{"id":30587,"date":"2024-10-11T15:12:22","date_gmt":"2024-10-11T15:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/101gold\/from-piano-man-to-the-entertainer-billy-joels-streetlife-serenade-turns-50\/"},"modified":"2024-10-11T15:12:22","modified_gmt":"2024-10-11T15:12:22","slug":"from-piano-man-to-the-entertainer-billy-joels-streetlife-serenade-turns-50","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/101gold\/from-piano-man-to-the-entertainer-billy-joels-streetlife-serenade-turns-50\/","title":{"rendered":"From Piano Man to The Entertainer: Billy Joel\u2019s ‘Streetlife Serenade’ turns 50"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Columbia Records<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Friday marks the 50th anniversary of Billy Joel<\/strong>\u2019s third studio album,\u00a0<\/span>Streetlife Serenade<\/span><\/em>, which was a top 40 hit for the future Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Released Oct. 11, 1974, the\u00a0album is best known for the song\u00a0\u201c<\/span>The Entertainer<\/span><\/a>,\u201d which had Billy clapping back after his classic track \u201cPiano Man\u201d was cut for radio. In it\u00a0he sings, “If you’re gonna have a hit, you gotta make it fit, so they cut it down to 3:05.”<\/span><\/p>\n

While \u201cThe Entertainer\u201d went on to become a fan favorite and a staple at Joel\u2019s live shows, he says the song is often misunderstood. It features lyrics that appear to have Joel complaining about being a music superstar, although they’re actually meant to be sarcastic, something Joel says fans, and DJs, didn\u2019t often get.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe disc jockey saying, ‘OK, first he’s a piano man. He’s b******* about playing in a piano bar. He’s moaning about his life,’\u201d Billy\u00a0said in a video about the album\u00a0made for his website. \u201c’Now he’s got a successful record. Now he’s b******* about being successful.’\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Streetlife Serenade <\/span><\/em>was<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em>the\u00a0follow-up to his 1972 breakthrough\u00a0<\/span>Piano Man<\/span><\/em>, and even Billy admits he wasn\u2019t at his best. He says\u00a0the quality suffered because he was too busy opening for other acts on the road, sharing he \u201cdidn’t really have a lot of time to write new material.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut there was a lot of pressure to put out another album after <\/span>Piano Man<\/span><\/em> and I just didn’t have a lot of stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cThere’s even two instrumentals and when’s the last time, you know, a singer-songwriter put out an instrumental?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Streetlife Serenade<\/span><\/em>\u00a0went on to sell over\u00a01 million copies and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.<\/span><\/p>\n