Most of the great musical artists in the rock era can point to a moment where they hit a towering peak, both creatively and commercially. For Billy Joel, that would have to be his album The Stranger, released in 1977. The track that starts the album off, “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” certainly played a large part in Joel hitting that aforementioned peak.
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What was the song about? How did the influence of producer Phil Ramone help the song? And why did Joel have to do an eleventh-hour rewrite? Let’s find out everything we can about “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” but only if that’s what you had in mind.
Needing a Hit
Joel is now known as one of the preeminent pop/rock artists of his time, but it wasn’t always an easy journey to get to that point. He actually entered the recording of The Stranger feeling heat from his record company, Columbia Records. His previous two albums didn’t offer any big hits to follow up his 1973 breakthrough single “Piano Man.”
Joel had produced his previous album, Turnstiles (1975). That album contains many songs now beloved by Joel fans, but it didn’t do much upon release. That’s why the artist decided to shake things up and look for an outside producer. He chose Phil Ramone, who was fresh off successful albums with Bob Dylan and Paul Simon.
For “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” Ramone made a suggestion that ended up being a key component of the song. When Joel was running through the song, he was adding extra syllables to the words Cadillac and attack as a way of imitating the echo that he wanted on the vocal. Ramone liked the effect of Joel simply singing the proposed echo, and that’s what he did on the finished track.
A Last-Minute Rewrite
Joel revealed in a recent interview with Howard Stern that “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” originally featured a much different melody. Unfortunately, it was far too reminiscent of another song, as Joel found out when he played it for the instrumentalists.
“I always write the music first,” he said, playing the original melody for Stern. “So, I come into the studio and the band is there … and they’re looking at me like I got 10 heads. They say, ‘That’s Laughter in the Rain by Neil Sedaka!’ And I go, ‘Oh crap!’
“I was pissed off. ‘You mean I got to write a whole new song? I wrote a whole set of lyrics. They’re perfectly good!’ So just changed the melody and changed the chords.”
The change gave the song a bit more of an edge, and the eventual recording reflected that. Joel’s piano takes a back seat, as guitarists Steve Khan and Hiram Bullock do much of the heavy lifting. Up to that point in his career, Joel was mostly known for ballads. “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” went a long way in making him more palatable to rock audiences.
The Meaning of “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)”
Very few songwriters have coaxed more out of irascibility than Joel. As his anger rises, so too does his eloquence, and “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” is evidence of that. In the song, Joel takes aim at the notion that hard work is the only true path in life. He suggests that the rewards aren’t worth it: Is that all you get for your money? he keeps asking.
To make his point, he tells a pair of stories. Anthony toils away in a grocery store because it’s the only way he can follow his mother’s advice: Sonny, move out to the country. Meanwhile, Sergeant O’Leary works two jobs just so he can upgrade his ride: Yeah, and he’s tradin’ in his Chevy / For a Cadillac-ac-ac. But Joel warns that they might not be able to enjoy these perks due to the medical issues arising from all the effort.
Joel delivers his final blow in the chorus, declaring that he’s not on the same page with these notions: Mama, if that’s movin’ up then I’m movin’ out. “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” rolled into the Top 20 upon its release. More important than that, it displayed Billy Joel sneering his way to a career high point.
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