The Stranger by Billy Joel

The Stranger, Billy Joel's fifth album, came out on Columbia in 1977, and it was make-or-break time. Turnstiles had sold modestly and stalled on the charts, and the label was thinking about dropping him if the next one flopped. Joel wanted his touring band on the record, drummer Liberty DeVitto, bassist Doug Stegmeyer and Richie Cannata on saxophone and organ, and after sounding out George Martin he settled on Phil Ramone, the first of six albums they would make together. They cut it at A & R Recording in about three weeks, with session guitarists filling in where needed.

The gamble paid off big time. The record swings from the tender balladry of "Just the Way You Are" and "She's Always a Woman" to the cocky rock and roll of "Only the Good Die Young" and "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)". "Vienna" is gentle and reflective, and "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" is the showstopper, big, sprawling and full of swagger. Those last two became mainstays of his live shows.

It sat at number two in the US for six weeks, and all four US singles went top 40. "Just the Way You Are" took both Record and Song of the Year at the Grammys in 1979. It remains his best-selling studio album, the biggest seller Columbia had ever had, overtaking Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Water, with more than 10 million sold worldwide. The Grammy Hall of Fame welcomed it in 2008.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.