There's an often-overlooked part of Billy Joel's rise to fame as a recording artist: His track record as a songwriter for others. 

Before he was a superstar, Billy's songs were covered by dozens of performers from around the world. The trend arguably peaked in the late 70s with multiple renditions of his now-classic songs New York State of Mind and Just the Way You Are. But, the bulk of these recordings revolved around his earlier albums and lesser-known composition. 

We covered a large sample of Billy Joel cover songs on a previous episode. This time, we're joined by the director of the Billy Joel archives, John Jackson. He put together an extensive list of pre-1980 recordings and tracked the trends surrounding them. In our conversation, he also provides insight and context about the recording industry's practices during this era. 

Join us as we dig deep into cover versions of Billy Joel's songs from the 1970s.

PLAYLIST : Billy Joel - 1970s Covers

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Produced by Michael Grosvenor & Jack Firneno for Glass Houses Media, LLC

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