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Root Beer Rag
"Root Beer Rag" is a composition from Billy Joel's 1974 album '' Streetlife Serenade''. An instrumental track in a very fast ragtime style, it was later released as the B-side of several singles from Joel's ''52nd Street'' album, including "Big Shot" in the US, " Until the Night" in the UK, and "Honesty" in Japan and some European countries. A live version was included with the DVD that was part of the 30th anniversary re-release of '' The Stranger''. The piece is in C major (though the recording is sped up a microtone) and is one of three studio instrumentals that Joel has released. Joel has played the piece in concert frequently over the years, stating that he uses it as "a kind of instrumental palate cleanser." He further stated that it requires his "full attention as the notes spill out." Background Author Ken Bielen describes "Root Beer Rag" as a fast ragtime piano work. Joel biographer Hank Bordowitz describes the composition as "homebrewed ragtime". Music critic Mark Beg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Shot (song)
"Big Shot" is a song performed by Billy Joel from his 1978 album ''52nd Street'', released as a single in early 1979. The song would become the second hit single from the album, peaking at #14 in the United States. Lyrics and music The song is superficially about the protagonist mocking a woman with a severe hangover for her intoxicated escapades around town, making numerous social and verbal ''faux pas'' while high on alcohol and drugs ("But now you just don't remember all the things you said / And you're not sure you want to know / I'll give you one hint, honey; you sure did put on a show!"). The song makes reference to late 1970s ''nouveau riche'' fads such as Elaine's restaurant and Halston. During a Q&A session at Florida State University in 1996, Joel stated the song is about someone he was very close to, and also about himself. In an interview in 2006, Joel said, "I read that the song 'Big Shot' is said to be about a date I had with Bianca Jagger. I never had a date with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synthesizers
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and frequency modulation synthesis. These sounds may be altered by components such as filters, which cut or boost frequencies; envelopes, which control articulation, or how notes begin and end; and low-frequency oscillators, which modulate parameters such as pitch, volume, or filter characteristics affecting timbre. Synthesizers are typically played with keyboards or controlled by sequencers, software or other instruments, and may be synchronized to other equipment via MIDI. Synthesizer-like instruments emerged in the United States in the mid-20th century with instruments such as the RCA Mark II, which was controlled with punch cards and used hundreds of vacuum tubes. The Moog synthesizer, developed by Robert Moog and first sold in 1964 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne. History AllMusic was launched as ''All Music Guide'' by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as CDs replaced LPs as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he researched using metadata to create a music guide. In 1990, in Big Rapids, Michigan, he founded ''All Music Guide' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prelude/Angry Young Man
"Prelude/Angry Young Man" is a song written by Billy Joel which appeared as the sixth song on the album ''Turnstiles'' in 1976. Live versions have been released as the second track of '' KOHЦEPT'', the 11th track of the first disc of '' 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert'', and the opening track on the first disc of ''12 Gardens Live'' and '' Live at Shea Stadium: The Concert''. It is also included in the Broadway show '' Movin' Out''. The instrumental "Prelude" lasts approximately a minute and 43 seconds, starting with a rapid-fire hammered piano riff on the middle-C piano key, joined by various instruments, swinging through styles such an Aaron Copland-styled ballad to funk to a Southwestern beat. According to Joel in an interview with Howard Stern, the rhythm of the fast-paced piano riff was meant to pay homage to the drum part in the song " Wipe Out" by The Surfaris. When performing live, Joel plays the fast-paced prelude himself, but performs the song early in the setlist, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Figure (music)
__NOTOC__ A musical figure or figuration is the shortest phrase in music; a short succession of notes, often recurring. It may have melodic pitch, harmonic progression, and rhythmic meter. The 1964 '' Grove's Dictionary'' defines the figure as "the exact counterpart of the German 'motiv' and the French 'motif: it produces a "single complete and distinct impression". To the self-taught Roger Scruton, however, a figure is distinguished from a motif in that a figure is background while a motif is foreground: Allen Forte describes the term ''figuration'' as being applied to two distinct things: A phrase originally presented or heard as a motif may become a figure that accompanies another melody, such as in the second movement of Claude Debussy's ''String Quartet''. It is perhaps best to view a figure as a motif when it has special importance in a piece. According to White, motives are, "significant in the structure of the work," while figures or figurations are not and, "may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drum Brush
A percussion mallet or beater is an object used to strike or beat a percussion instrument in order to produce its sound. The term beater is slightly more general. A mallet is normally held in the hand while a beater may be foot or mechanically operated, for example in a bass drum pedal. The term drum stick is less general still, but still applied to a wide range of beaters. Some mallets, such as a triangle beater, are normally used only with a specific instrument, while others are used on many different instruments. Often, mallets of differing material and hardness are used to create different timbres on the same types of instrument (e.g. using either wooden or yarn mallets on a xylophone). Some mallets, such as vibraphone mallets, are normally just called mallets, others have more specialized names