"Honesty" | ||||||||||||||||
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Single by Billy Joel | ||||||||||||||||
from the album 52nd Street | ||||||||||||||||
B-side | "The Mexican Connection", "Root Beer Rag" | |||||||||||||||
Released | May 1979 | |||||||||||||||
Format | 7" | |||||||||||||||
Recorded | 1978; A&R Recording, Inc., 799 7th Avenue at 52nd Street, New York City | |||||||||||||||
Genre | Soft rock, soul | |||||||||||||||
Length | 3:53 | |||||||||||||||
Label | Columbia | |||||||||||||||
Writer(s) | Billy Joel | |||||||||||||||
Producer(s) | Phil Ramone | |||||||||||||||
Billy Joel singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||
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"Honesty" is a song by American singer and songwriter Billy Joel. Columbia Records released the song as the third single from his sixth studio album 52nd Street (1978) in 1979. "Honesty" was solely written by Joel, while production was handled by Phil Ramone. The song was not included on any of Joel's US-released compilation packages; however, it appears on the Dutch and Japanese editions of Greatest Hits Volume 2, replacing "Don't Ask Me Why" (1980). "Honesty" is a piano ballad that talks about the inherent lack of shame.
The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who generally praised its lyrics and piano instrumentation. It also received comparisons to other songs by Joel. "Honesty" peaked at number twenty-four on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the album's third consecutive top forty hit. It was certified gold by Recording Industry Association of Japan for ringtone download sales of over 100,000 units. Joel performed the song live several times with Elton John and later with Bryan Adams. "Honesty" has been covered and sampled by various artists, most notably by American R&B recording artist, Beyoncé Knowles.
"Honesty" was solely written by Billy Joel while production was handled by Phil Ramone. It is the second song from his sixth studio album 52nd Street (1978). The song was also included on South Korean and Japanese edition of Joel's 1985 compilation Greatest Hits Volume 2 as one of the bonus tracks. The song wasn't included on any of Joel's US released compilation packages; however, it appears on the Dutch edition as well as the aforementioned Japanese edition of Greatest Hits Volume 2, instead of "Don't Ask Me Why" (1980).David Spinozza plays the acoustic guitar in the song, Liberty DeVitto plays the drums and Robert Freedman the horn and string orchestration.