Glass Houses - A Billy Joel Podcast

Billy Joel's biggest fans know Jon Small as the drummer for The Hassles and Attila, the bands the two played in as teenagers and young adults in Long Island.  Some may even recognize Small's further contributions to Billy's career as the director or producer of virtually all Billy's music videos and concert movies. But, his behind-the-camera impact on popular music goes far beyond just one artist....

“Last Play At Shea” promised to tell the story of Billy Joel’s historic back-to-back 2008 concerts at the iconic Long Island baseball stadium. But it’s not long into the running time that the story becomes much larger than one of music’s biggest stars performing at one of the country’s most legendary venues.  After quickly establishing how Billy’s shows will be the last performances at Shea Stadiu...

It’s been a busy month in the Billy Joel world – and Michael and Jack were there for it.  June kicked off with the premier of the “Billy Joel: And So It Goes” documentary at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. As the first event for this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, the red carpet features A-list celebrities like Tom Hanks and Robert De Niro along with many familiar faces and names for Billy fan...

A 1972 Billy Joel performance doesn’t sound like the concerts he’s been performing over the last 50 years. Instead, two live recordings from that year reveal an artist still finding his way – even if a few key elements were already in place.  That year, Billy opened for Taj Mahal at the Boarding House in San Francisco on January 22. Then, he played the ill-fated and mostly-forgotten Mar Y Sol Pop...

1992 wasn’t a prolific year for Billy, nestled between the end of one of his longest tours supporting a monster hit album and releasing his final pop album the next year.  But, his decisions here would determine the next phase of his career. Throughout the year, he spent just as much time looking to the past as he did preparing for his future.  It was the year Billy began working on River Of Dream...

Billy Joel banked on his recent success when he wrote and recorded the 1980 album Glass Houses. The songs were much more streamlined and guitar-driven than his previous two platinum-selling releases, and arranged to be played in arenas and coliseums rather than theaters and colleges.  But, just as the record’s New Wave leanings drew ire from the critics, the Glass Houses tour received mixed reacti...

Today, we know Glass Houses as one of Billy Joel’s biggest albums. The 1980 release became his third-consecutive album to quickly go platinum. It kept the band playing some of the biggest venues in the world, and features a handful of songs that are still  live staples. At the time, however, it was a drastic departure from Billy’s previous hit records. He’d shed much of the classical and jazz infl...

Billy Joel’s 1980 release, Glass Houses, is considered classic rock in 2025. But at the time,  listeners and critics heard a huge leap into then-current New Wave – and not necessarily a good one.  The album was a stripped-down departure from the more lush arrangements on the Stranger and 52nd Street, released in 1977 and 1978  respectively. Some contemporary reviewers applauded the songwriting and...

With a pair of award-winning, chart-topping albums under his belt, Billy Joel entered A&R Recording in 1979 with the intention of abandoning the sound that made him a superstar. He did so by showcasing the musicians who were instrumental to his success.  The result was Glass Houses. Released on March 12, 1980, the album lurched Billy out of the classically-informed, jazz-influenced, singer-songwri...

Even though Billy Joel was a superstar by the 1980s, he still had to promote each new album. That included appearances on late night television shows.  Billy was never a fan of music videos or performing on television, saying music shouldn’t have to be a visual art. But as the landscape of late night shows changed over the years, he found more opportunities that suited his style.  He offset his sp...

With more than 50 years of performances as a solo artist, Billy Joel’s songs and stage show have evolved alongside the formats for musical performances on late night television programs. Spots like these have always been valuable for developing artists to introduce themselves to new audiences. More established musicians often appear on them near the promotional kickoff for a new album or tour.  Ov...

Late night television has been an important showcase for musical talent for well over half a century. The casts and crews make producing these shows seem effortless. But the truth is that it takes split-second timing and a tight knit team to get each episode on the air.  In this two-part series, we’re exploring Billy Joel’s late-night TV appearances from the mid 70s through the current decade. But...

It's felt like seven years since we've been trapped on this desert island with only 12 Billy Joel songs to listen to.  If you missed Part One of this series, Jack and I picked one song from each of Billy's studio pop albums that we would want if we were trapped on a desert island.  So far, we've gone from 1971's Cold Spring Harbor to 52nd Street in 1978. Along the way, we picked up on songwriting...

