"Keeping the Faith" is a song by rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 singer-songwriter Billy Joel

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 from his 1983 album An Innocent Man

An Innocent Man

An Innocent Man is the ninth album by American singer/songwriter Billy Joel, released in 1983 .This album is Joel's tribute to the music of his childhood...

. Written as a tribute to Bob Marley

Bob Marley

Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...

 and reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

, it reached #18 on the main US 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...

 chart and #3 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The song was the only single from the album that failed to chart on the 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 ...

, despite the success of An Innocent Man in the United Kingdom.

"Keeping the Faith" is the last track on and final single from the album and the lyrics sum up Joel's reason for creating the album, which hearkens back to the sounds and style of 1950s and early 1960s rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 music, with lines like:

"If it seems like I've been lost in let's remember" and

"Now I told you my reasons for the whole revival"

The song was remixed for release as a 7" vinyl single. An extended remix was also released on US promotional 12" vinyl singles (Columbia AS 1982). Both 7" and 12" releases state "Special Mix" on the label and both have a printed run time of 4:44. The actual run times for the 7" and 12" are 4:52 and 5:27, respectively. A third, previously unreleased remix was released on the My Lives

My Lives

My Lives is a box set compilation of demos, outtakes, B-sides, soundtrack cuts, live recordings and album cuts by American singer/songwriter Billy Joel. It was released on November 22, 2005...

box set. The box set incorrectly states the version as "12" Remix." The actual 7" and 12" mixes have never been released on CD or even in digital format for stores like iTunes - despite customer demand.

Music video

The music video for the song depicts a court trial whether Joel is innocent and is "keeping the faith" (as the song "An Innocent Man

An Innocent Man (song)

"An Innocent Man" is a 1983 song performed by Billy Joel and the third single from his album An Innocent Man.The song, whose musical style is an homage to Ben E. King and The Drifters, reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the third consecutive top 10 single from the album...

" plays in the background.) The courtroom audience is populated by 1950's acts on one side, and 1960's acts (including a Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...

 look-a-like) on the other, and shows Joel singing and dancing throughout the video. Joel and the judge (character actor Richard Shull) in the video are seen on the single cover for the single. Richard Pryor

Richard Pryor

Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...

 makes a cameo appearance at the beginning of this video and Joe Piscopo

Joe Piscopo

Joseph Charles John "Joe" Piscopo is an American comedian and actor best known for his work on Saturday Night Live.-Early life:...

 makes a cameo at the end. Dick Clark and Christie Brinkley

Christie Brinkley

Christie Brinkley is an American model and actress best known for her three consecutive appearances on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in the late 1970s and early 1980s, for her long-running contract with CoverGirl, the longest ever of any model in history, and for her marriage...

 also appear.

Chart positions

Charts	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....	81
New Zealand Singles Chart	38
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...	18
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...	3