Friday 12pm (Part 1)/ 4pm (Part 2) ET: Feature Artist – Billy Joel

William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and pianist. Commonly nicknamed the “Piano Man” after his first major hit and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s, having released twelve studio albums from 1971 to 1993 as well as one studio album in 2001. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, as well as the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, with over 150 million records sold worldwide. His 1985 compilation album, Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2, is one of the best-selling albums in the US.

Joel was born in 1949 in The Bronx, New York, and grew up on Long Island, both places that influenced his music. Growing up, he took piano lessons at the insistence of his mother. After dropping out of high school to pursue a musical career, Joel took part in two short-lived bands, The Hassles and Attila, before signing a record deal with Family Productions and kicking off a solo career in 1971 with his first release, Cold Spring Harbor. In 1972, Joel caught the attention of Columbia Records after a live radio performance of the song “Captain Jack” became popular in Philadelphia, prompting him to sign a new record deal with the company and release his second album, Piano Man, in 1973. After releasing the albums Streetlife Serenade and Turnstiles in 1974 and 1976 respectively, Joel released his critical and commercial breakthrough album, The Stranger, in 1977. This album became Columbia’s best-selling release, selling over 10 million copies and spawning several hit singles, including “Just the Way You Are”, “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)”, “Only the Good Die Young”, and “She’s Always a Woman”; another song on this album, “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant”, is Joel’s favorite of his own songs and has become a staple of his live shows.

Saturday 7pm / Sunday 5pm ET: Great Soul Performances with Bobby Jay

As difficult as I’m sure it will be, this evening on “Great Soul Performances” we will be saluting and paying tribute to one of my childhood friends; the tallest kid in the neighborhood, the late Leroy Binns, who sang with the Charts, the Cadillacs, the Del Vikings and others.

There’ll be music by the Charts, Little Isidore & the Inquisitors, Joel & the Dymensions, Jimmy Castor, the Cadillacs, J.R. Bailey, Laura Nyro with LaBelle (Patti LaBelle-Sarah Dash-Nona Hendryx), the Dovells, the Encounters, Les Cooper & his Soul Rockers, Prince Joseph’s Premiers (Joe Grier), plus I’ll be joined by Leroy’s friends, Joe Grier, Reggie Barnes, Dickie Harmon, Paul Roland Martinez, Joe Rivera and Earl Swindell with their recollections of Leroy. The tribute begins at 7PM ET, 6PM CT, 5PM MT and 4PM PT.

Following “G.S.P.” will be “Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s,” where on the playlist you’ll hear songs by: Teddy Pendergrass, El DeBarge, Fred Parris & the Satins, Stephanie Mills, the Trammps, Aaron Neville & the Neville Brothers, the Clark Sisters, Billy Joel, Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, Johnny Mathis, Gladys Knight & the Pips and more. The 80s start at 9PM ET, 8PM CT, 7PM MT & 6PM PT. I hope you’ll join me later this evening for our tribute to Leroy Binns on RadioMaxMusic.Com. Below you’ll see photos from my archive of Leroy and many of his friends.

Monday 10pm ET: LP Lounge with Willie B

A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector (originally released as A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records) is an album of Christmas songs, produced by Phil Spector, and originally released as Philles 45 in 1963. Spector treated a series of mostly secular Christmas standards to his “Wall of Sound” treatment, and the selections feature the vocal performances of Spector’s regular artists during this period. The album peaked at No. 13 on Billboard magazine’s special, year-end, weekly Christmas Albums sales chart in December 1963.

The album was reissued by Apple Records in 1972, with different cover art—a photograph of Spector dressed as a heavily bearded Santa Claus, wearing a “Back to Mono” button—and retitled Phil Spector’s Christmas Album. This version of the album went to No. 6 on Billboard’s special Christmas Albums sales chart in December of that year, which was its highest chart ranking. It was also in 1972 that the album made its debut on the UK Albums Chart; it would re-chart in 1983, peaking at No. 19. On the week ending December 15, 2018, A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector entered the main Billboard 200 albums chart for the first time (at position No. 48), eventually peaking at No. 12 three weeks later (on the week ending January 5, 2019).