What are the 12 Billy Joel songs you can't live without? That's what we are discussing over the next two episodes.  We picked one track from each pop studio album that we would want if we were trapped on a desert island. Our choices were rarely the hits, and not necessarily our favorite go-to songs, either. Ultimately, the exercise revealed new insights into Billy's songwriting style and common th...

We often record way more than we can release on our bi-weekly episodes. That's why we always save the last episode of the year for odds and ends It's our collection of outtakes and diversions that made for great conversation but wouldn't find a home in the episode we were recording. This year we've got two heaping spoonfuls: First is an impromptu discussion about record collections that became a e...

Since joining the Lords of 52nd Street in 2021, Dan Orlando's post as piano player and lead singer has become much more than a job, albeit a crucial one, in a legacy act. The group features the music of Billy Joel played by Liberty DeVitto, Richie Cannata and Russell Javors, who played live and in the studio on most of Billy's biggest hits. Over the last few years, the ties between Dan and his ban...

The third disc of Billy Joel's My Lives Box Set reveals an aspect of his performances that the previous tracks only hinted at: His ability to channel other artists.  The first two discs of the four-CD/one-DVD set focuses on unreleased songs, alternate versions of well-known tracks, and compositions that evolved into songs that Billy eventually released.  Moments on those tracks hint at Billy's abi...

In April of 1976, Billy Joel hit the road with the first incarnation of the now-legendary Lords of 52nd Street lineup. The band toured in support of the album Turnstiles, the first official audio document of this group. And, late that year, they recorded the first concert home video of Billy’s career.  That program, entitled “Billy Joel Tonight,” was filmed over two nights at the Palmer Auditorium...

A storm arrived in Syracuse, NY in February of 1990 — two of them, actually.  The region was hit by a major storm, dumping more than eight inches of snow. At the same time, Billy Joel brought his Storm Front tour to the Carrier Dome.  This show was about two months into a string of dates that ended a two-year touring hiatus. And, it featured a lineup that was drastically different from his touring...

1989’s Storm Front album found Billy Joel charting a new course for his career. Gone were longtime collaborators, including producer Phil Ramone and key band members Russell Javors and Doug Stegmeyer.  Behind the scenes, Billy was embroiled in a lawsuit with his former manager as tens of millions of dollars hung in the balance. And, at least one song may allude to his marriage to Christie Brinkley...

Depending on the time of year, 1974 is either a period of uncertainty in Billy Joel’s career, or the first signposts of the superstardom to come.  He begins the year touring behind the Piano Man record, which ultimately falls off the charts. Record label execs then hurry Billy into the studio to record what he regards as its lackluster follow-up Streetlife Serenade.  But by the end of 1974, Billy’...

Fall of 2024 is upon us! What is typically time for our next playlist installment, we're adjusting the title and format of the series slightly and are happy to announce the Glass Houses Side Quests. Expanding the concept of the playlists, the options are limitless from more music concepts to long form conversations with friends, musicians, and other creatives. For this first installment, Michael i...

There's an often-overlooked part of Billy Joel's rise to fame as a recording artist: His track record as a songwriter for others.  Before he was a superstar, Billy's songs were covered by dozens of performers from around the world. The trend arguably peaked in the late 70s with multiple renditions of his now-classic songs New York State of Mind and Just the Way You Are. But, the bulk of these reco...

Billy Joel's 10-year monthly residency at Madison Square Garden is now in the past. But its legacy has been preserved for the public to enjoy. In fact, the same can be said for his entire career.   In this last installment of our series covering Billy at the Garden, we sit down for a lengthy interview with Steve Cohen. As Billy's lighting director for 50 years, Cohen also produced the CBS special...

The opening strains of Miami 2017 took on a new meaning on July 25, 2024. It was the final show of Billy Joel’s 10-year monthly residency at Madison Square Garden, and the classic opener kicked off the night.  Suddenly, the song’s theme about thousands of people hunkering down to hear these songs for maybe the last time felt almost too real. While this certainly wasn’t Billy’s last show ever, it w...