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It's Still Rock and Roll to Me

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"It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" is a song written and performed by Billy Joel, from the hit album Glass Houses. Released in 1980, the song peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, from July 19 through August 1, 1980, making it Joel's first number 1 hit single in the United States. The song spent 11 weeks in the top 10 and was the 7th biggest hit of 1980 according to American Top 40.

"It's Still Rock and Roll to Me"
Single by Billy Joel
from the album Glass Houses
B-side"Through the Long Night"
ReleasedMay 12, 1980
Genre
Length2:57
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Billy Joel
Producer(s)Phil Ramone
Billy Joel singles chronology
"You May Be Right"
(1980) 		"It's Still Rock and Roll to Me"
(1980) 		"Don't Ask Me Why"
(1980)

The song conveys Joel's criticisms of the music industry and press, commenting on new musical styles of the time such as new wave being mere rehashes of older musical styles. It also addresses changing trends and attitudes of the era.

The single eventually reached platinum status from the RIAA for sales of over 1 million copies in the United States.[7]

History and composition

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Joel wrote the song in response to critics who often described his music as adult contemporary, middle-of-the-road pop. He felt that new styles of music were not unlike older styles of music (regardless of marketing). He especially viewed new wave as akin to older genres such as power pop and rock and roll, commenting in an interview with Rolling Stone that "new wave songs, it seems, can only be about two and a half minutes long... only a certain number of instruments can be played on the record - usually a very few... only a certain amount of production is allowed or can be heard... the sound has to be limited to what you can hear in a garage... a return to that sound is all that’s going on now."[8]

The song is in 4/4 time at 144bpm and is written in C major.[9] It features a saxophone solo before the final verse. According to drummer Liberty DeVitto in an interview, the sound engineer for the song had him tune his snare drum extremely low so that it would "flop" when he played it.[10] The "miracle mile" mentioned in the lyrics refers to a road host to many stores in Manhasset and Great Neck Long Island. The reference to whitewall tires is from the store Best Tire and new speakers is a reference to Berliner Stereo, all locations near the area where Joel spent his childhood.[11]

Critical reception

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In a review made a week later after single release, Billboard editors noticed the laconicism of backing support and Joel's vocal that made the song sparkling.[12] Tom Breihan of Stereogum, in a retrospective review, was mixed, referring to it as "a sharp, well-written song" but commenting that it "never takes off".[13] Cash Box said that Joel "throws a few slyly humorous stones...at the present new wave fad" and that the song includes "a torrid sax break."[14] Record World said that "Joel surveys the current rock scene with sharp vocal phrasing & a pulsating rhythm, driving home his pointed lyrical observations."[15]

Personnel

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Chart history

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Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada — 213,000[26]
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[28] 2× Platinum 2,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Music video

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A music video for the song was made, showing Joel performing the song live with his band. According to his band members, the song vocals were performed live by Joel during the video's filming.[10]

Covers and parody

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"Weird Al" Yankovic recorded a parody of the song entitled "It's Still Billy Joel to Me" in 1980, popularized on the Dr. Demento radio program. It was not released, either as a single or an album track. Yankovic commented, "I wrote that in 1980, but even by 1983 (when my first album came out) it felt a bit dated. Also, we figured that Billy wasn’t very likely to give us his blessing on that one anyway, so we never even bothered asking."[29] Rapper Kid Rock recorded a version entitled "It's Still East Detroit to Me".[30] Pop rock musician Drake Bell covered the song in 2014 on his rockabilly album Ready Steady Go!.[31]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Thomas, Stephen. "Glass Houses - Billy Joel". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
  2. ^ Brusie, David (October 28, 2014). "With Glass Houses, Billy Joel attempted to overhaul his image". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  3. ^ "The Stranger at 70: Billy Joel's 25 best songs". 31 March 2020.
  4. ^ "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me - Billy Joel | Song Info | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  5. ^ "The Number Ones: Billy Joel's "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me"". 30 March 2020.
  6. ^ Evanoff, Savannah (November 18, 2019). "OFF THE RECORD: 'Glass Houses'". Northwest Florida Daily News. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA.
  8. ^ Kielty, Martin (May 12, 2020). "When Billy Joel Lashed Back With 'It's Still Rock and Roll to Me'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  9. ^ BPM for It's Still Rock And Roll To Me (Billy Joel), retrieved 2021-07-29
  10. ^ a b Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Billy Joel's Legendary Band - The Lords of 52nd Street Interview". YouTube. 31 January 2019.
  11. ^ Songfacts. "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me by Billy Joel - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  12. ^ "Review: Billy Joel — It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 85, no. 20. 17 May 1980. p. 68. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 31 May 2020 – via American Radio History.
  13. ^ "The Number Ones: Billy Joel's "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me"". Stereogum. 2020-03-30. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  14. ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 17, 1980. p. 18. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  15. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. May 17, 1980. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  16. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 156. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  17. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0204a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  18. ^ InfoDisc, Daniel Lesueur, Dominic Durand, Lesueur. "InfoDisc : Bilan des Ventes par Artiste". Infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2016-10-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – It's Still Rock and Roll to Me". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  20. ^ "Billy Joel Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  21. ^ "Billy Joel Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  22. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1980". Kent Music Report. January 5, 1981. Retrieved January 17, 2022 – via Imgur.
  23. ^ "Canadian 1980 Top 100 Singles". Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  24. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1980/Top 100 Songs of 1980". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  25. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  26. ^ "Juno Album, Singles Data" (PDF). Billboard. January 24, 1981. p. 102. Retrieved March 2, 2021 – via World Radio History.
  27. ^ "British single certifications – Billy Joel – It's Still Rock and Roll to Me". British Phonographic Industry. 19 April 2024. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  28. ^ "American single certifications – Billy Joel – It's Still Rock 'N' Roll To Me". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  29. ^ "Weird Al Yankovic - It's Still Billy Joel To Me". Paste Magazine. 2008-10-24. Archived from the original on 2019-12-17. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  30. ^ "Kid Rock before the fame: The definitive Detroit oral history". Freep.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  31. ^ Collar, Matt. "Drake Bell - Ready Steady Go! Review". Allmusic. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
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