Description
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52nd Street is the sixth studio album by Billy Joel, released on October 13, 1978. This copy has been hand signed in black ink on the front cover. It was the first of many Joel albums to top the Billboard charts, along with his third and fourth Grammy win. (see 1978 in music). 52nd Street also became, in 1982, the first commercial album to be released oncompact disc (by Sony Music Entertainment). Three songs reached the Top 40 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. Allmusic credits Joel for expanding on the style of The Stranger, making it “more sophisticated and somewhat jazzy.” (Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard guests on “Zanzibar.”) The title is a reference to 52nd Street, which was one of New York City’s jazz centers in the middle of the century. Joel’s label was headquartered on 52nd Street (in the CBS Building) at the time of the album’s release. The studio in which 52nd Street was recorded was also on 52nd Street, a block away from the CBS Building. In 2003, the album was ranked number 352 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.