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In 1973, Billy Joel wrote a song he can never escape. Five decades later, he is still embarrassed by it
Billy Joel wrote ‘Piano Man’ in 1973, drawing on his six months playing piano at a Los Angeles bar while trying to escape a record contract. The song’s characters were based on people he knew there, and its popularity helped define his career and earned him a lasting nickname.
Joel has said he is embarrassed by the hit, criticising its repetitive melody and lyrics he likened to limericks, and wondering why it became so popular. Yet audiences have made it a karaoke favourite, and he and his band have sometimes stopped playing near the end so crowds can sing the rest.
In short
- ‘Piano Man’ was inspired by Joel’s Los Angeles bar job.
- Joel has criticised its melody and lyrics.
- The song became a crowd-singing favourite.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The song’s enduring popularity suggests its simple, familiar melody and vivid barroom characters connect with listeners, turning a personal episode into a shared singalong. Its place in Joel’s career and the pleasure audiences take in performing it are reasons to value what the song has become, even if it began as a modest story.
The case against
Joel’s embarrassment is understandable: a song that defines an artist’s public image can overshadow the range of their work, especially when they regard its melody and lyrics as limited. Its ubiquity may also make it difficult for him to hear it on his own terms, rather than as a crowd favourite or a nickname he cannot escape.
Explained simply
Billy Joel is an American singer and songwriter who began performing in the 1960s. In 1972, he moved to Los Angeles and played piano at a bar while trying to get out of a record contract; the job later became the basis for a song about the people he met there.
Released in 1973, the song became one of Joel’s best-known works and helped shape how audiences saw his career. Its familiar chorus has made it a popular singalong, while Joel has said he dislikes parts of its melody and lyrics.