Billy Joel Turnstiles

By 1976, Billy Joel had seen how many different ways there were to not sell records. The Commandos—his Hicksville, Long Island high school band—made two singles and disappeared like a Mafia trial witness. Then there was a pair of albums with The Hassles, a white R&B band, for United Artists, followed by one with Attila, the world’s first keyboard-and-drums heavy metal duo, which is distinguished only by its novelty and a cover photo worth seeking out. His 1971 solo debut, Cold Spring Harbor, was mastered at the wrong speed, which made him sound like one of the Chipmunks, he later said. When he signed with Columbia Records, the home of Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand and Simon & Garfunkel, among other stars, Joel got a fresh start with a powerhouse record company. “Piano Man”, the title song from his Columbia debut, was a minor pop hit in the US, and “Captain Jack” was an underground hit on FM stations (yes, there was a time when Billy Joel was underground), though because it was over seven minutes long and mentioned masturbation, it was played mostly late at night. For his third album with Columbia, some changes needed to be made, and Joel, who can be combative, fought to use his touring band, rather than studio pros, which helped him find the right sound he wanted. “Prelude/Angry Young Man” opens with some pickpocket-fast piano-pounding that may have left a big impression on Ben Folds. It’s very much a New York album, from the cover photo of Joel in a subway station to the two love songs to his city: the apocalyptic “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)” and the breezy “New York State of Mind”, which was later covered by Tony Bennett and Barbra Streisand, among many others. Four of the songs on Turnstiles stayed in Joel’s live set for years, and when he played them, crowds celebrated. But notably, nothing from the album charted—though “James” was pretty big in the Netherlands. His fourth solo album didn’t reverse his (mis)fortunes in the music business, but on his next record, the hits came in bunches.