My Life (Billy Joel song)
Encyclopedia
"My Life" is a song by Billy Joel
that first appeared on his 1978 album 52nd Street
. A single version was released in the fall of 1978 and reached #2 on the U.S. adult contemporary
chart. Early the next year it peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100
.
riff
. The riff is also used as a fill
between verse and chorus sections and is also played at the end. The section order is intro-verse-fill-chorus-bridge-v-f-c-b-solo-c-outro.
The verse about an old friend who "closed the shop, sold the house, bought a ticket to the west coast, now he gives them a stand up routine in LA," is a reference to comedian Richard Lewis
.
Chicago
members Peter Cetera
and Donnie Dacus
performed the backing vocals and sang along with Billy Joel during the bridge and in the outro ("Keep it to yourself, it's my life").
"My Life" was used as the theme song for the ABC
television series Bosom Buddies
(1980-82), however due to licensing issues it does not appear on the DVD release of the series, nor is it used in the show's syndicated airings; in both cases, it is replaced by a vocal version of the show's closing instrumental theme, "Shake Me Loose", sung by Stephanie Mills
.
The melody in the song's chorus bears a striking resemblance to the melody from the song Sha-La-La-La-La by The Walkers
.
's track "Number One" from their debut album How Ace Are Buildings
, earning Joel a writing credit.
The lyrics borrowed are:
"Got a call from an old friend, used to be real close
Said he couldn't go on the American way
Sold his house, sold his car
Bought a ticket to the West Coast
Now he gives 'em a stand-up routine in L.A."
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
that first appeared on his 1978 album 52nd Street
52nd Street (album)
52nd Street is the sixth studio album by Billy Joel, released in 1978. It was also the first of many Joel albums to top the Billboard charts, along with his third and fourth Grammy win....
. A single version was released in the fall of 1978 and reached #2 on the U.S. adult contemporary
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
chart. Early the next year it peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
Song information
The song begins with drums and electric bass, followed by a keyboardMusical keyboard
A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
. The riff is also used as a fill
Fill (music)
In popular music, a fill is a short musical passage, riff, or rhythmic sound which helps to sustain the listener's attention during a break between the phrases of a melody....
between verse and chorus sections and is also played at the end. The section order is intro-verse-fill-chorus-bridge-v-f-c-b-solo-c-outro.
The verse about an old friend who "closed the shop, sold the house, bought a ticket to the west coast, now he gives them a stand up routine in LA," is a reference to comedian Richard Lewis
Richard Lewis (comedian)
-Early life:Lewis was born in Brooklyn, New York City and was raised in Englewood, New Jersey. His father worked as a caterer and his mother was an actress. Lewis is Jewish. He later attended Ohio State University and was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity....
.
Chicago
Chicago (band)
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
members Peter Cetera
Peter Cetera
Peter Paul Cetera is an American singer, songwriter, bassist and producer best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago, before launching a successful solo career...
and Donnie Dacus
Donnie Dacus
Donnie Dacus is a musician best known for his work in the band Chicago and his role as Woof Daschund in the 1979 movie Hair.-Early life:Don Dacus was born in Galena Park, Texas on October 12, 1951....
performed the backing vocals and sang along with Billy Joel during the bridge and in the outro ("Keep it to yourself, it's my life").
"My Life" was used as the theme song for the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series Bosom Buddies
Bosom Buddies
Bosom Buddies is an American sitcom starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari created by Robert L. Boyett, Thomas L. Miller and Chris Thompson. It ran from 1980 to 1982 on ABC and in reruns in the summer of 1984 on NBC....
(1980-82), however due to licensing issues it does not appear on the DVD release of the series, nor is it used in the show's syndicated airings; in both cases, it is replaced by a vocal version of the show's closing instrumental theme, "Shake Me Loose", sung by Stephanie Mills
Stephanie Mills
Stephanie Dorthea Mills is an American R&B and soul singer, and a former Broadway star.-Career:Mills began her career appearing in her first play at the age of nine. Two years later, Mills won Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater a record six times...
.
The melody in the song's chorus bears a striking resemblance to the melody from the song Sha-La-La-La-La by The Walkers
The Walkers
The Walkers was a Danish glam rock band featuring singer-composer Torben Lendager, guitarist Gert Michelsen, drummer-lyricist Poul Dehnhardt and bassist Jan Kanstrup Hansen. It was founded in 1968 and broke up in 1977...
.
Single and Album edits
The differences between the single and album versions are the following:- The intro and the interlude that follows are abridged.
- The interludes between the verses and refrains are cut in half.
- The instrumental break that follows the second bridge is deleted, which was done by a very crude razor blade splice, such that drummer Liberty DeVitto's cymbal crash appeared to be audibly severed.
Other uses
A portion of the lyrics were used in AA (band)
A are a British alternative rock band from Suffolk, England, that formed in 1993. They have released four albums, and two live mini-albums.In 2002, the band enjoyed a brief period of commercial success, in which "Nothing", the first single from Hi-Fi Serious , charted at #9 on the UK singles chart...
's track "Number One" from their debut album How Ace Are Buildings
How Ace Are Buildings
How Ace Are Buildings is the debut album by British alternative rock band A, released in 1997.The album was re-released in 1998, in the form of cassette and LTD Edition 12"...
, earning Joel a writing credit.
The lyrics borrowed are:
"Got a call from an old friend, used to be real close
Said he couldn't go on the American way
Sold his house, sold his car
Bought a ticket to the West Coast
Now he gives 'em a stand-up routine in L.A."
Chart positions
| Chart (1978/1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 6 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 11 |
| Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
3 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
22 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
3 |
| Japan Oricon Singles Chart Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
37 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 6 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 13 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 4 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
12 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States... |
2 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | Silver | 1 February 1979 | 200,000 |