Sometimes, overnight success takes a decade to happen. Billy Joel had been recording for that long, in bands and as a solo artist, when he released his fifth solo album. Prior to The Stranger, he’d had one song in the Top 30 of the charts, “Piano Man.” A year later, he had a total of five. Joel had approached The Beatles’ legendary producer George Martin, who agreed to make the album if Joel would use a studio band. But he was determined to use his touring band, so in a massively audacious move, he rejected Martin. Instead, he began a Read more on Last.fm.
