The Entertainer (song)

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For other uses, see The Entertainer (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with The Entertainer (rag).
"The Entertainer"
Entertainer (Billy Joel song).jpg
Single by Billy Joel
from the album Streetlife Serenade
B-side"The Mexican Connection"
ReleasedNovember 1974
RecordedDevonshire Sound, Hollywood, California
Genre
Length3:41
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Billy Joel
Producer(s)Michael Stewart
Billy Joel singles chronology
"The Ballad of Billy the Kid"
(1974) 		"The Entertainer"
(1974) 		"Say Goodbye to Hollywood"
(1976)

"The Entertainer" is a single by singer Billy Joel released as the only single from his 1974 album Streetlife Serenade. The song peaked at #34 on the US charts.[2] The song is a cynical and somewhat satirical look at the fleeting fame of a musician and fickle public tastes ("Today I am your champion / I may have won your hearts / But I know the game / You'll forget my name / (And I won't be here / in another year) / if I don't stay on the charts"); this theme would be examined in the later song "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me".

Composition and release[]

Another verse in the song references the shortening of Joel's song, "Piano Man", from 5 minutes and 40 seconds to 3 minutes and 5 seconds to fit a radio slot, referenced by the lyrics "It was a beautiful song, / but it ran too long / (If you're gonna have a hit, you gotta make it fit) / So they cut it down to 305." Additionally, the timing printed on the label of the 7" release of "The Entertainer" was 3:05, although the actual 45 length was 3:11 (while the album length was 3:41). In the single version, Verse 3 (which starts at 1:02 in the album version) is edited out, and Verse 2 (which starts at 0:40) contains a steel guitar in its second half, which is actually featured in the second half of the third verse in the album version; indeed, on the single mix, the instrumental crescendo of the album version is anticipated by bringing the fuller instrumentation of Verse 3 under the vocals of Verse 2. As a result of this, the slightly emptier original instrumentation of Verse 2 (which includes a downward slide on the synth) and the vocals of Verse 3 are completely omitted,[3] while the instrumentation of Verse 3 (featuring the steel guitar) does appear, but earlier.

On some of the singles released for "The Entertainer" the song was b-sided with "The Mexican Connection".

Billboard regarded it as one of the "best cuts" from Streetlife Serenade.[4]

This song has been covered by Helen Reddy and Sheena Easton.

Chart history[]

Chart (1974–75) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart 89
Canadian Singles Chart[5] 30
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 34
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 30

References[]

  1. ^ https://somethingelsereviews.com/2019/10/11/billy-joel-streetlife-serenade/
  2. ^ Dean, Maury (2003). Rock N' Roll Gold Rush. Algora. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-87586-207-1.
  3. ^ Everett, Walter (May 2010). "'If you're gonna have a hit': intratextual mixes and edits of pop recordings". Popular Music. 29 (2): 229–250. doi:10.1017/S026114301000005X. JSTOR 40926920.
  4. ^ "Top Album Picks" (PDF). Billboard. October 26, 1974. p. 66. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  5. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-09.


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