Honesty (Billy Joel song)
Encyclopedia
"Honesty" is a song by Billy Joel
released in 1979 as the third single from his album 52nd Street
. It was solely written by Joel, while production was handled by Phil Ramone
. It reached number 24 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
, becoming the album's third consecutive top 40 hit.
"Honesty" has been particularly popular in South Korea and Japan for decades and covered by East Asian musicians like Chikuzen Sato, Hajime Mizoguchi
, Nicotine, and K. The song was included on South Korean and Japanese edition of Joel's 1985 compilation Greatest Hits Volume 2 as one of the bonus track
s, and has been featured on the country's multiple TV commercials to date. In May 2009, Joel's version was certified gold by Recording Industry Association of Japan
for ringtone download
sales of over 100,000 units. There is a potential resemblance of part of this song to a song by Paul Simon
called "Tenderness", taken from the 1973 album There Goes Rhymin' Simon
.
A well-known ballad that received much airplay, the song nevertheless has the odd distinction of not being included on any of Joel's US released compilation packages although it does appear on the Dutch edition as well as the aforementioned Japanese edition of Greatest Hits Volume 2
, instead of "Don't Ask Me Why
". In 1981, Mexican singer David Haro recorded under the title "Sinceridad" from the album Calido.
plays the acoustic guitar in the song and Robert Freedman the horn
and string orchestration
. "Honesty" is a ballad about the inherent lack of same even in the closest of relationships. In the song Joel sings the lines "Honesty is such a lonely word." "Leningrad
" (1989), a song by Joel's eleventh studio album, Storm Front
has been compared to "Honesty". According to the sheet music published on the website Musicnotes.com by Faber Music
, "Honesty" is a pop rock
and classical rock song written in the key of B♭ major. The song is set in common time and performed in a slow tempo of 80 beats per minute. Joel vocals range from the note of Bb3
to A5
.
at Giants Stadium
in East Rutherford
, New Jersey
in July, 1994. First, they sang "Your Song
" (1970) by John and after that they performed "Honesty" while playing on the piano. "Honesty" was also performed by John and Joel on March, 29, 1995 in SkyDome
, Toronto
. The same routine was performed in May, 1998 in Dublin. On July 31, 2006, Joel performed the song with Canadian rock singer-songwriter Bryan Adams
in Colosseum, Rome
, Italy
.
"Honesty" peaked at number 16 on the Canadian Singles Chart. On July 28, 1979 the song debuted at number 31 on the Dutch Top 40 which later become its peak position. The next week, the song fell seven position placing at number 38. However on August 11, 1979, the song charted at number 35 before falling out of the chart the next week. In New Zealand, "Honesty" debuted at number 47, on June 10, 1979 and later peaked at number 38. After its peak position, the song fell out of the chart. On the Billboard Hot 100
the song peaked at number 24.
re-recorded Billy Joel's version of the song for a compilation album
of her former group Destiny's Child
, titled Love Destiny. The song was later included on the Platinum Edition of her third solo album, I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008).
Knowles' version of the song has been described as a turgid ballad that unfortunately stands as a bland addition to the album. Serving as the sixteenth track to Knowles' Platinum edition re-release of I Am... Sasha Fierce, the song contrasts with previous tracks such as "Why Don't You Love Me". The song showcases Knowles' soulful voice and outstanding vocal range. The song became very popular on the Korean charts and was performed during her Seoul concerts in 2009.
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...
released in 1979 as the third single from his 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....
. It was solely written by Joel, while production was handled by Phil Ramone
Phil Ramone
Phil Ramone is a South-African violinist, composer, recording engineer, and record producer.-Biography:As a young child in South Africa, Ramone was a musical prodigy, beginning to play the violin at age three and performing for Queen Elizabeth II at age ten...
. It reached number 24 on the 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...
, becoming the album's third consecutive top 40 hit.
"Honesty" has been particularly popular in South Korea and Japan for decades and covered by East Asian musicians like Chikuzen Sato, Hajime Mizoguchi
Hajime Mizoguchi
is a cellist and composer.Mizoguchi started playing piano in 1963, at the age of 3, and the cello in 1971. From 1978–1985 he attended the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music where he majored in violoncello...
, Nicotine, and K. The song was included on South Korean and Japanese edition of Joel's 1985 compilation Greatest Hits Volume 2 as one of the bonus track
Bonus track
In terms of recorded music, a bonus track is a piece of music which has been included on specific releases or reissues of an album. This is most often done as a promotional device, either as an incentive to customers to purchase albums they might otherwise not, or to repurchase albums they already...
s, and has been featured on the country's multiple TV commercials to date. In May 2009, Joel's version was certified gold by Recording Industry Association of Japan
Recording Industry Association of Japan
The Recording Industry Association of Japan is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved the music industry...
for ringtone download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
sales of over 100,000 units. There is a potential resemblance of part of this song to a song by Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
called "Tenderness", taken from the 1973 album There Goes Rhymin' Simon
There Goes Rhymin' Simon
There Goes Rhymin' Simon is the third solo studio album by American musician Paul Simon rush-released on May 5, 1973. It contains songs covering several styles and genres, such as gospel and dixieland . It received two nominations at the Grammy Awards of 1974, including Best Male Pop Vocal...
.
