Billy Joel recently sat down for an interview with YouTube personality Rick Beato, where they discussed songwriting, touching on such Joel hits as “Piano Man,” “Allentown” and “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”
Discussing his first big hit, “Just the Way You Are,” Joel revealed that he almost didn’t put the song on his album The Stranger because he thought it was “too mushy.” He credits Linda Ronstadt for changing his mind, explaining that he played the song for her and Phoebe Snow in the studio.
“I said, ‘I don’t like this song that much.’ Linda Ronstadt goes, ‘Are you out of your mind? That’s a hit record. You got to put that on the album. That’s a great song,'” he said. “She talked me into it. So, I have to thank Linda Ronstadt for that song.”
Beato notes that in Joel’s HBO documentary And So It Goes, Paul McCartney said “Just the Way You Are” was one of the only songs he wished he had written.
“That blew me away. He’s like the melodic king,” Joel said. “He can do no wrong with melody.”
Released in 1977, “Just the Way You Are” was Joel’s first top-10 hit in the U.S., peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It went on to win two Grammys, record of the year and song of the year.
Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
