In February, much ado was made about “Turn the Lights Back On,” the first newly released song by Billy Joel in 17 years, and his first Billboard Hot 100 hit since 1997.
Fans certainly missed Joel during that interim, though he continued to perform — monthly at Madison Square Garden from January 2014 to July 2024 (minus the pandemic) and in stadiums, co-headlining with pals such as Stevie Nicks and Sting. Besides keep us entertained, those shows also reminded us that despite the absence of fresh material, the “Piano Man” was hardly a stranger to us. There was, after all, a legacy of 13 studio albums (including the 2001 classical outing Fantasies & Delusions), assorted movie soundtrack contributions and material from compilations.
Joel has logged 43 singles on the Hot 100 since 1974. (“Turn the Lights Back On” peaked at No. 62.) A baker’s dozen of those were top 10 hits, with three (“It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” “Tell Her About It” and “We Didn’t Start the Fire”) making it all the way to No. 1.
Along the way, Joel has won five Grammys, been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame (which also gave him the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award) and received a Kennedy Center Honor. Talking about that success, however, Joel acknowledged to Music Connection in 2022, “Part of me thinks it’s absurd; I’m 73 years old and I’m doing the same gig I was doing when I was 16! This is a job for a young person. I am now considered elderly, and I’m still doing the same crazy-ass job, so that part of it is kind of absurd.”
But, he added, “The other part it means to me is it’s wonderful. I picked a great job to have. They’re paying me all kinds of money. The audiences are bigger than they ever were. People are still coming to see me, and there’s a lot of young people out in the crowd who still know my stuff. That’s wonderful. I’m a lucky guy.”
We’re lucky to have the music, too, even if it’s damn near impossible to pick a favorite. That being said, we’re rounding up Joel’s 10 best songs among his Hot 100 hits. It’s a daunting task, to be sure, but if it means listening to all those hits once again, we’re more than up to the challenge.
Editor’s note: The years listed for each song are the year that single reached its peak on the Hot 100.
