Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)

"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" is a song written and recorded by Billy Joel. The track details the singer's disgust with the upwardly mobile bourgeois aspirations of working- and lower-middle-class New Yorkers who take pride in working long hours to afford the outward signs of having "made it".[1] Characters have stereotypically ethnic names (Anthony, Mama Leone, Sergeant O'Leary, Mr. Cacciatore) and blue-collar jobs. Joel considers their rejection of their working-class roots (trading a Chevy for a Cadillac and buying a house in Hackensack, New Jersey) ultimately futile. Near the end of the recording is the sound of a car starting up and driving away; the bass player Doug Stegmeyer's 1960s Corvette was used.

"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"
Side-A label of U.S. vinyl single
Single by Billy Joel
from the album The Stranger
A-side"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)”
B-side
  • “She's Always a Woman" (Europe)
  • Vienna (UK)
  • "Everybody has a Dream" (US)
ReleasedNovember 1, 1977
Recorded1977
GenreRock
Length3:28
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Billy Joel
Producer(s)Phil Ramone
Billy Joel singles chronology
"Just the Way You Are"
(1977)		 "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"
(1977)		 "Only the Good Die Young"
(1977)
Music video
"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" on YouTube

Billboard described "Movin' Out" as an "upbeat narrative that is sort of a commentary on upward mobility."[2] According to Joel, Anthony is not a real person, but rather "every Irish, Polish, and Italian kid trying to make a living in the U.S."

"Movin' Out" originally appeared on Joel's 1977 album The Stranger. Live performances of it can be heard on 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert and 12 Gardens Live.

Versions

The 45RPM single slightly differs from the album version as the sound effects of the car near the end of the song were removed.

Personnel

Broadway musical
Main article: Movin' Out (musical)

The Twyla Tharp Broadway dance musical Movin' Out, featuring the songs of Billy Joel, opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City on October 24, 2002, and played 1,307 performances before closing in December 2005. The show's lead piano player and singer was Michael Cavanaugh. It toured the US extensively from 2004 to 2007, with Darren Holden as lead Piano Man, and Matt Wilson, James Fox and Matthew Friedman as second Piano Men. The show transferred to the Apollo Victoria Theatre in the West End of London on April 10, 2006; James Fox played lead piano and sang, with Darren Reeves as second piano man. It closed early, on May 22, owing to poor ticket sales.

Movin' Out is also the title of the original Broadway cast album taken from the musical.

Chart performance

Track listing
Europe
  1. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" – time: 3:28
  2. "She's Always A Woman" – time: 3:21
UK
  1. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" – time: 3:28
  2. "Vienna" – time: 3:34
United States
  1. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" – time: 3:28
  2. "Everybody Has A Dream" – time: 4:36

References
  1. Dean, Maury (2003). Rock N' Roll Gold Rush. Algora. p. 348. ISBN 0-87586-207-1.
  2. "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. March 18, 1978. p. 87. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  3. "Item Display - RPM". Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  4. "Image : RPM Weekly". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  5. NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, 28 May 1978
  6. "Cash Box Top 100 6/03/78". Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  7. "Image : RPM Weekly". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  8. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
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