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52nd Street
Studio album by Billy Joel
Released	October, 1978
Recorded	A & R Recording, Inc., New York City
Genre	Rock
Length	40:26
Label	Columbia
Producer	Phil Ramone
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Rolling Stone Album Guide, 3rd Edition Robert Christgau (B-) link
Billy Joel chronology
The Stranger (1977) 52nd Street (1978) Glass Houses (1980)

52nd Street is the sixth studio album by Billy Joel, released in 1978. It was also the first of many Joel albums to top the Billboard charts, along with his third and fourth Grammy win. (see 1978 in music). The track "My Life" benefited from the exposure it received when producers of the situation comedy Bosom Buddies used the song (performed by a different singer) as its theme. 52nd Street also became, in 1982, the first album to ever be released on compact disc. ^[1]

Three songs reached the top 100 in the United States, helping to boost the success of the album. "My Life" reached #3, "Big Shot" reached #14, and "Honesty" reached #24. The album was also successful with critics, winning the 1979 Grammy for Album of the Year.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 352 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. ^[2]

Contents 1 Track listing 2 Personnel 3 Charts and certifications 3.1 Album 3.2 Singles 4 Awards 5 References

All songs by Billy Joel.

1. "Big Shot" – 4:03
2. "Honesty" – 3:53
3. "My Life" – 4:44
4. "Zanzibar" – 5:13
5. "Stiletto" – 4:42
6. "Rosalinda's Eyes" – 4:41
7. "Half a Mile Away" – 4:08
8. "Until the Night" – 6:35
9. "52nd Street" – 2:31

• Billy Joel – piano, vocals
• Doug Stegmeyer – bass, background vocals
• Liberty DeVitto – drums
• Richie Cannata – saxophones, organ, clarinet
• Steve Khan – electric guitar, acoustic guitar
• Freddie Hubbard – trumpet on "Zanzibar"
• Mike Mainieri – vibes and marimba on "Zanzibar" and "Rosalinda's Eyes"
• David Spinozza – acoustic guitar on "Honesty"
• Donnie Dacus – background vocals on "My Life"
• Peter Cetera – background vocals on "My Life"
• David Friedman – orchestral chimes and percussion on "Until the Night"
• Ralph MacDonald – percussion on "Rosalinda's Eyes" and "Half a Mile Away"
• Eric Gale – electric guitar on "Half a Mile Away"
• Frank Floyd – background vocals on "Half a Mile Away"
• Babi Floyd – background vocals on "Half a Mile Away"
• Zack Sanders – background vocals on "Half a Mile Away"
• Milt Grayson – background vocals on "Half a Mile Away"
• Ray Simpson – background vocals on "Half a Mile Away"
• George Marge – sopranino recorder on "Rosalinda's Eyes"
• Hugh McCracken – nylon string guitar on "Until the Night" and "Rosalinda's Eyes"
• Robert Freedman – horn and string orchestration on "Until the Night" and "Honesty"
• Dave Grusin – horn orchestration on "Half a Mile Away"
• David Nadien – concertmaster

Year	Country	Chart	Position	Weeks	Certification	Sales
1978	United States	The Billboard 200	1 (8 weeks)	76	7x Platinum[3]	7,000,000+
1978	Australia	Kent Music Report	1 (5 weeks)
1978	Austria		4	12
1978	Norway		5	15
1978	Japan	Oricon Weekly Albums Chart	9	83	2x Platinum	470,000+[4]
1978	United Kingdom	UK Albums Chart	10	43	Gold	100,000+
1978	Sweden		18	8

Year	Country	Single	Chart	Position
1978	North America	"My Life"	The Billboard Hot 100	3
1978	North America	"My Life"	Billboard AC	2
1978	Switzerland	"My Life"		4
1978	Austria	"My Life"		11
1978	United Kingdom	"My Life"	UK Singles Chart	12
1978	Japan	"My Life"	Oricon Weekly	37
1979	North America	"Big Shot"	The Billboard Hot 100	14
1979	North America	"Honesty"	Billboard AC	9
1979	North America	"Honesty"	The Billboard Hot 100	24
1979	Japan	"Honesty"	Oricon Weekly	53
1979	United Kingdom	"Until the Night"	UK Singles Chart	50

Grammy Awards

Year	Winner	Category
1979	52nd Street	Album of the Year

Preceded by Live and More by Donna Summer	Billboard 200 number-one album November 18, 1978 - January 6, 1979	Succeeded by Greatest Hits, Volume 2 by Barbra Streisand
Preceded by Greatest Hits, Volume 2 by Barbra Streisand	Billboard 200 number-one album January 27, 1979 - February 3, 1979	Succeeded by Briefcase Full of Blues by The Blues Brothers
Preceded by Dire Straits by the Dire Straits	Kent Music Report number-one album December 25, 1978 - January 22, 1979	Succeeded by Blondes Have More Fun by Rod Stewart

v • d • e Billy Joel albums
Studio albums
Cold Spring Harbor – Piano Man – Streetlife Serenade – Turnstiles – The Stranger – 52nd Street – Glass Houses The Nylon Curtain – An Innocent Man – The Bridge – Storm Front – River of Dreams
Compilation albums
Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 & 2 – Billy Joel - The Ultimate Collection – The Essential Billy Joel – Greatest Hits, Vol. 3 The Complete Hits Collection: 1973–1997 – Piano Man: The Very Best of Billy Joel – My Lives
Live albums
Songs in the Attic – Концерт – 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert – 12 Gardens Live
Other albums and projects
Fantasies & Delusions (performed by Richard Joo) – Movin' Out
See also: Billy Joel

v • d • e Grammy Award for Album of the Year:

1950s:  The Music from Peter Gunn  •  1960s:  Come Dance with Me!  •  The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart  •  Judy at Carnegie Hall  •  The First Family  •  The Barbra Streisand Album  •  Getz/Gilberto  •  September of My Years  •  Sinatra: A Man and His Music  •  Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band  •  By the Time I Get to Phoenix 1970s:  Blood, Sweat & Tears  •  Bridge Over Troubled Water  •  Tapestry  •  The Concert For Bangla Desh  •  Innervisions  •  Fulfillingness' First Finale  •  Still Crazy After All These Years  •  Songs in the Key of Life  •  Rumours  •  Saturday Night Fever 1980s:  52nd Street  •  Christopher Cross  •  Double Fantasy  •  Toto IV  •  Thriller  •  Can't Slow Down  •  No Jacket Required  •  Graceland  •  The Joshua Tree  •  Faith 1990s:  Nick of Time  •  Back on the Block  •  Unforgettable... with Love  •  Unplugged  •  The Bodyguard  •  MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett  •  Jagged Little Pill  •  Falling into You  •  Time Out of Mind  •  The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 2000s:  Supernatural  •  Two Against Nature  •  O Brother, Where Art Thou?  •  Come Away With Me  •  Speakerboxxx/The Love Below  •  Genius Loves Company  •  How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb  •  Taking the Long Way