Glass Houses - A Billy Joel Podcast

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

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

 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

What are the 12 Billy Joel songs you can’t live without? That’s what Michael and I 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

In the last installment of our Evolution of a Song series, we explored an older song that sported a studio arrangement that couldn’t be replicated live. The same can be said of “The Ballad Of Billy The Kid,” the subject of this episode. While the live version on Songs in the Attic became the definitive

With few exceptions, Billy Joel’s albums were sequenced with two sides in mind. It’s a phenomenon that’s come back to the forefront with the resurgence of vinyl records: The act of listening to half an album, then flipping the platter to hear the rest. It’s a different experience than listening to the songs all the

The beauty of live music is that a song never sounds the same twice. Billy Joel’s no exception to this rule. And, with some songs nearly 50 years old by now, many of his older numbers have seen drastic changes over the years. In the first installment of our Evolution of a Song series, we

It’s easy to write off the lyrical content of love songs. They’re often fairly simple, and are more emotional than thought-provoking. But a good love song, like any song, reveals something about the writer, and, often, the listener.  For our Valentine’s Day episode, we’re discussing our favorite Billy Joel love songs. But, we ended up

If you had to explain why Liberty DeVitto is a great drummer to someone who’d never heard a BIlly Joel record, how would you do it? That’s the question we’re exploring in our 100th episode.  It’s a somewhat tricky proposition. Liberty’s a well-regarded drummer who’s played on dozens of Top 20 records and toured with

The first song on an album sets the stage for the record, but what about the closer? Should the last song act as a grand finale, leave you wanting more, or exist somewhere in between?  In this episode, we’re finding out what worked best for Billy Joel. We’re ranking    the closing songs on his

Just because a song is pressed to vinyl doesn’t mean it’s set in cement. Any band playing the same song live for years or even decades is bound to stray from the original arrangement.  Billy Joel is no exception. And, given his dissatisfaction with his earliest records, it’s no surprise that some of his oldest

For someone who hasn’t released an album in nearly 30 years, Billy Joel is all over the TV. His music, his touring band, and his likeness get featured regularly on sitcoms, primetime dramas, prestige shows, and cartoons made for, for lack of a better word, mature audiences.  These pop culture references have helped keep Billy

This is the second installment of our two-part series covering Billy Joel’s television appearances from 1980 through 1984. While the bulk of the spots we’ve covered so far found him promoting The Nylon Curtain, the latter batch has him on the promotional trail for the An Innocent Man album and addressing his tabloid notoriety with

If people used to buy albums for the front cover, then they got to know the music at home while checking out the back. The flip side of a record jacket should complement the album and front artwork while giving listeners more to explore as they listened at home.  Billy’s albums are no exception. While

By 1980. Billy Joel was ready for prime time. Starting with a feature on 20/20 during the lead up to Glass Houses,  he graduated  from just playing a song or two on a talk show to getting regular MTV spotlights, being the subject of news features, and appearing on morning shows for a week at

Whoever said, “You can’t judge a book by its cover” never had to design the front of a rock and roll album. Before the internet put all the music in the world at everyone’s fingertips, that front cover first served as a siren call to anyone browsing in a record store.  Then, when you sat

An album’s first track has a lot to live up to. The song must engage the listener right away and get them excited for what’s to come. Sometimes, it’s the record’s lead single and hopefully the band’s next hit. Other times, it’s just the song most likely to get people excited. Or, it’s a little

Sometimes, the best way to find out what makes a songwriter special is hearing someone else sing their songs. Listening to how other artists interpret their work brings out aspects of the music that weren’t as obvious before.  That’s what Michael and Jack discovered when they put this episode together. This week, They’re diving into

Artists who rose to stardom in the 1970s were the first generation to have that rise documented on TV cameras. Billy Joel was no exception. Michael & Jack comb through as many of Billy’s 1970’s TV appearances as they could find to share their observations along the way. Watching these in chronological order, you really

Michael & Jack dust off the crates and reminisce about some classic Billy Joel 45s, soundtrack appearances, remixes and more! The songs covered in this episode are: – Elvis Presley Blvd. – You’ve Got Me Hummin’ (Live) – I’ll Cry Instead (Live) – House of Blue Light – You Picked A Real Bad Time –

While keeping at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, Michael & Jack decided to launch a sub-series of live episode broadcasts on Facebook. This first live episode was recorded on Tuesday April 7, 2020. Here, we discuss a few top 5 Billy lists, talk about how we are keeping busy while under stay at home orders,

While keeping at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, Michael & Jack decided to launch a sub-series of live episode broadcasts on Facebook. This first live episode was recorded on Wednesday March 25, 2020. Here, we discuss how the podcast came to be, roll out a few top 5 Billy lists, discuss some of our other

Michael & Jack discuss some tidbits and trivia surrounding Billy Joel’s career. Topics include: Albums sales and stats Billy’s role in new digital technology during the 80s Different versions of the Big Shot music video Early touring days in the Lehigh Valley And more!

Michael & Jack discuss how and when they discovered Billy Joel’s music, their connections  to former drummer Liberty DeVitto, the first albums they bought, their concert experiences, and more.

Life-long Billy Joel fans, Michael Grosvenor and Jack Firneno, team up to share stories and take deep dives into Billy’s songs, tours, albums, band members and much more. Join us in celebrating the life and music of Billy Joel.