‘2 Piano Men and a Bass Player’: The Ultimate Billy Joel, Elton John and Paul McCartney Playlists
From the '60s to today, Joel, John and McCartney have touched generations of fans with their music
The impact of Billy Joel, Elton John and Paul McCartney on the music landscape over the decades is incalculable, the medium itself evolving as they have. Beyond that, they’ve established themselves as cultural icons thanks to their songwriting prowess, the diversity of their talent and the fact that their appeal has spanned so many decades. And while they’ve never collaborated on a studio album, in many ways it’s obvious they should have, which has led to this ultimate playlist we’re calling “Two Piano Men and a Bass Player.”
Apart from the creative juggernaut they’ve represented, there is their commercial success. Worldwide, Billy Joel has sold 150 million albums and more than 20 million singles, Elton John has sold about 300 million albums and over 100 million singles and Paul McCartney in his solo career, or as part of Wings, has sold between 90 and 100 million albums and 20 to 25 million singles, those respective numbers increasing to 700 million and 325 million if you include his years as a part of The Beatles. All told, those are pretty mind-blowing figures.
Bill Joel, Elton John and Paul McCartney: a look at their legacy
Their backgrounds couldn’t be more different, Joel from the New York piano scene, John having ruled the glam rock era of the ’70s and McCartney a part of the original British music invasion and the aforementioned Beatles. Yet despite those diverse life and career experiences, there is so much that they actually have in common.
To begin with, each has mastered the ability to combine sophisticated chord progressions in their music with audience-endearing hooks that have made so many of their songs irresistible. Billy Joel has created rock anthems and piano-driven ballads influenced by a wide variety of genres, ranging from jazz to doo-wop. Working with lyricist Bernie Taupin, Elton John has had a theatrical style enveloped in pop and rock that became such an integral part of the 1970s (especially) and beyond. And then there’s Paul McCartney, whose collaborations with John Lennon in The Beatles shaped modern pop — not to mention their cultural impact around the world — and his solo music remains impactful to this day.
And then there are the lyrics, Joel’s often capturing the American journey, whether through introspective tunes like “Piano Man,” chronicling the experiences of others (struggling communities with “Allentown,” the impact of war, Vietnam in particular, with “Goodnight Saigon”) or the impact of history (“We Didn’t Start the Fire”). John’s dips a bit more into looking at love, identity, the impact of fame (“Rocket Man,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Sad Songs (Say) So Much)”). And McCartney, whether it be through his Beatles or solo years, loves to tell stories about ordinary people (“Eleanor Rigby,” “Another Day,” “Mrs. Vanderbilt,” “Put it There”) or tap into his own life and legacy (“Penny Lane,” “Early Days,” “On My Way to Work”).
Instrumentally, Joel and John have primarily used the piano as a means of conveying their music, and while McCartney has frequently done the same, in his case it’s just one of many instruments (the bass especially) that he has used from the beginning in crafting his tunes.
They’re individuals following their own creative paths, but these similarities in approach to their craft have resulted in an enduring musical legacy that has impacted literally generations of musicians and fans, promising to do so for many more to come.
So in celebration of Billy Joel, Elton John and Paul McCartney, we offer up what we’re referring to as an ultimate playlist; an imaginary collection of nine CD’s worth of music that captures some (though far from all) of the best that this trio has had to offer.
So cue up your Spotify, Apple Music, CD rotator or record player, and give these playlists a try.
Playlist 1: The Balladeers
1. “Your Song” – Elton John, Elton John (1970), 2. “She’s Always a Woman” – Billy Joel, The Stranger (1977), 3. “Maybe I’m Amazed” – Paul McCartney, McCartney (1970); 4. “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” – Billy Joel, The Stranger (1977); 5. “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” –Elton John, Blue Moves (1976), 6. “My Love” – Paul McCartney, Red Rose Speedway (1973), 7. “Honesty” – Billy Joel, 52nd Street (1978), 8. “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” – Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975), 9. “No More Lonely Nights” – Paul McCartney, Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984), 10. “Just the Way You Are” – Billy Joel, The Stranger (1977), 11. “Tiny Dancer” – Elton John, Madman Across the Water (1971), 12. “Waterfalls” – McCartney II (1980).
