Billy Joel ~ My Life 1978 Disco Purrfection Version

"Piano Man" was the first song I ever heard from Billy Joel, it was a song that reminded me of Bread's "Guitar Man", both songs being commentaries on the sometimes lonely life of a musician. The next time was when Barbra Streisand championed Joel by including "New York State Of Mind" on her 1977 LP "Streisand Superman". That fall, Joel released "Just The Way You Are" from his LP "The Stranger" and became a serious contender on the pop charts. William Martin Joel was born in Levittown, NY on May 9, 1949 to Howard and Rosalind Joel. Howard was a classical pianist but it was his mother who enrolled him in piano lessons. Moving into his teens, he took on boxing as a sport as an amateur Golden Gloves member winning many bouts, but quit after he had his nose severely broken. He began performing in local dive clubs to help support his family while he was attending high school and eventually dropped out in his senior year even though he was quite successful at his studies. Turning his full attention to music, he idolized the Beatles, The Four Seasons and the Drifters and began writing songs. His first group was the Echoes in 1965, who morphed into The Emeralds and then the Lost Souls. He quit that band and joined The Hassles which had recently signed to United Artists records. They released two LP's that were commercial failures, "The Hassles" and "Hour Of The Wolf" that eventually were released on CD in 1991. "Cold Spring Harbor" was his first solo LP, but as it was mastered at the incorrect speed it failed to ignite. He turned to touring in 1971 then signed with Columbia Records in 1972. He moved to Los Angeles and worked at a bar called "The Executive Room" as Bill Martin that helped him create "Piano Man" in 1973. He had a friend in Walter Yetnikoff, President of Columbia Records who masterminded his release from Family Productions and also got back the copyrights for all his recordings prior to his Columbia releases, so Joel could collect the royalties. He continued to tour and other artists like Streisand and Helen Reddy began to record his music. He tired of the life in LA and moved back to New York and was paired with producer Phil Ramone. Their first collaboration succeeded in making Joel a household name and their association continued until Joel's 1986 LP "The Bridge". After the platinum success of "The Stranger" Joel and Ramone had to beat the sophmore curse with 1978's "52nd Street", named after the address of Columbia Records world headquarters. "My Life", "Big Shot" and "Honesty" ensure the #1 success of the album. "My Life" is a bouncy tune that declares his independence and it resonated with the record buying public, peaking at #3 on the Hot100 in 1979. It's been a while since I did a pop song and it's my first Billy Joel remix. I've been on a trip for 1979 recently and noticed that quite a few songs that hit in that year were actually recorded and released in 1978. Everyone seemed to be tuned to the 4/4 beat which Joel incorporated into "My Life" that no doubt contributed to the songs success. It is not a disco song, but I like to extend songs and this one seemed ripe for the picking. I just love it.