Entertainment news and discussion on TalkFuse.
“I Thought It Was Too Mushy”: Billy Joel Almost Axed This Hit From His Album—Until Linda Ronstadt Stepped In
Billy Joel revealed in an interview with Rick Beato that he almost left "Just the Way You Are" off his 1977 album The Stranger, believing the soft ballad was "too mushy." It was singer Linda Ronstadt, listening in the studio alongside Phoebe Snow, who convinced him the song was a hit and persuaded him to keep it on the record, a decision Joel now credits her for entirely.
The song went on to become Joel's first US Top 10 hit and first UK Top 20 single, as well as his first American Gold single. It won Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the Grammys, marking the first of four Grammy wins in Joel's career. Paul McCartney has also praised the track, saying in the HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes that it is the song he most wishes he had written himself, a compliment Joel said "blew me away."
In short
- Linda Ronstadt talked Billy Joel into keeping "Just the Way You Are" on the album
- The song became Joel's first US Top 10 and Grammy-winning hit
- Paul McCartney called it the song he wishes he'd written
Explained simply
"Just the Way You Are" is a romantic ballad by Billy Joel, an American pianist and rock musician, written and recorded in 1977 for his album The Stranger. Joel initially felt the song was too sentimental for the record and considered not including it on the album.
In the studio, singer Linda Ronstadt heard the track and urged Joel to keep it, believing it would be a hit. Persuaded by her judgment, Joel included the song on the final album, a decision he has since fully credited to Ronstadt's intervention.
The song became a major commercial and critical success, becoming Joel's first significant chart hit in the United States. Its subsequent acclaim from musicians and audiences alike demonstrates the lasting impact that Ronstadt's intervention had on popular music.
Entertainment Music Offbeat Weird & Viral