The Stranger (Billy Joel song)
{{Infobox song
| name = The Stranger
| cover = TheStrangerJapaneseVinyl.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Billy Joel
| album = The Stranger
| B-side = Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
| released = May 21, 1978 (Japan)
| recorded = A & R Recording, Inc., New York City, 1977
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Funk rock{{cite web|first= Matt|last= Mitchell|title= The 25 Greatest Billy Joel Songs of All Time |website= Paste|date= January 20, 2024|url= https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/billy-joel/the-25-greatest-billy-joel-songs-of-all-time|accessdate= January 20, 2024}}
| length = 5:10 (Album version)
4:10 (Single version){{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Billy-Joel-The-Stranger/release/1721056|title=Billy Joel - The Stranger (Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single) |website=Discogs.com |year=1978 |access-date=2017-04-16}}
| label = Columbia
CBS Sony (Japan)
| writer = Billy Joel
| producer = Phil Ramone
| prev_title = She's Always a Woman
| prev_year = 1977
| next_title = My Life
| next_year = 1978
}}
"The Stranger" is a song by rock artist Billy Joel and the title track from his 1977 album of the same name.{{cite web|work=PopMatters|title=Billy Joel: The Stranger|first=Tom|last=Useted|date=24 July 2008|url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/billy-joel-the-stranger/}} The song was released as a single in Japan where it became very popular and peaked at #2 on the Oricon chart, selling more than 471,000 copies, charting as well in Australia, New Zealand and France.{{cite web|url=http://homepage1.nifty.com/tuty/chart_japan_yougaku_singlesales1.htm|title=Best-selling singles in Japan|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714213427/http://homepage1.nifty.com/tuty/chart_japan_yougaku_singlesales1.htm|access-date=25 December 2019|archive-date=2015-07-14}} It was the last single from the album in Japan, while the US and UK saw "She's Always a Woman", released the previous year, as the last single from the album. The single is featured on Joel's greatest hits album, Greatest Hits - Volume I & II.{{cite web|first=Stephen Thomas|last=Erlewine|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-vols-1-2-1973-1985-mw0000650316 |title=Greatest Hits, Vols. 1-2 (1973-1985) - Billy Joel | Songs, Reviews, Credits |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=2016-10-13}}
Background
The song begins and ends with a quiet melody, played on piano and whistled by Joel with accompaniment from his band. He had originally wanted it to be played by some kind of wind instrument, but after he whistled it as a demonstration, producer Phil Ramone persuaded him to abandon the idea and whistle the melody himself for the final cut.{{cite web|work=Rolling Stone|title=Billy Joel Pays Tribute to Phil Ramone: 'He Was the King'|author-link=Billy Joel|first=Billy|last=Joel|date=April 3, 2013|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/billy-joel-pays-tribute-to-phil-ramone-he-was-the-king-20130403}} It was Joel's homage to Carl Jung's definition of the psychology archetype known as "The Shadow".
An untitled two-minute instrumental "hidden track" reprise of this song is featured at the end of the album The Stranger, after "Everybody Has a Dream".{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Billy-Joel-The-Stranger/release/1108650 |title=Billy Joel - The Stranger (Vinyl, LP, Album) |website=Discogs.com |year=1977 |access-date=2016-10-13}}
"The Stranger" has been sampled frequently, primarily in the hip hop genre, in songs such as "Tha Shiznit" by Snoop Dogg.{{cite web|url=https://www.whosampled.com/Billy-Joel/The-Stranger/sampled/|title=Samples of The Stranger by Billy Joel|publisher=WhoSampled|access-date=March 10, 2021}}
Track listing
=7" vinyl (CBS)=
- "The Stranger"
- "Just the Way You Are"
=Japanese 7" vinyl=
- "The Stranger" [4:10]
- "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" [3:30]
Chart history
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Chart (1978)
!Peak |
|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=156}}
| style="text-align:center;"|59 |
| France (IFOP){{cite web|title= Toutes les Chansons N° 1 des Années 70 |publisher= InfoDisc |date=1978-04-14 |access-date= 11 March 2019 |url=http://infodisc.fr/Tubes_Artiste_Choisi.php |language= fr }}
| style="text-align:center;"|59 |
| Japan (Oricon Singles Chart)
| style="text-align:center;"|2 |
| New Zealand (RIANZ)
| style="text-align:center;"|8 |
In popular culture
The song was featured during the ending credits of the first episode for the 2020 miniseries The Stand.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}
The song was featured in the film Uncut Gems.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{YouTube|E5ofVsxTPoc|Billy Joel - The Stranger}}
{{Billy Joel}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stranger, The}}
Category:Columbia Records singles