Don't Ask Me Why (Billy Joel song)
"Don't Ask Me Why" is a Billy Joel song released in 1980. The track contains all acoustic and Latin percussion instruments performing in an Afro-Cuban rhythmic style. An eclectic, instrumental "Latin Ballroom" piano solo, played over the bridge section after the second verse, is also featured in part of the song; Joel states that the mix for the midsection includes "fifteen pianos overdubbed on top of each other."[1] The song spent two weeks at number one on the Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number nineteen on the Billboard Hot 100.[2]
"Don't Ask Me Why" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Billy Joel | ||||
from the album Glass Houses | ||||
Released | July 24, 1980 | |||
Recorded | 1979 | |||
Length | 2:59 | |||
Label | Columbia Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Billy Joel | |||
Producer(s) | Phil Ramone | |||
Billy Joel singles chronology | ||||
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It was released as the third single from the album Glass Houses and later included on Greatest Hits Volume 2. Billboard Magazine found the song to be "catchy" and felt that Joel's vocal performance sounded similar to Paul McCartney.[3]
Charts
Weekly charts
Chart (1980) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada RPM Top Singles[4] | 4 |
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[5] | 1 |
Dutch Singles Chart | 42 |
French Singles Chart[6] | 42 |
US Billboard Hot 100 | 19 |
US Billboard Adult Contemporary | 1 |
US Cash Box Top 100 | 21 |
Year-end charts
Chart (1980) | Rank |
---|---|
Canada[7] | 45 |
US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[8] | 122 |
Personnel
- Billy Joel - lead and backing vocals, piano, Yamaha electric grand piano
- David Brown - acoustic guitar
- Liberty DeVitto - maracas, bass drum, triangle, claves, ratchet, castanets
- Russell Javors - acoustic guitar
- Doug Stegmeyer - bass
References
- Bordowitz, Hank (2006). Billy Joel: The Life & Times of an Angry Young Man. New York: Billboard Books. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-8230-8248-3. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
- Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 127.
- "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard Magazine. August 2, 1980. p. 60. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
- "RPM 100 Singles (Vol. 34, No. 2, October 25, 1980)". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
- http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.0244&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.0244.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.0244
- "InfoDisc : Bilan des Ventes par Artiste". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2017-02-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.