Billy Joel is one of the most beloved and successful music artists of all time. He’s been keeping us entertained with great songs and performances for decades.
But while Joel and his band can bring down a house with classic hits like “Piano Man,” “Uptown Girl” and “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” it’s been a long time since the Grammy-winner has released any new music.
But that all changed recently when the rocker made a major announcement — his first new single in 17 years!
Billy Joel announced yesterday that a new single titled “Turn the Lights Back On” will be released on February 1. It will be available as a 7″ vinyl, as well as on every major music streaming platform.
Billed as Joel’s “first new single in decades,” the new single marks Joel’s first solo release since 2007 (when he released “All My Life”) and only his second since 1993, when he announced his retirement from songwriting after the release of River of Dreams.
Over the past three decades, Joel has also released a few covers, duets and a studio album of classical compositions called Fantasies & Delusions, but new material from the legendary singer-songwriter has been extremely rare, making this new release a big treat for the Piano Man’s diehard fans.
A press release from Columbia Records describes the new single as a return to form, calling it a “classic Billy Joel-style tune, embodying the hallmarks of his signature sound and ushering in the next chapter of his story.”
Fittingly, the song’s lyrics include Joel asking “Did I wait too long… to turn the lights back on?”
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Joel first teased the new single during a December 19 concert at Madison Square Garden, part of his long-running residency at the NYC venue.
“I have good news and bad news,” Joel told the crowd, as seen in a TikTok shared on his official account. “I’ll give you the bad news first. We don’t have anything new to play for you. The good news is you don’t have to sit through something you have no idea what it is. Although, we got a little something we’re working on you might hear sometime.”
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Though it’s been a long time since Billy Joel was in the recording studio, he’s remained a major draw as a live performer. He’s had a record-breaking monthly residency at Madison Square Garden since 2014; he announced last year that the residency would end in July, after 150 shows. He also continues to perform around the world.
And despite the dearth of new releases in the past 30 years, Joel still ranks as one of the best-selling artists of all time, and the fourth-best-selling solo artist in the United States, behind just Garth Brooks, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.
It’s been so long since Billy Joel has released a new song, so this is very exciting news for fans!
Please share this story with someone who is a huge Billy Joel fan!
READ MORE:
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- Man starts singing Billy Joel hit – sudden change takes place that has internet falling in love
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