It's Still Rock & Roll to Me by Billy Joel - Classic Rock?

I was surprised to hear "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me" by Billy Joel on 102.9 The Whale this morning. They bill themselves as "Hartford's Classic Rock." Maybe I'm wrong, but I really don't consider that song a Classic Rock Song. To me it fits more on a Classic Hits and/or Variety Hits Station. In Fact I know I've heard it on the Variety Hits station in the market. (The River 105.9)

Seems to me that if classic "rock" can play "Piano Man" by him, which they do here in Nashville (although it is usually the album version), then they could play almost anything else by him. "Still Rock & Roll" even has "rock" in the title, so yeah, it would be okay to play on classic rock, although I don't specifically know if they play it here.

A Hartford station would likely have greater leeway in playing Billy Joel, seeing as how his popularity in the market has always been very high.

You sung hung up on labels. To me it's just a fun song that I sing along with wherever it comes up.

There are a lot of "crossover" artists, who had hits, but also got rock airplay. Billy Joel is one of them.

Seems to me he's in the Rock & Rock Hall of Fame, isn't he? That makes him classic rock.

I think what we are seeing is the result of research. The classic rock listener seems to like the song although it likely was not played by the rock stations when the song was released. It would be included, as would any other traditionally un-classic rock tune that has the consensus of the classic rock audience.

Listening on a visit to Dallas/Fort Worth, the local classic rocker tossed in Drift Away by Dobie Gray. Not classic rock by any stretch but folks I know that prefer classic rock do like the song, so if my friends are representative of the target audience, then playing it is not out in left field.

Here's one I can't really figure out. I grew up listening to what was called album rock radio of the era played on classic rock stations. I also worked in a record store during some of that time. I never recall hearing Stevie Ray Vaughn on the radio and we didn't have his music in the record store. After Stevie Ray passed, he was all over the radio as if he had always been. And I grew up in Texas.

TheBigA said:

You sung hung up on labels. To me it's just a fun song that I sing along with wherever it comes up.

There are a lot of "crossover" artists, who had hits, but also got rock airplay. Billy Joel is one of them.

Seems to me he's in the Rock & Rock Hall of Fame, isn't he? That makes him classic rock.

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But "Honesty," "New York State of Mind" or "She's Always a Woman" would be very much out of place on any classic rocker, wouldn't they?

b-turner said:

Listening on a visit to Dallas/Fort Worth, the local classic rocker tossed in Drift Away by Dobie Gray. Not classic rock by any stretch but folks I know that prefer classic rock do like the song, so if my friends are representative of the target audience, then playing it is not out in left field.

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The fact that the song has been redone many times, including once by Uncle Kracker, made it applicable in both Classic Rock and Hits.

CTListener said:

But "Honesty," "New York State of Mind" or "She's Always a Woman" would be very much out of place on any classic rocker, wouldn't they?

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Maybe, but we're not talking about his entire discography here, are we? Same with Elton John.

However, I will tell you that all three of your examples got regular FM rock radio airplay when they were currents.

TheBigA said:

Maybe, but we're not talking about his entire discography here, are we? Same with Elton John.

However, I will tell you that all three of your examples got regular FM rock radio airplay when they were currents.

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And now those songs are part of Westwood One America's Best Music. In other words, standards. The format added "My Life", so I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me".

b-turner said:

Listening on a visit to Dallas/Fort Worth, the local classic rocker tossed in Drift Away by Dobie Gray. Not classic rock by any stretch but folks I know that prefer classic rock do like the song, so if my friends are representative of the target audience, then playing it is not out in left field.

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Also a recent addition to Westwood One America's Best Music.

Honesty, Just The Way You Are, She's Always A Woman etc. have found a home on stations like WDUV etc.

eriedj said:

Honesty, Just The Way You Are, She's Always A Woman etc. have found a home on stations like WDUV etc.

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No surprise there. Those songs were on just about every AC station 25 years ago, but AC has changed and soft AC is the only place those songs fit comfortably in 2017. Even classic hits stations that play Joel are much more likely to play "You May Be Right" or "Big Shot" than any of his ballads.

CTListener said:

Even classic hits stations that play Joel are much more likely to play "You May Be Right" or "Big Shot" than any of his ballads.

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Tempo, tempo, tempo!

"Until the Night" used to be a regular airplay staple over FM 100 in Memphis (CHR/top 40), despite never having been a single, and Billy Joel NOT being from Memphis! Long song, but it aired unedited.

I was reminded when I heard the song on "Imaginary Mary" that WROQ in Charlotte, which was still album rock (I think), played "Rock This Town" by The Stray Cats. That's when the station called its music "Rock of the 80s" in the mid-80s before it went CHR. "Rock This Town" was in its TV commercials. Considering the song sounded straight out of the 50s, that sure didn't sound like album rock.