52nd Street (album)

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52nd Street
Studio album by Billy Joel
Released October 13, 1978 (1978-10-13)
Recorded A&R Recording, Inc., 799 7th Avenue at 52nd Street, New York City; July – August 1978
Genre Rock
Length 40:26
Label Family Productions/Columbia
Producer Phil Ramone
Billy Joel chronology
The Stranger
(1977)		 52nd Street
(1978)		 Glass Houses
(1980)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars[1]
Robert Christgau B−[2]

52nd Street is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on October 13, 1978. The first of four Joel albums to top the Billboard charts, it earned him two Grammys (for a total of four), and in 1982 became the first commercial album released on compact disc by Sony Music Entertainment.[3]

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).[4] It was similarly well-received by critics, earning the 1979 Grammy for Album of the Year.[5]

Allmusic praises Joel for expanding stylistically on 1977's The Stranger, describing 52nd Street as "more sophisticated and somewhat jazzy."[6] (Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard guests on "Zanzibar".) The title is a reference to 52nd Street, which was 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 in which 52nd Street was recorded was also on 52nd Street, a block away from the CBS Building.

On October 1, 1982 52nd Street became the first album to be commercially released on CD when it went on sale in Japan.[7] In 2003, the album was ranked number 352 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[8]

Contents

Track listing [edit]

All songs written and composed by Billy Joel.

Side one
  1. "Big Shot" – 4:03
  2. "Honesty" – 3:56
  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

Personnel [edit]

Accolades [edit]

Grammy Awards [edit]

Year Recipient Award Result
1980 52nd Street Album of the Year[5] Won
Best Pop Vocal Performance - Male[5] Won
"Honesty" Song of the Year[9] Nominated

Charts [edit]

Chart positions [edit]

Chart (1978–80) Position
Australian Kent Music Report Chart[10] 1
Austrian Albums Chart[11] 4
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[12] 1
Dutch Mega Albums Chart[13] 33
French SNEP Albums Chart [14] 2
Italian Albums Chart[15] 12
Japanese Oricon LP Chart[16] 9
New Zealand Albums Chart [17] 1
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[18] 5
Swedish Albums Chart[19] 18
UK Albums Chart [20] 10
U.S. Billboard 200 [21] 1
West German Media Control Albums Chart [22] 19

Certifications & Sales [edit]

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[23] 4× Platinum 400,000^
France (SNEP)[24] Gold 242,500[25]
Japan (Oricon Charts) 470,000[26]
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[28] 7× Platinum 7,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Year-end charts [edit]

Chart (1978) Position
Canadian Albums Chart[29] 48
Chart (1979) Position
Australian Albums Chart[10] 5
Austrian Albums Chart[30] 17
Canadian Albums Chart[31] 16
Italian Albums Chart[15] 54
Japanese Albums Chart[32] 14
UK Albums Chart[33] 61
U.S. Billboard 200[34] 1
Chart (1980) Position
Japanese Albums Chart[35] 81

References [edit]

  1. ^ "52nd Street Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 1 May 2011. 
  2. ^ "Billy Joel Review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 1 May 2011. 
  3. ^ Milner, Greg (2009). Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music. Macmillan. p. 215. ISBN 0-571-21165-8. 
  4. ^ "allmusic ((( 52nd Street > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  5. ^ a b c "Past Winners Search". grammy.com. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  6. ^ Allmusic review
  7. ^ "Rock on! The compact disc turns 30". CNN. Retrieved 30 March 2013. 
  8. ^ The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time : Rolling Stone
  9. ^ "Rock On The Net: 22th Annual Grammy Awards - 1980". Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  10. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. 
  11. ^ "austriancharts.at Billy Joel - 52nd Street". Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  12. ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 30, No. 21, February 17, 1979". RPM. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  13. ^ "dutchcharts.nl Billy Joel - 52nd Street". Hung Medien, dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 2011-09-12. 
  14. ^ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2011-09-12. 
  15. ^ a b "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1979" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  16. ^ a-ビリー・ジョエル "- Yamachan Land (Archives of the Japanese record charts) - Albums Chart Daijiten - Billy Joel" (in Japanese). 2007-12-30. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  17. ^ "charts.org.nz - Billy Joel - 52nd Street". Hung Medien, charts.org.nz. Recording Industry Association of New Zea Land. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  18. ^ "norwegiancharts.com Billy Joel - 52nd Street". Hung Medien, norwegiancharts.com. VG-lista. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  19. ^ "swedishcharts.com Billy Joel - 52nd Street". Hung Medien, swedishcharts.com (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  20. ^ "Chart Stats - Billy Joel - 52nd Street". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2011-08-19. 
  21. ^ "allmusic ((( 52nd Street > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  22. ^ "Album Search: Billy Joel" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  23. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Billy Joel – 52nd Street". Music Canada. 
  24. ^ "French album certifications – Billy Joel – 52nd Street" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 
  25. ^ "Les Albums Or". infodisc.fr. SNEP. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  26. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9. 
  27. ^ "British album certifications – Billy Joel – 52nd Street". British Phonographic Industry.  Enter 52nd Street in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
  28. ^ "American album certifications – Billy Joel – 52nd Street". Recording Industry Association of America.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  29. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1978". RPM. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  30. ^ "Austriancharts.st - Jahreshitparade 1979" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-10-04. 
  31. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1979". RPM. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  32. ^ 1979年アルバム年間ヒットチャート "Japanese Year-End Albums Chart 1979" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2011-09-12. 
  33. ^ "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Retrieved 2011-10-04. 
  34. ^ Billboard.com - Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200. Retrieved 2011-10-04. 
  35. ^ "日本で売れた洋楽アルバムトップ23 (Top-23 international albums on the Japanese Oricon Year-End Charts 1980". Archived from the original on 2011-08-29. Retrieved 2007-10-21. 
Preceded by
Live and More by Donna Summer
Greatest Hits Volume 2 by Barbra Streisand		 Billboard 200 number-one album
November 18, 1978 – January 5, 1979
January 27 – February 2, 1979		 Succeeded by
Greatest Hits, Volume 2 by Barbra Streisand
Briefcase Full of Blues by the Blues Brothers
Preceded by
A Canadian Tribute by Elvis Presley
Greatest Hits Volume 2 by Barbra Streisand		 Canadian RPM Chart number-one album
December 16, 1978 – January 6, 1979
February 10–17, 1979		 Succeeded by
Greatest Hits Volume 2 by Barbra Streisand
Blondes Have More Fun by Rod Stewart
Preceded by
Dire Straits by Dire Straits		 Kent Music Report number-one album
December 25, 1978 – January 28, 1979		 Succeeded by
Blondes Have More Fun by Rod Stewart
Preceded by
Stage by David Bowie		 New Zealand Chart number-one album
January 21–28, 1979		 Succeeded by
Greatest Hits Volume 2 by Barbra Streisand
Billy Joel
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
Tours
Singles
Other songs
DVDs
See also
Billboard Year-End number one albums (1970–1989)
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