The 1980 song that became Billy Joel’s favourite to perform live
Billy Joel has spent a career perched by the piano serenading his faithful audiences, cementing himself as one of music’s most decorated but humble acts. To date, he’s sold over 150 million records, been nominated for 23 Grammy Awards, and been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to boot – but those achievements don’t stop him from being his own worst critic.
Although he might’ve thought ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’ was “the worst musical thing” he’d ever written, likening his songwriting process to pulling teeth, when he had the opportunity to play ‘You May Be Right’ live, it was always a real joy for Joel.
The track, taken from his 1980 Glass Houses album, has always been a fan favourite, reaching number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100. The album was incredibly significant for Joel, who was attempting a pivot away from being a strict ballad guy. Although he enjoyed the success of ‘Just the Way You Are’ and ‘Honesty,’ they pigeonholed him. Although not all critics were perceptive of his move towards rock, ‘You May Be Right’ remains his favourite song to play live.
As the opening track on Glass Houses, the song immediately signalled a shift in direction. The sound of breaking glass that kicks things off acts as a declaration that Joel was stepping away from his softer image, embracing a louder, more energetic style rooted in his earlier bar band days. It set the tone for an album that aimed to be sharper, faster and more direct than much of his previous work.
That transition also changed how Joel approached performance. With less reliance on piano, ‘You May Be Right’ allowed him to step out from behind the instrument and engage the crowd in a different way, even picking up a guitar on occasion. Drawing inspiration from the loose, jangly style of The Rolling Stones, the track captured a raw, playful energy that made it a standout moment in his live shows.
It was a statement of intent, and as the opener of Glass Houses, it showed audiences that this would be a decidedly different sound than was on his last two albums, a point hammered home by the glass-shattering sound effect that opens the song.
As Joel explained: “What I was doing with this first song was getting back to my bar band roots. ‘You May be Right’ was about being crazy – and maybe I’m nuts, maybe you’re right, but maybe that’s what you wanted in the first place, that’s essentially what the lyric is. But it’s fun, hang out with me ‘cause I’m nuts.”
The most obvious attempt for him to step away from the brooding ‘Piano Man’ persona can very much be felt in ‘You May Be Right’, with its distinct lack of piano. That’s partly why Joel enjoyed playing it live so much, because it gave him the chance to step out from behind the Steinway and occasionally play the lead guitar.
The iconic guitar riff, inspired by the likes of Brian Jones and Keith Richards, was a valiant attempt to move into rockier areas for Joel, who loved telling the classic roll and roll story of a good girl falling for the bad guy on stage: “I might be as crazy as you say, if I’m crazy then it’s true, that it’s all because of you – and you wouldn’t want me any other way.”
Joel said it was directly inspired by the “magically, jangly guitar thing that the Stones were so good at” but also lifted from his experience touring relentlessly in the ’70s, as were many tracks on Glass Houses. “I wanted to write bigger songs that had a lot of energy in them,” he said. “I felt I needed to do songs that were bigger, could be louder, a lot faster, shorter, and punchier. That was one of the most fun albums I’ve ever made.”
