Peak: #14 US – A cappella doo-wop. No instruments except Joel’s layered voice. A one-of-a-kind hit.
Peak: #34 US – A cynical sequel to “Piano Man” about the music industry’s fickleness. Up-tempo, vaudevillian, and biting.
Peak: #17 US – Snappy, piano-driven anthem about working-class frustration. Fan favorite from The Stranger . billy joel hits in order
Peak: #14 US – Funky, sarcastic, and sneering. Captured late-’70s excess. 1980s: Superstardom & Pop Perfection 10. “You May Be Right” (1980) Peak: #7 US – Opens Glass Houses with a crashing car sound and a punkish sneer. Rock-solid.
– Didn’t chart as a single initially but grew into a standard. His love letter to NYC, later iconic. Peak: #14 US – A cappella doo-wop
Peak: #17 US – Gentle, poetic, and lyrically complex. A softer side of Joel.
Peak: #27 US – Smooth, jazzy, underrated. Peak: #34 US – A cynical sequel to
Here’s a solid, ready-to-use piece on , focusing on his US Top 10 singles (the core of his chart legacy). Billy Joel’s Hits in Order: A Chronological Journey Through the Piano Man’s Prime Billy Joel didn’t explode overnight. He built his legend hit by hit, year by year, evolving from a bar-room crooner into a stadium-packing storyteller. Below are his major hits (Top 40 US singles, with emphasis on Top 10s) in strict release order, showing how his sound matured from the 1970s to the 1990s. 1970s: The Breakthrough & Early Dominance 1. “Piano Man” (1973) Peak: #25 US – Not his highest chart spot, but his signature song. A slow-burning character study set in a Los Angeles bar. It became his anthem and remains his most recognized track.