Billy Joel: America's Piano Man

Duchan (music history & ethnomusicology, Wayne State Univ.; Powerful Voices) takes a middle-ground approach to analyzing the work of one of America's most recognizable musicians of the past five decades. This book is much more than a biography but does not include detailed analysis of as many of Billy Joel's compositions as some other books (e.g., Ken Bielen's The Words and Music of Billy Joel). Duchan organizes his analysis of Joel's work around several themes (e.g., place, living in American culture, stylistic authenticity, etc.). This approach works very well, especially at tracing the musician's development over the course of his career and in providing context for some of his best-known and finest songs and instrumental compositions. The writing style is fluid and the research solid, providing much insight into Joel.