Don't Ask Me Why (Billy Joel song)
| "Don't Ask Me Why" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Billy Joel | ||||
| from the album Glass Houses | ||||
| Released | July 24, 1980 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 1979 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock, soft rock, folk rock | |||
| Length | 2:59 | |||
| Label | Columbia Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Billy Joel | |||
| Producer(s) | Phil Ramone | |||
| Billy Joel singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Don't Ask Me Why" is a Billy Joel song released in 1980. The lyrics talk about the oddities of life that have become obvious over time. It is more characteristic of a track that would have appeared on Joel's earlier albums in that it has a lighter folk sound as compared to the harder, more rock oriented tracks found throughout the album; the song supported public perception that Joel was a middle-of-the-road artist.. The background track contains all acoustic and Latin percussion instruments performing in an Afro-Cuban rhythmic style. An eclectic, instrumental "Latin Ballroom" piano solo, played over the bridge section after the second verse, is also featured in part of the song; Joel states that the mix for the midsection includes "fifteen pianos overdubbed on top of each other."[1] The song spent two weeks at number one on the Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number nineteen on the Billboard Hot 100.[2]
It was released as the third single from the album Glass Houses and later included on Greatest Hits Volume 2.
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada RPM Top Singles[3] | 4 |
| Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[4] | 1 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 42 |
| French Singles Chart[5] | 42 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 19 |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary | 1 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 | 21 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1980) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Canada[6] | 45 |
| US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[7] | 122 |
Personnel
- Billy Joel - vocals, piano, Yamaha electric grand piano, acoustic guitar
- David Brown - acoustic guitar
- Liberty DeVitto - maracas, bass drum, triangle, claves, ratchet, temple blocks
- Russell Javors - acoustic guitar
- Doug Stegmeyer - bass
See also
References
- ↑ Bordowitz, Hank (2006). Billy Joel: The Life & Times of an Angry Young Man. New York: Billboard Books. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-8230-8248-3. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 127.
- ↑ "RPM 100 Singles (Vol. 34, No. 2, October 25, 1980)". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
- ↑ http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.0244&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.0244.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.0244
- ↑ "InfoDisc : Bilan des Ventes par Artiste". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- ↑ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.0272&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
