52nd Street (album)

52nd Street is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on October 12, 1978.[1] The follow-up to his breakthrough success album, The Stranger, Joel tried to give the album a fresh sound, hiring various jazz musicians to make it feel differentiated from his previous album efforts.[2] It was the first of four Joel albums to top the Billboard charts, and it earned him two Grammys. Three songs reached the Top 40 in the United States, contributing to the album's success: "My Life" (#3), "Big Shot" (#14), and "Honesty" (#24).[3] It was similarly well received by critics, earning the 1979 Grammy for Album of the Year.[4] This Grammy was presented to its producer, Phil Ramone. Upon Ramone's death, 52nd Street's Album of the Year Grammy was passed on to Joel. Additionally, the album is notable for being among the first albums commercially released on the compact disc format, reaching store shelves on October 1, 1982 in Japan (it was one of fifty CDs released that day, including The Stranger, but bore the first catalogue number in the sequence, 35DP-1, and so is frequently cited as the first to be released).[5] In keeping with this history, it was also the first release when Sony returned to manufacturing vinyl records in 2018.[6]

52nd Street
Studio album by
Billy Joel
ReleasedOctober 12, 1978 (1978-10-12)
RecordedJuly–August 1978
StudioA&R Recording, Inc., 799 7th Avenue at 52nd Street, New York City
Genre
  • Rock
  • jazz rock
Length40:26
LabelFamily Productions/Columbia
ProducerPhil Ramone
Billy Joel chronology
The Stranger
(1977)		 52nd Street
(1978)		 Glass Houses
(1980)
Singles from 52nd Street
  1. "My Life"
    Released: October 28, 1978
  2. "Big Shot"
    Released: January 1979
  3. "Until the Night"
    Released: March 1979
  4. "Honesty"
    Released: May 1979

The title is a reference to 52nd Street, one of New York City's jazz centers in the middle of the century. Joel's label was headquartered on 52nd Street (in the CBS Building) at the time of the album's release. The studio where recording took place was also on 52nd Street, one block away from the CBS Building.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Blender[8]
Christgau's Record GuideB–[9]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[10]
The Great Rock Discography7/10[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
The Village VoiceB−[13]

Allmusic praises Joel for expanding stylistically on 1977's The Stranger, describing 52nd Street as "more sophisticated and somewhat jazzy."[14] (Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard guests on "Zanzibar") In 2000 it was voted number 621 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[15] In 2003, the album was ranked number 352 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,[16] and at 354 on a 2012 revised list.[17]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Billy Joel.

Side one
  1. "Big Shot" – 4:03
  2. "Honesty" – 3:52
  3. "My Life" – 4:44
  4. "Zanzibar" – 5:13
Side two
  1. "Stiletto" – 4:42
  2. "Rosalinda's Eyes" – 4:41
  3. "Half a Mile Away" – 4:08
  4. "Until the Night" – 6:35
  5. "52nd Street" – 2:27

Song notes

The song "Rosalinda's Eyes" was inspired by Joel's mother, Rosalind Nyman Joel.[18]

Personnel

Production

  • Phil Ramone – producer, mixing
  • Kathy Kurs – associate producer
  • Carol Peters – associate producer
  • Jim Boyer – engineer, mixing
  • David Martone – assistant engineer
  • Ted Jensen – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York City, NY)
  • John Berg – cover design
  • Jim Houghton – photography

Accolades

Grammy Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
198052nd StreetAlbum of the Year[4]Won
Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male[4]Won
"Honesty"Song of the Year[19]Nominated

American Music Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
1980Billy Joel (performer)Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist[20]Nominated

Charts

Certifications and sales

[49]

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[50] 5× Platinum 500,000^
France (SNEP)[51] Gold 242,500[52]
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[53] Gold 7,500*
Japan (RIAJ)[54] Gold 470,000[55]
New Zealand (RMNZ)[56] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[57] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[58] 7× Platinum 7,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
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  9. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: J". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 27, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
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  12. Evans, Paul (2004). "Billy Joel". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 434–35. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
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