Song · Billy Joel
“Just The Way You Are” by Billy Joel
From the album The Stranger (1977)
“Just The Way You Are” by Billy Joel appears on 3 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 2014 and 2022. It was first released in 1977 on the album The Stranger. Its best result is #644 on the BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #4,839 indie & aaa song of all time.
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"Just the Way You Are" came off The Stranger, Billy Joel's fifth album, as its second single in November 1977, and it broke him wide open: his first US top 10 at No. 3, his first UK top 20 at No. 19, his first gold single in America, and all of January 1978 atop Billboard's Easy Listening chart. The melody and chords came to him in a dream, and Joel has said the title and the shape of the chorus were lifted straight from the closing line of "Rag Doll" by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
Phil Ramone produced, with Joel on keyboards, Doug Stegmeyer on bass, Liberty DeVitto on drums, Steve Burgh and Hugh McCracken on acoustic guitars, Ralph MacDonald on percussion and Phil Woods on alto sax. In 1979 it took the Grammys for Record and Song of the Year.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 644 | Big 100 | BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) | 1000 |
| 2020 | 937 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2022 | 802 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
Also listed as: Just the Way You Are.
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