Billy Joel Ranks His Top 5 Billy Joel Songs
Most songwriters find it hard to pick favorites from their own catalog, but Billy Joel managed to rank his own top five songs during a visit last night to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
"That's a fair question," Joel told Colbert. "I actually think about that when I'm onstage — what would I want to see me do? I tend to like the album tracks, not the hit singles."
With that in mind, he proceeded to pluck a few deeper numbers from his catalog — while pointing out that at this point, the majority of his audience is comfortable taking that dive too, at least when it comes to his choice for the No. 5 slot. "I'd say 'Vienna,'" he started. "We gave the audience a choice — do you want 'Vienna' or 'Just the Way You Are'? They picked 'Vienna.'"
After "Vienna," Joel continued to fill out his Top 5 with the Storm Front track "And So It Goes," the Glass Houses single "You May Be Right" and "She's Right on Time" from 1982's The Nylon Curtain before settling on "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant," recorded for his landmark 1977 hit LP The Stranger, in the top spot.
After running through the list, Joel proceeded to talk about his friendship with Bruce Springsteen — including the recent breakdown of a motorcycle his shop built for the Boss — and engaged in a little tongue-in-cheek "stories behind the songs" with Colbert. You can see it all in the above video, and watch Joel's Late Show performance of "Miami 2017" below. Keep an eye out for Joel's stadium tour throughout the year.
Billy Joel Albums Ranked Worst to Best