On Monday, July 28, Billy Joel began debuting a variety of rare archival videos on his YouTube channel in conjunction with the recent premiere of his two-part documentary, Billy Joel: And So It Goes, on HBO Max.
Videos by American Songwriter
The footage was unearthed during the making of the documentary, and includes various rare live performances, promotional clips, and more.
[RELATED: Billy Joel Releasing Rarities-Packed, 100-Song Digital Companion Compilation to His New Documentary, And So It Goes]
One of the newly posted videos features Joel and the members of his backing band performing a spot-on a cappella rendition of his doo-wop-inspired 1984 hit “The Longest Time.”
The clip was shot in a shower in a locker room at the Capital Centre arena in Landover, Maryland. Joel and his band hit the shower either before or after their January 28, 1984, concert at the venue.
Joining the Piano Man on harmony vocals were guitarists Russell Javors and David Brown, sax player Mark Rivera, backing singers Peter Hewlett and George Simms, and bassist Doug Stegmeyer. Drummer Liberty DeVitto contributed percussion by clapping his left hand on a hardcover book.
Hewlett was particularly impressive in the video, delivering a soaring and intricate falsetto part.
More About “The Longest Time”
“The Longest Time” was featured on Joel’s ninth studio album, An Innocent Man, which was released in August 1983. An Innocent Man was a concept album that featured 10 songs paying tribute to the music Billy loved during his adolescence in the late 1950s and early ’60s. “The Longest Time” was an homage to Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.
The studio version of the song featured Joel singing all of the vocal parts. The only instrument heard on the track is bass guitar played by Stegmeyer.
“The Longest Time” was released in March 1984 as the fourth single from An Innocent Man. It peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
Joel and his band shot a video for the song at in which they alternately portrayed a group of friends at their 25th anniversary high school reunion and those same pals when they were still in school.
Similar to the locker-room shower clip, the music video includes a scene featuring Joel and the band singing in the high school’s bathroom. The clip was filmed at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.
Joel’s Recently Released Expansive Digital Rarities Compilation
Tied in with the video series and the documentary, Joel released a sprawling digital-only companion compilation on Saturday, July 26.
The 100-track And So It Goes collection features songs heard in the documentary, as well as many other recordings from throughout the Piano Man’s long music career. The career-spanning compilation boasts classic hits, alternate versions, and live performances, and includes dozens of previously unreleased tracks. It also features a variety of interview snippets from the documentary.
Audio from all of the archival videos posted on Joel’s YouTube channel so far is included on the retrospective.
(Photo by Calle Hesslefors/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
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