"My Life" is a song by

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

that first appeared on his 1978 album ''

52nd Street 52nd Street is a -long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan, New York City. A short section of it was known as the city's center of jazz performance from the 1930s to the 1950s. Jazz center Following the repeal of ...

''. A single version was released in the fall of 1978 and reached No. 2 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart. Early the next year, it peaked at No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Musical structure

The song begins with drums, electric bass, and a left-hand piano part, followed by a keyboard riff in the right hand. The riff is also used as a fill between verse and chorus sections and is also played at the end. The section order is intro-verse-fill-chorus-bridge-v-f-c-b-solo-c-outro. Chicago members Peter Cetera and Donnie Dacus performed the backing vocals and sang along with Joel during the bridge and in the outro ("Keep it to yourself, it's my life"). "My Life" was used as the theme song for the ABC television series '' Bosom Buddies'' (1980–82), albeit in a re-recorded version with a different vocalist. However, due to licensing issues, it does not appear on the VHS and DVD releases of the series, nor is it used in the show's syndicated airings; in both cases, it is replaced by a vocal version of the show's closing instrumental theme, "Shake Me Loose", sung by

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to stardom as "Dorothy" in the original seven-time Tony Award winning Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' from 1974 to 1979. The song " Home" from t ...

Reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' described "My Life" as "an infectious uptempo tune guaranteeing a good mood for the listener." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that the "jumpy, upfront beat, keyboards, and acoustic guitar lines back Joel's strong singing" and praised the "musical and lyrical hooks."

Personnel

– lead and backing vocals, Yamaha CP-70 electric grand piano, synthesizers * David Brown – electric guitar *

Russell Javors Russell Javors (born June 13, 1952) is an American rock guitarist. He is best known as a rhythm guitarist for Billy Joel from 1976 to 1989. Career At age 15, Javors was performing songs with his childhood friend Liberty DeVitto. He met Doug Stegm ...

– acoustic guitar * Doug Stegmeyer – bass * Liberty DeVitto – drums * Richie Cannata –

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

* Peter Cetera – backing vocals * Donnie Dacus – backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:My Life (Billy George Song) 1978 singles 1979 singles Billy Joel songs Comedy television theme songs Song recordings produced by Phil Ramone Songs written by Billy Joel Columbia Records singles 1978 songs Number-one singles in Zimbabwe