Of all the Billy Joel hits one could name off-hand, “Piano Man” would likely be somewhere at the top of the list. But a song he released on the following album, Streetlife Serenade, would likely only make the list of Joel super-fans who followed his career rather closely. The oft-misunderstood song hardly gained the same traction as the previous album’s title track or even other similar songs like “Still Rock and Roll to Me.”
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Nevertheless, it serves as a crucial touchpoint for Joel’s professional and mental state at the time. He had achieved all the success a cabaret pianist could have hoped for, but with that came a short, tight leash held by his record label. Thus, “The Entertainer” was born.
This Lesser-Known Billy Joel Track Calls Out “Piano Man”
Billy Joel’s 1973 track “Piano Man” is a beautiful example of the songwriter’s ability to combine autobiographical experiences with conjured imagery and characters to create a song that, despite its hyper-specific backdrop, seems relatable on a mass level. Although the song reached a relatively modest No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, the track’s enduring nature is perhaps its most impressive quality. Decades later, it’s still Joel’s signature song, even if time has forced him to drop the key by a step or so.
But “Piano Man” wasn’t just a commercial success for Joel. It also marked a milestone that no musician wants to reach, but almost inevitably does: the feeling of being pressured and confined by a record label to produce more singles more quickly. Joel had already gone head-to-head with his label about the length of “Piano Man” after Columbia wanted to cut the nearly six-minute-long album version into a three-minute radio single.
If he didn’t make his feelings clear enough at the time, Joel made sure to follow up with his next album, Streetlife Serenade. In the song “The Entertainer,” Joel sings, I am the entertainer. I come to do my show. You’ve heard my latest record. It’s been on the radio. Ah, it took me years to write it. They were the best years of my life. It was a beautiful song, but it ran too long. If you’re gonna have a hit, you gotta make it fit. So, they cut it down to 3:05. (The length of the “Piano Man” radio single, down to the second.)
The Public’s Reaction Taught Him A Valuable Lesson
Although diehard Billy Joel fans (and even those with an extensive knowledge of mid-1970s pop rock) might recognize “The Entertainer” as a fantastic musical addition to the decade, the track doesn’t have quite the same presence in Joel’s overall legacy as, say, “Uptown Girl” or “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” In a video he published to his YouTube channel in 2013, Joel described how the public (and radio DJs) often misunderstood the Streetlife Serenade as something more whiny than satirical.
Joel was busy playing on the road when his record label pushed him to create what would become Streetlife Serenade in 1974. After he released “The Entertainer,” Joel said, “So, the disc jockeys say, ‘Okay, first he’s the “Piano Man,” he’s bitching about playing a piano bar and moaning about his life. Now he’s got a successful record, now he’s bitching about being successful in “The Entertainer.” It’s funny how the perceptions of things in my career [can change].”
If anything, the public’s perception of his song only proved his point further. I am the entertainer, and I know just where I stand. Another serenader, another long-haired band. Today, I am your champion. I may have won your hearts. But I know the game, and you’ll forget my name. I won’t be here in another year if I don’t stay on the charts.
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
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