Playlist 2: The Rockers
1. “Jet” – Paul McCartney, Band on the Run (1973), 2. “Only the Good Die Young” – Billy Joel, The Stranger (1977), 3. “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” – Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973), 4. “Band on the Run” – Paul McCartney, Band on the Run (1973), 5. “Big Shot” – Billy Joel, 52nd Street (1978), 6. “Philadelphia Freedom” – Elton John, non-album single (1975), 7. “Junior’s Farm” –Paul McCartney, non-album single (1974), 8. “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” – Billy Joel, The Stranger (1977), 9. “Bennie and the Jets” – Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973), 10. “Hi, Hi, Hi” – Paul McCartney, non-album single (1972), 11. “You May Be Right” – Billy Joel, Glass Houses (1980), 12. “Crocodile Rock” – Elton John, Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player (1973).
Playlist 3: The Storytellers
1. “Piano Man” – Billy Joel, Piano Man (1973), 2. “Daniel” – Elton John, Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player (1973), 3. “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” – Paul McCartney, Ram (1971), 4. “Goodnight Saigon” – Billy Joel, The Nylon Curtain (1982), 5. “Rocket Man” – Elton John, Honky Château (1972), 6. “Live and Let Die” – Paul McCartney, Live and Let Die soundtrack (1973), 7. “Allentown” – Billy Joel, The Nylon Curtain (1982), 8. “Levon” – Elton John, Madman Across the Water (1971), 9. “Another Day” – Paul McCartney, Non-album single (1971), 10. “Captain Jack” – Billy Joel, Piano Man (1973), 11. “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” – Elton John, Too Low for Zero (1983), 12. “Let Me Roll It” – Paul McCartney, Band on the Run (1973), 13. “I Don’t Want to Be Alone” – Billy Joel, Glass Houses (1980), 14. “Harmony” – Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973), 15. “The Back Seat of My Car” – Paul McCartney, Ram (1971), 16. “Pressure” – Billy Joel, The Nylon Curtain (1982), 17. “Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)” – Elton John, Jump Up! (1982), 18. “My Brave Face” –Paul McCartney, Flowers in the Dirt (1989).
Playlist 4: Deep Reflections
1. “And So It Goes” – Billy Joel, Storm Front (1989), 2. “Sacrifice” – Elton John, Sleeping with the Past (1989), 3. “Every Night” – Paul McCartney, McCartney (1970), 4. “Vienna” – Billy Joel, The Stranger (1977), 5. “The One” – Elton John, The One (1992), 6. “Little Willow” – Paul McCartney, Flaming Pie (1997), 7. “Summer, Highland Falls” – Billy Joel, Turnstiles (1976), 8. “Skyline Pigeon” – Elton John, Empty Sky (1969), 9. “Calico Skies” – Paul McCartney, Flaming Pie (1997), 10. “Souvenir” – Billy Joel, Streetlife Serenade (1974), 11. “Blue Eyes” – Elton John, Jump Up! (1982), 12. “Junk” – Paul McCartney, McCartney (1970).
Playlist 5: The Pop Pioneers
1. “My Life” – Billy Joel, 52nd Street (1978), 2. “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” – Elton John, non-album single (1976), 3. “Silly Love Songs” – Paul McCartney, Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976), 4. “Uptown Girl” – Billy Joel, An Innocent Man (1983), 5. “I’m Still Standing” – Elton John, Too Low for Zero (1983), 6. “Listen to What the Man Said” – Paul McCartney, Venus and Mars (1975), 7. “Tell Her About It” – Billy Joel, An Innocent Man (1983), 8. “Sad Songs (Say So Much)” – Elton John, Breaking Hearts (1984), 9. “With a Little Luck” – Paul McCartney, London Town (1978), 10. “The Longest Time” – Billy Joel, An Innocent Man (1983), 11. “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” – Elton John, Caribou (1974), 12. “Coming Up” – Paul McCartney McCartney II (1980).