A well-known ballad that received much airplay, the song nevertheless has the odd distinction of not being included on any of Joel's US released compilation packages although it does appear on the Dutch edition as well as the aforementioned Japanese edition of Greatest Hits Volume 2
Greatest Hits (Billy Joel albums)
Billy Joel's Greatest Hits is a collection released in two sets, 12 years apart. The first set, consisting of two discs, titled Volume I and Volume II, was released in 1985. The second, single disc titled Volume III was released in 1997. All songs but the last three on Volume III, "To Make You Feel...
, instead of "Don't Ask Me Why
Don't Ask Me Why (Billy Joel song)
"Don't Ask Me Why" is a Billy Joel song released in 1980. The lyrics talk about the oddities of life that have become obvious over time. It is more characteristic of a track that would have appeared on Joel's earlier albums in that it has a lighter folk sound as compared to the harder, more rock...
". In 1981, Mexican singer David Haro recorded under the title "Sinceridad" from the album Calido.
Background and composition
"Honesty" was solely written by Billy Joel while production was handled by Phil Ramone. David SpinozzaDavid Spinozza
David Spinozza is an American musician , who worked with former Beatles Paul McCartney and John Lennon during the 1970s, and had a long collaboration with singer-songwriter James Taylor, producing Taylor's album Walking Man....
plays the acoustic guitar in the song and Robert Freedman the horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
and string orchestration
Orchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...
. "Honesty" is a ballad about the inherent lack of same even in the closest of relationships. In the song Joel sings the lines "Honesty is such a lonely word." "Leningrad
Leningrad (song)
"Leningrad" is a 1989 song written and performed by American singer and songwriter Billy Joel. The song was originally released on his album Storm Front on the Columbia Records label, and went on to be released as a single. It was also released on his Greatest Hits, Vol. 3 compilation. The song...
" (1989), a song by Joel's eleventh studio album, Storm Front
Storm Front (album)
Storm Front is the 11th studio album by Billy Joel. Released in 1989 , the album featured one of Joel's three #1 hits, "We Didn't Start the Fire", a fast-paced song, mentioning some of the major historical events that took place in his time, and "Leningrad", Joel's take on the end of the Cold...
has been compared to "Honesty". According to the sheet music published on the website Musicnotes.com by Faber Music
Faber Music
Faber Music is a British sheet music publisher best known for contemporary classical music. It also publishes music tutor books, and in 2005 acquired popular music publisher International Music Publications....
, "Honesty" is a pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
and classical rock song written in the key of B♭ major. The song is set in common time and performed in a slow tempo of 80 beats per minute. Joel vocals range from the note of Bb3
B (musical note)
B, also known as H, Si or Ti, is the seventh note of the solfège. It lies a chromatic semitone below C and is thus the enharmonic equivalent of C-flat....
to A5
A (musical note)
La or A is the sixth note of the solfège. "A" is generally used as a standard for tuning. When the orchestra tunes, the oboe plays an "A" and the rest of the instruments tune to match that pitch. Every string instrument in the orchestra has an A string, from which each player can tune the rest of...
.
Live and chart performances
Joel performed the song with Elton JohnElton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
at Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...
in East Rutherford
East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in July, 1994. First, they sang "Your Song
Your Song
"Your Song" is a ballad composed and performed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by his long-time collaborator Bernie Taupin. It appeared on John's self-titled second album in 1970....
" (1970) by John and after that they performed "Honesty" while playing on the piano. "Honesty" was also performed by John and Joel on March, 29, 1995 in SkyDome
Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. The same routine was performed in May, 1998 in Dublin. On July 31, 2006, Joel performed the song with Canadian rock singer-songwriter Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
in Colosseum, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
"Honesty" peaked at number 16 on the Canadian Singles Chart. On July 28, 1979 the song debuted at number 31 on the Dutch Top 40 which later become its peak position. The next week, the song fell seven position placing at number 38. However on August 11, 1979, the song charted at number 35 before falling out of the chart the next week. In New Zealand, "Honesty" debuted at number 47, on June 10, 1979 and later peaked at number 38. After its peak position, the song fell out of the chart. 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...
the song peaked at number 24.
Credits and personnel
Credits for "Honesty" are taken from 52nd Street liner notes.- Billy Joel - writingSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Phil RamonePhil RamonePhil Ramone is a South-African violinist, composer, recording engineer, and record producer.-Biography:As a young child in South Africa, Ramone was a musical prodigy, beginning to play the violin at age three and performing for Queen Elizabeth II at age ten...
- producingRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - David SpinozzaDavid SpinozzaDavid Spinozza is an American musician , who worked with former Beatles Paul McCartney and John Lennon during the 1970s, and had a long collaboration with singer-songwriter James Taylor, producing Taylor's album Walking Man....
- acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound... - Robert Freedman - hornHorn (instrument)The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
and string orchestrationOrchestrationOrchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...
Charts
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| 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.... |
16 |
| 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... |
31 |
| 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... |
53 |
Beyoncé Knowles version
In 2008, American recording artist, Beyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
re-recorded Billy Joel's version of the song for a compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
of her former group Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...
, titled Love Destiny. The song was later included on the Platinum Edition of her third solo album, I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008).
Knowles' version of the song has been described as a turgid ballad that unfortunately stands as a bland addition to the album. Serving as the sixteenth track to Knowles' Platinum edition re-release of I Am... Sasha Fierce, the song contrasts with previous tracks such as "Why Don't You Love Me". The song showcases Knowles' soulful voice and outstanding vocal range. The song became very popular on the Korean charts and was performed during her Seoul concerts in 2009.
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Korean Single Top 100 | 2 |