
However, according to Phil Ramone (1931-2015), who produced the track, the real reason it made it onto The Stranger was simply because Billy Joel and co. This was a song that, after being put together, Billy Joel and his band didn’t take kindly to and accordingly weren’t even going to include it on the aforementioned album. However, two other musicians who were recording nearby, Linda Ronstadt and the late Phoebe Snow (1950-2011), convinced the Piano Man otherwise. “Just the Way You Are” was written exclusively by Billy Joel. And as he explained it, its melody originally came to him in a dream. Moreover, its sound was inspired by a 1964 tune entitled “Rag Doll” by The Four Seasons. “Just the Way You Are” also topped Billboard’s as well as Canada’s Adult Contemporary charts, in addition to placing in the top 20 in a few other countries.Īnd whereas that is an impressive chart history, it does not do justice to just how successful this song was. For it is one of those tracks which holds the distinction of not only being awarded Record of the Year but also Song of Year. And this transpired at the Grammy Awards of 1979. On the said chart, it peaked at number 19.

It was actually the first of his tunes to reach as high as number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and to appear at all on the UK Singles Chart. This track is a single from Billy Joel’s album “The Stranger”, which Columbia Records put out on 29 September 1977. And it was the Piano Man’s initial big hit. When did Billy Joel release “Just the Way You Are”? Indeed it can be said that the sentiment expressed therein is based more on a romantic fantasy than reality, for even the woman Billy Joel composed this timeless tune in relation to ended up dumping him. So in a way, this is like the ultimate love song. All of us desire that significant other who’ll accept us ‘just the way we are’ rather than trying to exert their own will and ideologies upon us. “Just the Way You Are” is The Ultimate Love Song So the implication behind all of this would be that he is already 100 percent enamored with her, being smitten in such a manner that it’s impossible for him to fall in love with her any further. And along those lines we can additionally postulate that if she did do something out of ordinary to impress him, it would probably yield a negative as opposed to positive response. And that is the concept that the title is based on.Īnd secondly, furthering said thought process is the notion that he will never grow tired of her. So the singer is assuring his partner that even into the future he won’t suffer from any type of romantic boredom, a mood which does in fact tend to destroy many a relationship.Īnd what all of this boils down to is him actually encouraging her to be inactive as opposed to actively trying to edify their romance or impress him. The vocalist does not want the addressee to make any type of personal modifications whatsoever, particularly if she is doing so in an attempt to somehow flatter him. First is that she does not need to change in order to make him happy. In other words, the narrator is pleased with the addressee as is.
