52nd Street (album)
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| 52nd Street | |||||
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| Studio album by Billy Joel | |||||
| Released | October, 1978 | ||||
| Recorded | A & R Recording, Inc., New York City | ||||
| Genre | Rock | ||||
| Length | 40:26 | ||||
| Label | Columbia | ||||
| Producer | Phil Ramone | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Billy Joel chronology | |||||
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52nd Street is the sixth studio album by Billy Joel, released in 1978. It was also the first of many Joel albums to top the Billboard charts, along with his third and fourth Grammy win. (see 1978 in music). The track "My Life" benefited from the exposure it received when producers of the situation comedy Bosom Buddies used the song (performed by a different singer) as its theme. 52nd Street also became, in 1982, the first album to ever be released on compact disc. [1]
Three songs reached the top 100 in the United States, helping to boost the success of the album. "My Life" reached #3, "Big Shot" reached #14, and "Honesty" reached #24. The album was also successful with critics, winning the 1979 Grammy for Album of the Year.
All Music Guide credits Joel for expanding on the style of The Stranger, making it "more sophisticated and somewhat jazzy." (Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard guests on "Zanzibar.") The title is a reference to the street that was one of New York City's jazz centers in the middle of the century. Joel's label was headquartered on 52nd Street (in the CBS Building) at the time of the album's release. 52nd Street in Manhattan on the west side is called "Swing Street" for a series of jazz clubs located there.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 352 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. [2]
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
All songs written and composed by Billy Joel.
- "Big Shot" – 4:03
- "Honesty" – 3:53
- "My Life" – 4:44
- "Zanzibar" – 5:13
- "Stiletto" – 4:42
- "Rosalinda's Eyes" – 4:41
- "Half a Mile Away" – 4:08
- "Until the Night" – 6:35
- "52nd Street" – 2:31
[edit] Personnel
- Billy Joel – piano, vocals
- Doug Stegmeyer – bass, background vocals
- Liberty DeVitto – drums
- Richie Cannata – saxophones, organ, clarinet
- Steve Khan – electric guitar, acoustic guitar
- Freddie Hubbard – trumpet on "Zanzibar"
- Mike Mainieri – vibes and marimba on "Zanzibar" and "Rosalinda's Eyes"
- David Spinozza – acoustic guitar on "Honesty"
- Donnie Dacus – background vocals on "My Life"
- Peter Cetera – background vocals on "My Life"
- David Friedman – orchestral chimes and percussion on "Until the Night"
- Ralph MacDonald – percussion on "Rosalinda's Eyes" and "Half a Mile Away"
- Eric Gale – electric guitar on "Half a Mile Away"
- Frank Floyd – background vocals on "Half a Mile Away"
- Babi Floyd – background vocals on "Half a Mile Away"
- Zack Sanders – background vocals on "Half a Mile Away"
- Milt Grayson – background vocals on "Half a Mile Away"
- Ray Simpson – background vocals on "Half a Mile Away"
- George Marge – sopranino recorder on "Rosalinda's Eyes"
- Hugh McCracken – nylon string guitar on "Until the Night" and "Rosalinda's Eyes"
- Robert Freedman – horn and string orchestration on "Until the Night" and "Honesty"
- Dave Grusin – horn orchestration on "Half a Mile Away"
- David Nadien – concertmaster
[edit] Chart positions and certifications
[edit] Album
| Year | Country | Chart | Position | Weeks | Certification (if any) | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 1979 |
United States | The Billboard Pop Albums | 1 (8 weeks)[3] | 76 | 7x Platinum[4] | 7,000,000+ |
| 1978 1979 |
Australia | Kent Music Report | 1 (5 weeks) | |||
| 1979 | Austria | 4[5] | 12 | |||
| 1979 | Norway | VG-lista | 5[5] | 15 | ||
| 1978 | Japan | Oricon Weekly LP Albums Chart (Top 100) | 9[6] | 83 | 470,000+[7] | |
| 1979 | United Kingdom | UK Albums Chart | 10 | 43 | Gold | 100,000+ |
| 1979 | Sweden | Sverigetopplistan | 18 [5] | 8 |
[edit] Year-end charts
| Year | Country | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | United States | The Billboard Year-end | 1 [8] |
| 1979 | Japan | The Oricon Year-end (LP) | 14 |
| 1980 | Japan | The Oricon Year-end (LP) | 81[9] |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Country | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | North America | "My Life" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 3 |
| 1978 | North America | "My Life" | Billboard AC | 2 |
| 1978 | Switzerland | "My Life" | 4 | |
| 1978 | Austria | "My Life" | 11 | |
| 1978 | United Kingdom | "My Life" | UK Singles Chart | 12 |
| 1978 | Japan | "My Life" | Oricon Weekly | 37 |
| 1979 | North America | "Big Shot" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 14 |
| 1979 | North America | "Honesty" | Billboard AC | 9 |
| 1979 | North America | "Honesty" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 24 |
| 1979 | Japan | "Honesty" | Oricon Weekly | 53 |
| 1979 | United Kingdom | "Until the Night" | UK Singles Chart | 50 |
[edit] Awards
| Year | Winner | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 52nd Street | Album of the Year |
[edit] References
- ^ Sony Global - Sony History
- ^ The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time : Rolling Stone
- ^ allmusic ((( 52nd Street > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums ))). allmusic.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
- ^ RIAA - Gold and Platinum - Top 100 Albums. riaa.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-27.
- ^ a b c Billy Joel - 52nd Street - austriancharts.at-. austriancharts.at. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
- ^ a-ビリー・ジョエル (Yamachan Land: Albums Chart Daijiten -Billy Joel). Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
- ^ UKMIX - Forums - View topic - Japanese Charts-The Archives-. ukmix.org. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
- ^ Billboard.com - Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200 -. billboard.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
- ^ 日本で売れた洋楽アルバムTOP23(80年) The 23 best-selling international albums on the Japan's Oricon 1980 Year-end Chart. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
| Preceded by Live and More by Donna Summer |
Billboard 200 number-one album November 18, 1978 - January 5, 1979 January 27 - February 2, 1979 |
Succeeded by Greatest Hits, Volume 2 by Barbra Streisand |
| Preceded by Dire Straits by the Dire Straits |
Kent Music Report number-one album December 25, 1978 - January 22, 1979 |
Succeeded by Blondes Have More Fun by Rod Stewart |
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