52nd Street (album)
| 52nd Street | ||||
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| Studio album by Billy Joel | ||||
| Released | October 13, 1978 | |||
| Recorded | July–August 1978 | |||
| Studio | A&R Recording, Inc., 799 7th Avenue at 52nd Street, New York City | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 40:26 | |||
| Label | Family Productions/Columbia | |||
| Producer | Phil Ramone | |||
| Billy Joel chronology | ||||
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| Singles from 52nd Street | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Blender | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| The Village Voice | B− |
52nd Street is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on October 13, 1978. It was the first of four Joel albums to top the Billboard charts and earned him two Grammys. 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). It was similarly well received by critics, earning the 1979 Grammy for Album of the Year. This Grammy was presented to its producer, Phil Ramone. Upon Ramone's death, 52nd Street's Album of the Year Grammy was passed on to Joel.
Allmusic praises Joel for expanding stylistically on 1977's The Stranger, describing 52nd Street as "more sophisticated and somewhat jazzy." (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 1 October 1982, the album was released on CD with 50 titles in Japan along with the first Sony CD player
In 2003, the album was ranked number 352 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
All songs written and composed by Billy Joel.
The song "Rosalinda's Eyes" was inspired by Joel's mother (deceased: July 13, 2014) Rosalind Nyman Joel. The song was used in the 1982 feature film Personal Best. "Rosalinda's Eyes" was also featured in an episode of the cult classic TV series, Freaks and Geeks (entitled Carded and Discarded), in 2000.
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