Billy Joel’s Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits
A look at the Piano Man's history on the chart.
Billy Joel introduced himself to the Billboard Hot 100 with the eventual karaoke classic “Piano Man,” which hit No. 25 in April 1974. He landed his first No. 1 in July 1980 with “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me.” His other two chart-toppers, among 13 top 10s: “Tell Her About It,” in 1983, and “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” in 1989.
Joel has also earned four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, with his longest-leading, 1978’s 52nd Street, reigning for eight weeks. On the Adult Contemporary chart, he has earned eight No. 1s, with “The River of Dreams” ruling for a personal-best 12 weeks in 1993.
The native New Yorker has won five Grammy Awards, including album of the year for 52nd Street in 1979 and both record and song of the year for “Just the Way You Are” in 1978. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, became a Kennedy Center honoree in 2013 and was awarded the sixth-ever Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress in 2014.
In honor of the icon, Billboard looks at his biggest Hot 100 hits, as clearly, he has been no, um, stranger, to the chart.
Billy Joel’s Top 25 Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits
1, “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” peak position No. 1 (2 weeks), peak date July 19, 1980
2, “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” No. 1 (2 weeks), Dec. 9, 1989
3, “Uptown Girl,” No. 3, Nov. 12, 1983
4, “My Life,” No. 3, Jan. 6, 1979
5, “Just the Way You Are,” No. 3, Feb. 18, 1978
6, “Tell Her About It,” No. 1 (1 week), Sept. 24, 1983
7, “The River of Dreams,” No. 3, Oct. 16, 1993
8, “I Go to Extremes,“ No. 6, March 17, 1990
9, “You May be Right,” No. 7, May 3, 1980
10, “You’re Only Human (Second Wind),” No. 9, Aug. 31, 1985
11, “A Matter of Trust,” No. 10, Oct. 18, 1986
12, “Allentown,” No. 17, Feb. 5, 1983
13, “An Innocent Man,” No. 10, Feb. 25, 1984
14, “Modern Woman,” No. 10, July 26, 1986
15, “The Longest Time,” No. 14, May 12, 1984
16, “Keeping the Faith,” No. 18, March 23, 1985
17, “This is the Time,” No. 18, Jan. 31, 1987
18, “Say Goodbye to Hollywood,“ No. 17, Nov. 7, 1981
19, “She’s Always a Woman,” No. 17, Oct. 14, 1978
20, “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” No. 17, May 27, 1978
21, “Don’t Ask Me Why,” No. 19, Sept. 20, 1980
22, “Pressure,” No. 20, Nov. 20, 1982
23, “Big Shot,” No. 14, March 24, 1979
24, “She’s Got a Way,” No. 23, Jan. 23, 1982
25, “Piano Man,” No. 25, April 20, 1974
Billy Joel’s Biggest Billboard Hot 100 hits chart is based on actual performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100, through the July 20, 2019, ranking. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted to account for different chart turnover rates over various periods.
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