Man,” only because for the longest time I thought it was “An Elephant Man.” ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/27 "2014-03-21T11:43:35Z")
The Stranger, followed by 52nd Street. Favorite song? Scenes from an Italian Restaurant. Not sure if it was a “single”. ---
**Author:** ![Hook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@Hook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hook)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/28 "2014-03-21T12:56:07Z")
Voted for _The Stranger_ as favorite album, but favorite song is **Miami 2017 (Seen the lights go out on Broadway**. I watch the version of that from Concert for New york often. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/29 "2014-03-21T13:05:12Z")
My favorite songs: Scenes From an Italian Restaurant \<== my absolute favorite of his Piano Man She’s Always a Woman Only The Good Die Young ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/30 "2014-03-21T13:07:02Z")
(Emphasis mine) > [@panache45](#): > > I have to go with “An Innocent Man,” only because _ **for the longest time** _ I thought it was “An Elephant Man.” So, not _For the Longest Time_? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/31 "2014-03-21T15:28:13Z")
Impossible to pick from Streetlife Serenade and the Nylon Curtain, but I finally picked Streetlife. Pressure has got to be the best single ---
**Author:** ![dataguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eada6e/32.png) [@dataguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dataguy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/32 "2014-03-21T19:39:54Z")
Another vote for Leave A Tender Moment Alone. Something I noticed about the album version–there is an unusually long silence between the end of the music and the beginning of the next song. My theory: This is the “tender moment” that you’re supposed to leave alone. ---
**Author:** ![liontamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b487fb/32.png) [@liontamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liontamer)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/33 "2014-03-21T20:07:39Z")
A matter of trust. It rocks. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/34 "2014-03-21T21:04:37Z")
[A poll on people’s favorite indivdiual song](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=704107&highlight=billy+joel+song). Piano Man and Scenes from an Italian Restaurant won handily. I hosted that a while back after taking nominations and only including songs that were nominated a certain number of times. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/35 "2014-03-22T04:10:34Z")
“Vienna,” hands down. I’m sure I’ve told here about my concert experience of that song. ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/36 "2014-03-22T15:06:32Z")
Album: “Songs In The Attic”. One of the best albums of live versions that really capture the energy of a young star on his way up. Song: “Billy The Kid”, from that album, for the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/37 "2014-03-22T16:26:05Z")
Piano Man. It paints such a picture ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/38 "2014-03-22T16:29:15Z")
_The Stranger_, hands down. It was a big part of the soundtrack of my life back in what was a wonderful year for me, 1977. I’d be hard-pressed to pick a specific song from it though, they were all so good. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/39 "2014-03-22T16:41:28Z")
“My Life”, just because it really spoke to me in my life at that particular point in time. “Go ahead with your own life, leave me alone” really spoke to me. ---
**Author:** ![smokey78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@smokey78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smokey78)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174/40 "2014-03-22T22:34:44Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m pretty sure that was “Keeping the Faith.” Both the songs you mention are among the lesser-known tracks from An Innocent Man. I forgot Christie was a redhead in this one! I got it mixed up with “Uptown Girl” where she removes her hat to reveal her blondeness. BTW, Uptown Girl was actually written about, Elle MacPherson (before Billy met Christie) I just remembered another song, from 1989, it went “Darling I don’t know why I go to extremes” and vaguely recall that was about Christie [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-billy-joel-single-and-album-are-your-favorites/684174.md?page=3)