Billy Joel 1989–1994
 The Stranger (1977)
For his album The Stranger, Columbia Records united Joel with producer Phil Ramone. The album yielded four Top 40 hits on the Billboard Charts in the US, Just the Way You Are (# 3), Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) (# 17), Only the Good Die Young (# 24), and She's Always a Woman (# 17). Album sales exceeded Columbia's previous top album, Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, and was certified multi-platinum. It was Joel's first Top Ten album, as it rose to # 2 on the charts. Phil Ramone eventually produced every Billy Joel studio release until 1989's Storm Front.
The Stranger netted Joel Grammy nominations, for Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Record of the Year, for Just the Way You Are, which was written as a gift to his wife Elizabeth. He won for the latter two.
52nd Street (1978)
Joel faced high expectations on his next album. 52nd Street was conceived as a day in Manhattan, and was named after the famous street of same name which hosted many of the world's premier jazz venues and performers throughout the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. Fans purchased over seven million copies on the strength of the hits My Life (# 3), Big Shot (# 14), and Honesty (# 24). This helped 52nd Street become Joel's first # 1 album. My Life eventually became the theme song for a new US television sitcom, Bosom Buddies, which featured actor Tom Hanks in one of his earliest roles. 52nd Street was the first album to be released on Compact Disc in Japan (1982). The album won Grammys for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male & Album of the Year. Despite all the cover art for the album showing Joel holding a trumpet, he does not play the instrument on the album, though two tracks on the album do feature trumpets. Freddie Hubbard plays two solos in Zanzibar and joins Jon Faddis in the horn section for Half A Mile Away.
Glass Houses (1980)
The success of his piano-driven ballads like Just the Way You Are and Honesty never sat well with him. With Glass Houses, Joel attacked the new wave popularity with aplomb. The front cover consisted of Joel's real-life modern glass house. The album spent 6 weeks at # 1 on the Billboard chart and yielded such classics as You May Be Right (# 7, May 1980), Close To The Borderline (B side of the You May Be Right single), Don't Ask Me Why (# 19, September 1980), Sometimes A Fantasy (# 36, November 1980) and It's Still Rock & Roll to Me, which became Joel's first Billboard # 1 song in July, 1980. Glass Houses won the Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male. It would also win the American Music Award for Favorite Album, Pop/Rock category.
Songs in the Attic (1981)
His next release, Songs in the Attic, was composed of live performances of less well-known songs from the beginning of his career. Songs in the Attic was recorded during arena and club shows in June and July of 1980. This release introduced many fans, who just discovered Joel when The Stranger became a smash in 1977, to many of his earlier compositions. The album reached # 8 on the Billboard chart and produced two hit singles: Say Goodbye to Hollywood (# 17), and She's Got a Way (# 23). It sold in excess of 3 million copies. Though not as successful as some of his previous albums, the album was still considered a success by Joel[citation needed].The track Los Angelenos was recorded live at Toads Place in New Haven, CT in July of 1980.
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