In 2003, the album was voted No. 142 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list. In 2017, it was ranked the 130th greatest album of the 1960s by Pitchfork. Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys has cited this album as his favorite of all time. The album was included in Robert Dimery’s 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

The Stranger is the fifth studio album by American singer Billy Joel, released in September 1977 by Columbia Records. It was the first of Joel’s albums to be produced by Phil Ramone, with whom he would go on to work for all of his albums up until his 1986 album The Bridge.

The Stranger was released a year following Joel’s previous studio effort, Turnstiles, which had sold modestly and peaked low on the US charts, prompting Columbia to consider dropping Joel if his next release did not sell well. Joel wanted the album to feature his newly-formed touring band that had formed during the production of Turnstiles, which consisted of drummer Liberty DeVitto, bass player Doug Stegmeyer and saxophonist Richie Cannata. Seeking out a new producer, he first turned to veteran Beatles producer George Martin before coming across and settling on Ramone, whose name he had seen on albums by other artists such as Paul Simon. Recording took place across the span of three weeks, with Devitto, Stegmeyer and Cannata being featured in addition to other studio musicians filling in as guitarists on various songs.

Spending six weeks at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200, The Stranger is considered Joel’s critical and commercial breakthrough. Four singles were released in the US, all of which became top-40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, including “Just the Way You Are” (#3), “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)”, “She’s Always a Woman” (both #17), and “Only the Good Die Young” (#24). Other songs, such as “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” and “Vienna”, have become staples of his career and are frequently performed in his live shows. The album won two awards at the 1978 Grammy Awards, winning Record of the Year as well as Song of the Year for “Just the Way You Are”. It remains his best-selling non-compilation album to date, and surpassed Bridge Over Troubled Water to become Columbia’s best-selling album release, with more than 10 million units sold worldwide. It was ranked at No.  70 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

 

Tuesday 6pm ET: Sounds of The 80s

This week on the Sounds of The 80s we feature music from:  DeBarge, Def Leppard, Journey, Beach Boys, Limahl, Johnny Lee, Billy Joel, Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Culture Club, Icehouse and more . . . 

Wednesday 11pm: Feature LP: Billy Joel – An Innocent Man (1983)

An Innocent Man is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on August 8, 1983. The concept album is a tribute to the American popular music of Joel’s adolescent years with Joel paying homage to a number of different popular American musical styles from the late 1950s and early 1960s, most notably doo-wop and soul music. The album cover artwork was taken on the front steps of 142 Mercer Street, just north of the intersection of Mercer and Prince Street in the SoHo neighborhood in New York City.

The album featured three Billboard Top 10 hit singles: “Tell Her About It” (No. 1), “Uptown Girl” (No. 3) and “An Innocent Man” (No. 10). Four other singles were released from the album: “The Longest Time” (No. 14), “Leave a Tender Moment Alone” (No. 27), “Keeping the Faith” (No. 18) and “This Night” (US B-side of “Leave a Tender Moment Alone”). “Tell Her About It” and “Uptown Girl” garnered international success—”Uptown Girl” reached No. 1 in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. An Innocent Man remained on the US Pop album chart for 111 weeks, becoming Joel’s longest charting studio album behind The Stranger. For over a year, the album remained on the charts in the UK, Japan and Australia.

1. “Easy Money” (Homage to James Brown and Wilson Pickett) 4:04
2. “An Innocent Man” (Homage to Ben E. King and The Drifters) 5:17
3. “The Longest Time” (Homage to doo-wop groups like Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers) 3:42
4. “This Night” (Homage to Little Anthony and the Imperials; also to Ludwig van Beethoven’s Pathetique sonata) 4:17
5. “Tell Her About It” (Homage to Motown groups like The Supremes and The Temptations) 3:52
6. “Uptown Girl” (Homage to Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons) 3:17
7. “Careless Talk” (Homage to Sam Cooke) 3:48
8. “Christie Lee” (Homage to Little Richard or Jerry Lee Lewis) 3:31
9. “Leave a Tender Moment Alone” (Homage to Smokey Robinson) 3:56
10. “Keeping the Faith” (Lyrical homage to Pre-British Invasion Rock n Roll) 4:41

Tuesday 4pm: Sounds of The 80s

This week on Sounds of The 80s we feature music from:  Toto, Kenny Loggins, Prince, Dan Fogelberg, Gloria Estefan, Robin Williams, Blues Brothers, Elton John, Billy Joel, Peter Cetera, Alabama, Romeo Void and more . . .

