10 Most Iconic Keyboard Songs In Rock Music
6. Piano Man - Billy Joel
In the wake of the Beatles taking over the world, you didn't really see too many rock and roll piano players being the stars of the show. As much as the Fab Four may have had touches of piano in their songs, they were always more focused on the guitars when they took to the stage, with the rest of their brethren following suit when the blues boom kicked into high gear. There was a flip side to this though, and Billy Joel won our hearts by bringing a slice of life to his playing.
From the opening notes of the song Piano Man, it almost feels like it doesn't belong in the rock conversation altogether, with Joel kicking it off with different runs that you would hear in a seedy jazz club. When you start to hear the harmonica though, this is practically the kind of song that Bob Dylan could have written if he went behind the piano, offering a story of the different patrons that come to see Bill every single night at this seedy bar. Throughout most of the song, the whole thing is practically a pop song, with all of the rock and roll coming from the way that Joel sings it.
As we practically hear the crowd come alive behind him, Joel gets more and more emphatic with his words until he's got the kind of attitude to carry the rest of the night from behind his Steinway, as the loyal patrons continue to put bread in his jar. It might not be the ideal "rock" song or anything, but this genre was made for the Everyman, and Joel embodies that to a tee.