Saturday Night Attitude Dancing on Mr. Piano Man Billy Joel’s 2022 Birthday

by Robert Wilkinson

Billy Joel had a birthday on May 9th, plus a “New York attitude,” so he’s our main stage maestro tonight! The music is so good that we start the dance early tomorrow evening leading up to Vesak Purnima!

Billy Joel (May 9, 1949) is an outstanding pianist, singer-songwriter and performer. He made it big with “Piano Man” in 1973 and never looked back! She has 33 Top 40 hits, 6 Grammys, and is one of the best-selling artists of all time, with over 150 million. He is in every Hall of Fame he deserves, and in 2013 received the Kennedy Center Honors, “the nation’s highest honor for influencing American culture through the arts.”

His tunes are renowned for their major New York attitude, so enjoy today’s entertainment courtesy of Mr. Piano Man, and if you feel like it, get up and dance!

We’ll start with a key attitude tune featured in previous dances! For your enjoyment, Billy’s rockin’ on Long Island in his major live with a giant #24, “Only the Good Die Young”.

Back to the beginning, with your first hit! Here’s the original music video for “Piano Man”

After 30 years at the Tokyo Dome, in 2006 Billy gave a current take on “Piano Man” by the thousands.

His second song to chart is “The Entertainer”, which was a sarcastic reaction to how much radio stations cut “Piano Man” to fit their playlists. Live in 1976, “The Entertainer”

In 1978 he appeared Old Gray Whistle Test television show and cranked out these classics! “I Love You Just the Way You Are” and “She’s Always a Woman”

from the same Old Gray Whistle Test Performance, Complete with Big Hair, “New York State of Mind”

Next, Billy Rockin’ Miami 2017 (Scene the Lights Go Out on Broadway) and “Movin’ Out” (Anthony’s Songs)

We’ll Close With “The Entertainer”

For some strange reason the first song has been blocked in the US. Here’s the rest of the show, which originally ran for 45 minutes! Billy Joel at the Old Gray Whistle Test – 1978

From Russia in 1987, a great rocker that went to #1 on the charts was the very danceable “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me”.

Introducing a great music video for “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me”

From Bremen Germany in 1978, Billy gave us his #17 hit “She’s Always a Woman” with some big hair.

Once he met Phil Ramone, the hits started happening!

Live at Wembley in 1984, Billy won us over by giving us his beautiful #3 hit, “Just the Way You Are”.

Live in Long Island in 1982, “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” (Glad I Knew You, Sergeant O’Leary…)

Here’s the Original Studio Version of “Movin’ Out”

Here’s the original music video for his #3 hit, “My Life”

Four Lives from Shia in 2008! We start with “My Life” and follow up with “Only the Good Die Young”. We’ll move to “Captain Jack”. And we’ll end with their #7 hit, “You May Be Right”.

Introducing the best music video of “You May Be Right”

Living in Wembe in 1984, we have a great four! First, Billy performed his next #1 “Tell About It”. Now We Move on to a tune Billy wrote as a response to season 4 of “Rag Doll” which went to #3 on the charts! Here’s Billy creating a great version of “Uptown Girl,” which we’ll follow up with “an Italian restaurant scene.” We end this quartet of Wembley’s iconic tunes with Billy’s #14 hit “The Longest Time”

Here’s the full hour and 45 shows! Billy Joel Live at Wembley – 1984

One of their all-time rockers! This is the original 1989 music video for their #1 hit, “We Didn’t Start the Fire”.

This clip is one of my favorites! Watch this delivery of his 1993 hit #3! Living in Frankfurt in 1994, Billy takes us to church with “The River of Dreams”. It makes my feet happy, and in 2014 even my 2 year old granddaughter couldn’t stop dancing to it! I then played the music video for “River of Dreams” for the eldest, who is now 8, as well as for her growing sister of 6-year-old Venus Taurus, and they both started walking around the room! I think it’s a Vinna!

I found it again! It is beyond amazing. Billy cranked it up at the 1994 Grammys, giving us a great performance of “The River of Dreams.”

In a smokin’ 2001 performance Concert for New York City, “new York State of Mind”

When Billy went to the New York event, Yankee Stadium was in turmoil! “Miami 2017 (Lights Going Out on Broadway)”

There is another recent performance from the 121212 concert for Sandy in New York of “The River of Dreams”. From the same show, “Only the Good Die Young.”

From their classic Shea Stadium concert from 2008, here’s a really great video of “River of Dreams” and “A Hard Day’s Night.”

If you can’t get enough Piano Master, here’s the full 2-hour show of Billy Live at the Tokyo Dome in 2006! Billy Joel Live in Japan – 2006

A real early treat! Here’s a look at 54 Minutes Live of Billy in 1976! Billy Joel Tonight in Connecticut 1976

Last year, I had the best Fallen skit ever, featuring Billy and Jimmy The Tonight Show Making “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” on the Tape Loop. This year it is gone.

We’ll totally bring it home with Billy performing his feature tune at Farm Aid 1985! Enjoy Billy face-to-face with Randy Newman on dual piano! kick it !! “only the good Die young.”

For our encore, Billy gave us a two-fer of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and “The Longest Time” in Germany in 2016.

For our second encore, Billy and Sir Elton crank it up on Leno tonight show, “Piano Man” which we will follow with their duet “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”.

For our third and final encore, Billy and Boss teamed up at MSG in 2009 to give us a perfect performance of “New York State of Mind.”

Billy’s music is full of “New York attitude” and they move your feet, which is good for the heart! And if you want to learn more about where the phrase “Only the Good Die Young” came from, as well as some of our lyrics to that tune, by all means check out “Only the Good Die Young.”

© Copyright 2022 Robert Wilkinson