including: * Drum sticks, of many types, some used with a wide variety of instruments,. * Rutes, used with many instruments. * Brushes, used particularly with snare drum but also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pedal Steel Guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can play unlimited glissando, glissandi (sliding notes) and deep vibrato, vibrati—characteristics it shares with the human voice. Pedal steel is most commonly associated with American country music and Music of Hawaii, Hawaiian music. Pedals were added to a lap steel guitar in 1940, allowing the performer to play a major scale without moving the Steel bar, bar and also to push the pedals while striking a chord, making passing notes slur or bend up into harmony with existing notes. The latter creates a unique sound that has been popular in country and western music— a sound not previously possible on steel guitars before pedals were added. From its first use in Hawaii in the 19th century, the steel guitar sound became ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Of Dreams
''River of Dreams'' is the twelfth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on August 10, 1993. ''River of Dreams'' presented a more serious tone than found in Joel's previous albums, dealing with issues such as trust and long-lasting love. It was rumored that the themes of trust and betrayal, particularly certain lyrics from the songs "A Minor Variation" and "The Great Wall of China", stem from Joel's legal disputes with his former manager and ex-brother-in-law, Frank Weber, who reportedly embezzled millions of dollars from Joel and used dubious accounting practices to cover it up. As of 2022, ''River of Dreams'' is the last rock album Joel has released. The last studio album he released was ''Fantasies & Delusions'' in 2001, a classical recording featuring solo piano performed by Hyung-ki "Richard" Joo. Since ''River of Dreams'', Joel has recorded occasional pop/rock singles and continues to play live. The album cover was a painting by Joel's then-wife ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Storm Front (album)
''Storm Front'' is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on October 17, 1989. It was Joel's third album to reach No. 1 in the U.S. and features "We Didn't Start the Fire", a fast-paced song that cataloged a list of historical events, trends, and cultural icons from 1949 (when Joel was born) until 1989, which was Joel's third ''Billboard'' No. 1 hit. "I Go to Extremes", a song describing the ups and downs of his emotional life, placed at No. 6. Other songs that placed in the top 100 were "And So It Goes" (No. 37), " The Downeaster 'Alexa'" (No. 57), and " That's Not Her Style" (No. 77). The album was also nominated for five Grammy Awards. The album's cover depicts the maritime storm warning flag indicating wind forces 10–12, the highest intensity on the Beaufort scale. Joel has stated in recent Sirius XM segments that he was inspired by Peter Gabriel's 1986 track "Sledgehammer", as an inspiration for the "driving rhythm section" when he wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Bridge (Billy Joel Album)
''The Bridge'' is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on July 9, 1986. It was Joel's last studio album produced by Phil Ramone as well as the last to feature Joel's long-time bassist Doug Stegmeyer and rhythm guitarist Russell Javors. The album yielded several successful singles, including "A Matter of Trust" (peaking at No. 10), "Modern Woman" (which also appeared on the ''Ruthless People'' soundtrack, peaking at No. 10), and " This Is the Time" (peaking at No. 18). Background Joel began work on the album—on which two of his major influences (Ray Charles and Steve Winwood) made guest appearances—in 1985. Charles sang a duet with Joel on the song " Baby Grand", and Winwood played Hammond organ on the song "Getting Closer"; Charles and Winwood later covered "Baby Grand" and "Getting Closer" respectively in concert. Other notable musicians who made guest appearances on the album include jazz musicians Ron Carter and Michael Brecker, who b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Nylon Curtain
''The Nylon Curtain'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on September 23, 1982, and produced by Phil Ramone. ''The Nylon Curtain'' peaked at on the '' Billboard'' albums chart, with two million sales in the U.S. It was one of the first albums to be digitally recorded, mixed, and mastered. Background The album is among Joel's most ambitious efforts, and Joel has openly acknowledged that it is one of his personal favorites, calling it "the recording I'm most proud of and the material I'm most proud of." When he recorded the album, he said in an interview that he wanted to "create a sonic masterpiece." Joel spent more time in the studio, crafting the sound of the album, than he had on any previous album. He said that the process of making the album was "exhausting." Critics have interpreted the album to be, in part, an homage to the music of The Beatles and the then-recently deceased John Lennon. Saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist Richie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glass Houses (album)
''Glass Houses'' is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on March 12, 1980. It features Joel's first song to peak at on ''Billboard'''s Pop Singles chart, "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me". The album itself topped the Pop Albums chart for six weeks and was ranked on ''Billboards 1980 year-end album chart. The album is the 41st best selling album of the 1980s, with sales of 7.1 million copies in the U.S. alone. In 1981, Joel won a Grammy Award for "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance" for his work on ''Glass Houses''. According to music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the album featured "a harder-edged sound" compared to Joel's other work, in response to the punk and new wave movements. This was also the final studio album to feature the original incarnation (Joel, Richie Cannata, Doug Stegmeyer, Russell Javors and Liberty DeVitto) of the Billy Joel Band, augmented by new lead guitarist David Brown. Multi-instrumentalist Cannata left th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
