There once was a boy from Bronx. When he was 14 (that was in 1964), he got inspired by The Beatles and decided to pursue a musical career. So he started playing the piano and very soon was playing in recording sessions for some unknown bands in and around New York. In 1971, he got his first solo album called “Cold Spring Harbor” released. But due to an error by the recording company, the boys voice sounded a semitone too high than it was supposed to and the album tanked on the charts. The guy’s heart was crushed and unable to get a commercial success with his album, he started playing under the pseudonym “Bill Martin” in The Executive Room, a bar in Los Angeles.
A couple of years later, he got an opportunity to record another studio album and he made a song about his experiences in the bar in Los Angeles. The song spoke about an old man who was a regular at the bar and John who worked at the bar whom he had had befriended. The song gave the man the man so much success that since the release of this single he has become the sixth best-selling recording artist in the United States and the single itself is the most downloaded single off the iTunes store. The man of course was Billy Joel and the single released in 1973 is his signature song “Piano Man”.
What makes the Piano Man such a great song is the brilliant arrangement of instruments. A delightful arrangement of instruments like piano, harmonica, drums, bass and mandolin accompanying the melodic voice of Billy Joel add to the beauty of the song but what makes the song such a legend is the contrast between its music and lyrics. While the music of the song is cheerfully played on a jazzy piano line in the C major key (from the bits of music I know of the major chords is usually played for happy songs while minor chords accompany sad ones. People who know more about music theory may disagree), there is a melancholy in the lyrics of the song that would disturb you creating waves of emotions in your heart.
The song has not been covered by any major brands because it is hard to categorize it as a rock song. The essence of the song lies in all the instruments it uses and hardly any rock band goes around carrying so many instruments. Wierd Al’s parody of Spiderman based on the music of “Piano Man” is hilarious. Also worth watching is the Flight of the Conchord’s song Bret’s day. Although these are not exactly “cover” versions of Piano Man, it gives you an idea of the popularity of the song.
As usual we leave you at this point with a few videos to enjoy. We will be back soon with another exquisite song. Enjoy!
Weird Al Yankovic – Ode To A Superhero
Flight of the Conchords :: Bret’s Day
