My Life (Billy Joel song)
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| “My Life” | |||||
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| Single by Billy Joel from the album 52nd Street |
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| B-side | 52nd Street | ||||
| Released | 1978 | ||||
| Format | 7" | ||||
| Genre | Pop | ||||
| Length | 4:44 | ||||
| Label | Columbia | ||||
| Writer(s) | Billy Joel | ||||
| Producer | Phil Ramone | ||||
| Billy Joel singles chronology | |||||
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"My Life" is a song by Billy Joel that first appeared on his 1978 album 52nd Street. A single version was released in the fall of 1978 and reached #2 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart. Early the next year it peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song begins with drums and electric bass, followed by a keyboard riff. The riff is also used as a fill between verse and chorus sections and is also played at the end. The section order is intro-verse-fill-chorus-bridge-v-f-c-b-solo-c-outro.
The melody echoes the ending of Elton John's 1975 single "Someone Saved My Life Tonight".
Chicago members Peter Cetera and Donnie Dacus performed the backing vocals and sang along with Billy Joel during the bridge and in the outro ("Keep it to yourself, it's my life").
"My Life" was used as the theme song for the television series Bosom Buddies (1980-82), however due to licensing issues it does not appear on the DVD release of the series.
During the fadeout the interlude repeats five times with the backup vocalists singing, "Keep it to yourself, it's my life," over the last eight intervals. Also as the song fades out, Billy Joel can be heard making a puking noise. It is possible that his ex-girlfriend (who he sings about in the song) made him sick to his stomach by smothering him.[citation needed]
[edit] Single and album edits
The differences between the single and album versions are the following:
- The intro and the interlude that follows are abridged.
- The interludes between the verses and refrains are cut in half.
- The instrumental break that follows the second bridge is deleted.
[edit] Chart positions
| Charts | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 2 |
| UK Singles Chart | 12 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 4 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 11 |
| Japan Oricon Singles Chart | 37 |
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