The Rock and Rolling Balladeer

Billy Joel prefers to think of himself as a rock and roller.  But he’s probably even better known for his ballads.  When he sat down with The New York Times for an interview in 2013, the interviewer asked him if he was happy about that.

“Absolutely,” was his reply.  “When the Beatles did ‘Yesterday,’ I remember the first time I heard it.  I said, ‘That’s a classic.  That is going to be around forever.’  It’s a ballad.  So what?  The Beatles wrote ballads.  They also did rock ’n’ roll.  That’s the kind of mold I put myself into.  I’m not going to just stick to one kind of music, I’m going to do all kinds of music.  I like it all.”

Someone at his record company obviously agreed.  In 2010, Columbia Records put out the compilation She’s Only a Woman: Love Songs, and then 2013 saw the release of another collection, She’s Got a Way: Love Songs.

“To be fair to Columbia, I haven’t given them anything since 1993,” Billy explained.  “That’s 20 years ago.”

“What do you owe them?” asked the interviewer.

“At this point, probably four or five regular albums,” said Billy.  “Do you know how many compilations there are that people think I put out?”

A quick visit to Wikipedia reveals that since he started taking his extended break in 1993, there have been a dozen compilations, “Best Of” albums, and hits packages released.  Which ironically is the total of actual studio albums Billy has released as a solo artist.

“Do you miss writing popular music?” asked the New York Times interviewer.

“No,” was Billy’s reply.

“Why not?” the interviewer wanted to know.  “Is it too much effort?”

“No, no, no, it’s not because of the effort,” said Billy.  “I got tired of it.  I got bored with it.  I wanted something more abstract.  I wanted to write something other than the three-minute pop tune even though that’s an art form unto itself.  Gershwin was incredible, Cole Porter was incredible, Richard Rodgers, great stuff, Hoagy Carmichael and John Lennon, the three-minute symphony.  For me, it was a box.  I want to get out of the box.  I never liked being put in a box.”

“Nice box to be in,” countered the interviewer.

“Very nice box to be in for a while,” agreed Billy.  “But then it becomes like a coffin.”