Playlist 6: The Rebels and Romantics
1. “Only Love Remains” – Paul McCartney, Press to Play (1986), 2. “A Matter of Trust” – Billy Joel, The Bridge (1986), 3. “I Don’t Wanna Go on with You Like That” – Elton John, Reg Strikes Back (1988), 4. “Say Say Say” – Paul McCartney, Pipes of Peace (1983), 5. “All for Leyna” – Billy Joel, Glass Houses (1980), 6. “The Bitch is Back” – Elton John, Caribou (1974), 7. “Take It Away” – Paul McCartney, Tug of War (1982), 8. “You’re Only Human (Second Wind)” – Billy Joel, Greatest Hits, Volume I & Volume II (1985), 9. “Burn Down the Mission” – Elton John, Tumbleweed Connection (1970), 10. “Arrow Through Me” – Paul McCartney, Back to the Egg (1979), 11. “Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)” – Billy Joel, River of Dreams (1993), 12. “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word (Live duet with Ray Charles)” – Billy Joel, One Night Only (2000).
Playlist 7: Life and Legacy
1. “The Downeaster ‘Alexa'” – Billy Joel, Storm Front (1989), 2. “This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore” –Elton John, Songs from the West Coast (2001), 3. “Hope of Deliverance” – Paul McCartney, Off the Ground (1993), 4. “All About Soul” – Billy Joel, River of Dreams (1993), 5. “I Want Love” – Elton John Songs from the West Coast (2001), 6. “Put It There” – Paul McCartney, Flowers in the Dirt (1989), 7. “Leningrad” – Billy Joel, Storm Front (1989), 8. “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” – Elton John, Honky Château (1972), 9. “Beautiful Night” – Paul McCartney, Flaming Pie (1997), 10. “Famous Last Words” – Billy Joel, River of Dreams (1993), 11. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” – Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973), 12. “Too Much Rain” – Paul McCartney, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005).
Playlist 8: The Journeymen
1. “Leave a Tender Moment Alone” – Billy Joel, An Innocent Man (1983), 2. “Where to Now St. Peter?” – Elton John, Tumbleweed Connection (1970), 3. “The World Tonight” – Paul McCartney, Flaming Pie (1997), 4. “Travelin’ Prayer” – Billy Joel, Piano Man (1973), 5. “Border Song” – Elton John, Elton John (1970), 6. “Helen Wheels” – Paul McCartney, Band on the Run (1973), 7. “Everybody Has a Dream” – Billy Joel, The Stranger (1977), 8. “Burning Buildings” – Elton John, Breaking Hearts (1984), 9. “Wanderlust” – Paul McCartney, Tug of War (1982), 10. “Half a Mile Away” – Billy Joel, 52nd Street (1978), 11. “Empty Sky” – Elton John, Empty Sky (1969), 12. “Dance Tonight” – Memory Almost Full (2007).
Playlist 9: The Storybook Endings
1 “Through the Long Night” – Billy Joel, Glass Houses (1980), 2. “Candle in the Wind” – Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973), 3. “Little Lamb Dragonfly” – Paul McCartney, Red Rose Speedway (1973), 4. “Just a Fantasy” – Billy Joel, Songs in the Attic (1981), 5. “Come Down in Time” – Elton John, Tumbleweed Connection (1970), 6. “The Song We Were Singing” – Paul McCartney, Flaming Pie (1997), 7. “Shameless” – Billy Joel, Storm Front (1989), 8. “Goodbye” – Elton John, Lady Samantha (1970), 9. “The End of the End” – Paul McCartney, Memory Almost Full (2007), 10. “Tomorrow is Today” – Billy Joel, Cold Spring Harbor (1971), 11. “Tonight” – Elton John, Blue Moves (1976), 12. “The Lovers That Never Were” – Paul McCartney, Off the Ground (1993).
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