Wednesday 4pm: Sounds of The 70’s

This week on the Sounds of The 70s:  Yes, Wet Willie, Tony Orlando & Dawn, John Mellencamp, Elton John, Rattles, Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Abba, Queen, Chicago, Billy Joel, Helen Reddy, Jackson Browne and more . .  

Wednesday 2pm: Sounds of The 70s

This week on Sounds of The 70s.  Temptations, Jackson Browne, Billy Joel, Harry Chapin, Lou Rawls, Neil Young, Elton John, Paul McCartney & Wings, Rod Stewart, Jacksons, Van Halen, Stevie Wonder, Blondie and more . . . 

Wednesday 2pm: Sounds of The 70s

This week on Sounds of The 70s.  Edward Bear, Billy Joel, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Supertramp, America, Abba, Peter Frampton, Led Zeppelin, Marshall Tucker Band, Bachman Turner Overdrive and more. . . 

Tuesday 2pm: Sounds of The 80’s

Today we feature music from Starship, Billy Joel, Clash, Elton John, Beach Boys, John Mellencamp, Rockpile, Lenny Kravitz, Billy Squier and more . . . 

Tuesday 9pm: Feature LP: Billy Joel – The Stranger (1977)

The Stranger is the fifth studio album by American recording artist Billy Joel, released on September 29, 1977 by Columbia Records. It was the first of Joel’s albums to be produced by Phil Ramone, whom he would go on to work with for all of his albums up until his 1986 album, The Bridge.

Recorded within the span of three weeks, The Stranger was released a year following Joel’s previous studio effort, Turnstiles, which had sold modestly and peaked low on the US charts, prompting Columbia to consider dropping Joel if his next release did not sell well. Joel wanted the album to feature his newly-formed touring band that had formed during the production of Turnstiles, which consisted of drummer Liberty DeVitto, bass player Doug Stegmeyer and saxophonist Richie Cannata. Seeking out a new producer, he first turned to veteran Beatles producer George Martin before coming across and settling on Ramone, whose name he had seen on albums by other artists such as Paul Simon.

Spending six weeks at  No. 2 on the US Billboard 200, The Stranger is considered Joel’s critical and commercial breakthrough. Four singles were released in the US, all of which became Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, including Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song) and She’s Always A Woman (both no. 17). “Just the Way You Are”, the album’s breakthrough single which was inspired by Joel’s wife at the time, Elizabeth Weber, peaked at No. 3, aided by a performance on an episode Saturday Night Live and 2 Grammy awards in 1978 for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. “Only the Good Die Young”, a song about a boy coming on to a Catholic woman, initially sold poorly but received a performance boost following apparent controversy surrounding the lyrics’ subject matter, and ultimately peaked at 24 on the US charts. Other songs from the album, such as “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” and “Vienna”, have become staple songs of his career and are frequently performed in his live shows. It remains his best-selling non-compilation album to date, and surpassed Bridge Over Troubled Water to become Columbia’s best-selling album release, going on to pass over 10 million units worldwide. It was ranked at  No.  70 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Wikipedia

1. “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” 3:30
2. “The Stranger” 5:10
3. “Just the Way You Are” 4:52
4. “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” 7:37
5. “Vienna” 3:34
6. “Only the Good Die Young” 3:55
7. “She’s Always a Woman” 3:21
8. “Get It Right the First Time” 3:57
9. “Everybody Has a Dream” 6:38

Monday 10pm: Debut LP Lounge with Willie B

Tonight, April 30 at 10pm Eastern time (US) RadioMaxMusic will be presenting the first, (hastily assembled) episode of “The LP Lounge”. A spin-off of my regular show The Vinyl Resting Place. Our plan is to play complete LPs, one side at a time – interrupting the music only as needed to turn the record over.

These will be the actual vinyl LPs, purchased over the counter, at the time of their release. In most cases – the only way to hear the particular versions we offer, is to have those original LPs. You see, while the songs, and even the specific recordings you’ll hear have been re-issued in some digital format – the LPs we are spinning are of the original quadraphonic releases of these albums.

Tonight we serve up The Isley Brothers 3+3 and Billy Joel’s Piano Man. – I think we’ll have time for a bonus track from Mr. Joel as well.

Don’t let that term “Quadraphonic” Put you off – they sound just fine in Stereo, and, if you listen through headphones, you’ll even get some semblance of the surround field.

