52nd Street (album)

52nd Street is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on October 11, 1978.[1] The follow-up to his breakthrough success album, The Stranger, Joel tried to give the album a fresh sound, hiring various jazz musicians to differentiate it from his previous albums.[2]

52nd Street
Studio album by
Billy Joel
ReleasedOctober 11, 1978 (1978-10-11)
RecordedJuly–August 1978
StudioA&R Recording, Inc., 799 7th Avenue at 52nd Street, New York City
Genre
Length40:26
LabelFamily Productions/Columbia
ProducerPhil Ramone
Billy Joel chronology
The Stranger
(1977)		 52nd Street
(1978)		 Glass Houses
(1980)
Singles from 52nd Street
  1. "My Life"
    Released: October 28, 1978
  2. "Big Shot"
    Released: January 1979
  3. "Until the Night"
    Released: March 1979
  4. "Honesty"
    Released: May 1979

It was the first of four Joel albums to top the Billboard charts, and it earned him two Grammys. Three songs reached the Top 40 in the United States, contributing to the album's success: "My Life" (number 3), "Big Shot" (number 14), and "Honesty" (number 24).[3] It was similarly well received by critics, earning the 1980 Grammy for Album of the Year.[4] This Grammy was presented to its producer, Phil Ramone. Upon Ramone's death, 52nd Street's Album of the Year Grammy was passed on to Joel. Additionally, the album is notable for being among the first albums commercially released on the compact disc format, reaching store shelves on October 1, 1982, in Japan (it was one of fifty CDs released that day, including The Stranger, but bore the first catalogue number in the sequence, 35DP-1, and so is frequently cited as the first to be released).[5] In keeping with this history, it was also the first release when Sony returned to manufacturing vinyl records in 2018.[6]

The title is a reference to 52nd Street, 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. The studio where recording took place was also on 52nd Street, one block away from the CBS Building.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Blender[8]
Christgau's Record GuideB−[9]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[10]
The Great Rock Discography7/10[11]
Record Mirror[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]

Reviewing 52nd Street for The Village Voice in 1979, Robert Christgau noted Joel's talent for writing catchy songs and likened him to Elton John, albeit with more "smarm".[14]

Retrospectively, AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine praises Joel for expanding stylistically on 1977's The Stranger, describing 52nd Street as "more sophisticated and somewhat jazzy."[7] In 2000, it was voted number 621 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[15] In 2003, 52nd Street was ranked number 352 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,[16] and at 354 on a 2012 revised list.[17]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Billy Joel.

Side one
  1. "Big Shot" – 4:03
  2. "Honesty" – 3:52
  3. "My Life" – 4:44
  4. "Zanzibar" – 5:13
Side two
  1. "Stiletto" – 4:42
  2. "Rosalinda's Eyes" – 4:41
  3. "Half a Mile Away" – 4:08
  4. "Until the Night" – 6:35
  5. "52nd Street" – 2:27

Song notes

The song "Rosalinda's Eyes" was inspired by Joel's mother, Rosalind Nyman Joel.[18]

Personnel

Production

  • Phil Ramone – producer, mixing
  • Kathy Kurs – associate producer
  • Carol Peters – associate producer
  • Jim Boyer – engineer, mixing
  • David Martone – assistant engineer
  • Ted Jensen – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York City, NY)
  • John Berg – cover design
  • Jim Houghton – photography

Accolades

Grammy Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
198052nd StreetAlbum of the Year[4]Won
Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male[4]Won
"Honesty"Song of the Year[19]Nominated

American Music Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
1980Billy Joel (performer)Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist[20]Nominated

Charts

Certifications and sales

[49]

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[50] 5× Platinum 500,000^
France (SNEP)[51] Gold 242,500[52]
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[53] Gold 7,500*
Japan (RIAJ)[54] Gold 470,000[55]
New Zealand (RMNZ)[56] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[57] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[58] 7× Platinum 7,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. RIAA lists October 11 as the release date. Billy Joel tweeted that it was October 12.
  2. https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/remember-when-billy-joels-multi-grammy-winning-52nd-street
  3. "allmusic ((( 52nd Street > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  4. "Past Winners Search". grammy.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  5. "How Billy Joel's '52nd Street' Became the First Compact Disc Released". Ultimate Classic Rock. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017.
  6. "Sony joins vinyl revival with first LP releases in almost 30 years".
  7. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "52nd Street – Billy Joel". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  8. Browne, David (May 22, 2007). "Billy Joel: 52nd Street". Blender. Archived from the original on February 4, 2010. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  9. Christgau, Robert (1981). "J". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved February 27, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  10. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Joel, Billy". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  11. Strong, Martin C. (2002). "Billy Joel". The Great Rock Discography (6th ed.). Canongate Books. ISBN 1-84195-312-1.
  12. Smith, Robin (November 18, 1978). "Billy Joel: 52nd Street". Record Mirror. p. 18.
  13. Evans, Paul (2004). "Billy Joel". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 434–35. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  14. Christgau, Robert (April 2, 1979). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  15. Larkin, Colin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  16. "500 Greatest Albums of All Time: 52nd Street – Billy Joel". Rolling Stone. November 18, 2003. Archived from the original on December 20, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  17. "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. May 31, 2012. Archived from the original on March 26, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
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