Full Description
Billy Joel has sold over 150 million records, produced thirty-three Top-40 hits, received six Grammy Awards, and been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Fans celebrate him, critics deride him, and scholars have all but ignored him. This first-of-its-kind collection of essays offers close analysis and careful insight into the ways his work has impacted popular music during the last fifty years. Using diverse approaches, this volume serves as a model for how any scholar can approach the study of popular music. Ultimately, these chapters interrogate how popular music frames our experiences, constitutes our history and culture, and gains importance in our daily lives.
Contents
Foreword by Billy Joel
Introduction: "The Stranger": Locating Billy Joel in Popular Music Studies
Ryan Raul Bañagale and Joshua S. Duchan
Part I: "Somewhere Along the Line": Considering Tradition
Chapter One: From Liverpool to Hicksville: Sgt. Pepper Meets The Nylon Curtain
Joshua S. Duchan
Chapter Two: Movin' Out on Thunder Road: Images of Ambition, Escape, and Authenticity in Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen
John J. Sheinbaum
Part II: "This Is the Time": Performance Analysis
Chapter Three: Billy Joel, Piano Culture, and Rock's Road Not Taken
Jonathan D. Bellman
Chapter Four: Form, Lyrics, and the "Short-Short-Long" Pattern in Billy Joel's Music
Don Traut
Part III: "You're My Home": Imagined Locations
Chapter Five: "The Downeaster 'Alexa'": Billy Joel Signifies Folk
Morgan Jones
Chapter Six: "Nothing Rhymes With Bethlehem": City Branding Schemes and the Strategic Deployment of Billy Joel's "Allentown"
Sarah Messbauer
Part IV: "Stop in Nevada": Live Performance
Chapt