You can hear us through the pop-up player on the website http://www.radiomaxmusic.com, or via the TuneIn app. There are rumors we are available through Itunes as well.

So why dedicate a show to the LP, especially after discovering that some of my younger associates were unclear as to what the term LP meant? Well, perhaps a bit of a history lesson;

Record companies produced collections of 78 rpm records by one performer or of one type of music in specially assembled albums as early as 1908. Odeon is often said to have pioneered the “album” in 1909 when it released the “Nutcracker Suite” by Tchaikovsky on 4 double-sided discs in a specially-designed package. However, Deutsche Grammophon had produced an album for its complete recording of the opera Carmen in the previous year. By the time the second world war came around these record sets featured their own colorful paper covers and were in both 10-inch and 12-inch sizes, and could include either a collection of related popular songs, either by performer or style, or extended length classical music, including complete operas and symphonies. The result; when the LP came along and included multiple tracks, the name “album” came along too.

Both the microgroove LP 33 1/3 rpm record and the 45 rpm single records are made from vinyl plastic that is flexible and “unbreakable” (in normal use).

In 1930, RCA Victor launched the first commercially available vinyl long-playing record, marketed as “Program Transcription” discs. These revolutionary discs were designed for playback at 33 1/3 rpm and were pressed on a 16″ diameter plastic disc. These were primarily used for Radio – programs of 30 min duration could be stored or distributed for rebroadcast.

Vinyl’s had a lower surface noise level than the commonly used shellac and was not nearly as fragile. Of course some 78 rpm records were pressed in vinyl instead of shellac, particularly the six-minute 12-inch records produced by V-Disc for distribution to US troops in World War II.

Beginning in 1939 Dr. Peter Goldmark and his staff undertook exhaustive efforts to address problems of recording and playing back narrow grooves and developing an inexpensive, reliable consumer playback system. In 1948, the 12-inch Long Play (LP) 33 1/3 rpm microgroove record album was introduced by the Columbia Record Company at a dramatic New York press conference on June 21, 1948. In February 1949, RCA Victor released the first 45 rpm single, 7 inches in diameter, with a large center hole to accommodate an automatic play mechanism on the changer, so a stack of singles would drop down one record at a time automatically after each play.

Monday 9pm: Feature LP: Billy Joel – 52nd Street (1978)

52nd Street is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released in 1978. It was the first of four Joel albums to top the Billboard charts, and it earned him two Grammys. Three songs reached the Top 40 in the United States, contributing to the album’s success: “My Life” (#3), “Big Shot” (#14), and “Honesty” (#24). It was similarly well received by critics, earning the 1979 Grammy for Album of the Year. This Grammy was presented to its producer, Phil Ramone. Upon Ramone’s death, 52nd Street’s Album of the Year Grammy was passed on to Joel. Additionally, the album is notable for being the first to be commercially released on the compact disc format, reaching store shelves on October 1, 1982 in Japan (though it wasn’t the first work to be pressed on the format, being predated by Richard Strauss’s An Alpine Symphony and ABBA’s The Visitors).

The title is a reference to 52nd Street, which was one of New York City’s jazz centers in the middle of the century. Joel’s label was headquartered on 52nd Street (in the CBS Building) at the time of the album’s release. The studio where recording took place was also on 52nd Street, a block away from the CBS Building. – Wikipedia

Tuesday 11pm: Feature LP: Billy Joel – The Stranger (1977) @billyjoel

The Stranger is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on September 29, 1977, by Columbia Records. While his four previous albums had been moderately successful, The Stranger became Joel’s true critical and commercial breakthrough, spending six weeks at number 2 on the US albums chart. Considered his magnum opus, it remains his best-selling non-compilation album to date, and was ranked number 70 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Click here for Album contents on Wikipedia

Wednesday 7pm: Great Soul Performances 2: The 80’s with Bobby Jay

Once again it’s Wednesday; mid-week, (you know what we call it) and time for “Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s.” On the playlist: Michael Jackson, the Manhattan Transfer, Luther Vandross, Dynasty, Gene Chandler, Donna Summer, Debbie Harry & Blondie, the Capris, Billy Joel, Stephanie Mills and others. The show begins at 7PM ET, 6PM CT, 5PM MT & 4PM PT. I’ll be looking for you later this evening for “Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s” at the home of the greatest hits of the 60s, 70s & 80s, RadioMaxMusic.Com. Happy You Know What Day. Later ‘Gator!