5 Billy Joel songs Zohran Mamdani should know
Billy Joel has a deep catalogue of songs every mayoral candidate should know. Credit: Myrna Suarez
Any mayor of New York City ought to know the basics of Billy Joel. To help candidate Zohran Mamdani, who recently revealed his total unfamiliarity with Joel's 1976 anthem “New York State of Mind,” we put together a crash-course playlist of classics from the Piano Man. Here are five songs to know:
“Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” A punchy, catchy tune about the ever-elusive American Dream. And it takes a little swipe at New Jersey with the line, “Who needs a house out in Hackensack / Is that all you get for your money?”
“Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” More a Long Island song than a New York City song, given its themes of suburban youth, romance and disillusionment. Still, it was reportedly inspired by two Manhattan eateries: Fontana Di Trevi near Carnegie Hall, where Joel and producer Phil Ramone often dined, and Benito II on Mulberry St., where a waiter supposedly inspired the line, “A bottle of white / A bottle of red / Perhaps a bottle of rosé instead?”
“Allentown” This 1982 single hits some politically powerful notes, telling a story of working-class life in the Rust Belt. It was originally written about Levittown, the Long Island suburb where Joel was raised (technically the Levittown section of Hicksville) and which helped define the idyllic vision of post-War America.
“Piano Man” Is it possible anyone has NOT heard this song? Just in case, it goes on the list. Though inspired by Joel’s time tickling the ivories in a Los Angeles dive bar, it could be set in any city with a boulevard of broken dreams.
“Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)” Written in response to the Daily News' famous 1975 headline “Ford to City: Drop Dead,” it later showed up in Joel’s benefit-concert sets for victims of 9/11 and Superstorm Sandy. It’s a stadium-ready anthem, perfect for Bic-waving, if you’re old enough to remember what that is.
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