BILLY JOEL Root beer rag Music Reaction -One of the best piano playing i've ever heard!First hearing

BILLY JOEL Root beer rag Music Reaction
#billyjoel
#pianomusic
#musicreactions

[@icemediapro]

I was born in 1970 and my older brother introduced me to Billy Joel music when it was first coming out and I just getting old enough to start singing along to songs at age 4 or 5 and was listening to this through my brother… I have seen Billy Joel in concert several times including with my brother before he passed… thank God I’ve been living with it for the last 54 years and thank you my brother, Tim for introducing me to Billy Joel all those years ago.

[@devonbell6795]

I saw Billy in concert a few years back. As he introduced this song, he said he regretted putting it on an album. He said, “that means I have to play it in concert and it’s really hard to play without having a f@&k up. So stand by. You may hear a good old fashioned rock-n-roll f@&k up.” He then proceeded to play it FLAWLESSLY!

[@marybaillie8907]

From Billy's 1974 album, "Streetlife Serenade" this is an amazing track with a fast ragtime style. With lightening fast keyboard work, some say it was styled after Scott Joplin and his fabulous hits from the movie, The Sting. Just another reason he is The Piano Man. Fantastic tune. Great reaction Harri. Thanks Harri and Jami. 👏👏 Cheers from Canada 🇨🇦

[@agnetesorensenelbom5085]

❤❤❤🥰🇨🇦🇩🇰🌻

[@icemediapro]

First time visiting this channel… I had to share this reaction video on X. The love for REAL MUSIC is alive and well… this Harri gives me faith in humanity.. even gives Billy a standing ovation at the end… loved this vid.

[@christopheryochum3602]

I keep asking reactors to do this, but no one's doing it. So thanks, Harri. It showcases not only how good a pianist he is, but how eclectic.

[@SM-jg8fr]

He takes this even faster live than on the record!

[@tanisdevelopment]

Excellent choice.

[@debbiechang5781]

Great choice Jami! Just like Harri, Billy Joel never ceases to amaze me! He has the talent of a hundred people all rolled into one. Nice insights from Harri as always 🌺✌️

[@chrism65324]

He’s the best

[@jillk368]

I haven't heard this song in decades. I don't think I've ever heard this long of a version. The album version, as I recall, was quite a bit shorter. This is nice; thanks!!

[@scipiom4578]

Great piano playing.

[@MrDcrules]

Stunning piece of music. It’s a rag, but draws from Chopin and other classical greats. It’s so cool how he gets up from the piano bench like he’s got to take a quick break. He deserves it!

[@sandrajones1609]

You are some kinda Music Miner Harri !!! ... Unearthing Treasure Endlessly 🎶✌️👯

[@icemediapro]

This is the best reaction video of any other reaction video ever…

[@etc7070]

Yes! Was hoping you would watch this one! If my ears are not deceiving me, Billy is actually performing this song even faster than the studio recording. Truly mind blowing! (Also, the big Billy Joel news today is that he will be ending his 1 concert a month residency at Madison Square Garden next year after playing a record 150 shows there. Legendary.)

[@heretogo9474]

This is definitely faster than the studio recording. Brilliant!😅

[@jamiepasquariello2652]

150 sell outs 😊

[@chrislongisland]

So incredible!

[@heretogo9474]

Thanks for the request Jami A. and thanks again for another great reaction Harri! Billy is a genius.

[@ernestocarulla8114]

Mr. PIANO MAN at his best

[@josephbruno6111]

I saw Billy in 1974 at the Capital Theatre (a large movie theatre) in Passaic, NJ. He stated this song is for his piano teacher who thought he would never learn how to play :-)

[@ronaldelliott4373]

Saw this live back in the day. Percussionist, Liberty Devitto was a featured part of their live show, along with the human Swiss Army Knife and utility infielder, saxophonist (among other skills) Mark Rivera. Checkout Billy’s collaborative recording with Ray Charles called, “Baby Grand.” Billy wrote it in the Ray Charles style. Remarkable.

[@seanscanlon9067]

Harri has reacted to Baby Grand earlier on, on his channel.

[@ronaldelliott4373]

@@seanscanlon9067 The heads up is much appreciated. I’ll go back and check it out. Regards 👍

[@Prof_Jeff]

"human Swiss Army Knife and utility infielder,...Mark Rivera" I love this! You could not be more right! 👍👊

[@seanscanlon9067]

@@ronaldelliott4373 No problem and Harri has got through quite a few of Billy's songs now, and I would estimate at around 40 or so with Jami A requesting most of those.

[@TracyfromNC]

My fave ragtime is the awesome "Scott Joplin songs"... please do the The Sting" theme, a great Joplin melody I learned on piano.

[@TracyfromNC]

So great, I learned to play it on piano...difficult but fun, I have much respect for Joplin...the timing and the notes are tough to get right.

[@seanscanlon9067]

@@TracyfromNC Coincidentally, that Scott Joplin piece is called The Entertainer and Billy Joel has a song with lyrics with the same title.

[@jimmeyer9106]

I'm a huge fan of piano music. This is never gonna rise to a level of a Beethoven or Mozart but the absolute talent and speed I don't think can be matched. It's truly one of my favorite piano pieces, not for the sound, but for the appreciation of the inhuman talent it took to make it. You can learn Beethoven in a sitting, good luck trying to play this

[@seanscanlon9067]

Billy put out a classical album for piano around the turn of the century called Fantasies and Delusions.

[@gioconda43]

I wasn't expecting this! Very good!.

[@normanrose2711]

There is a song on this album called Roberta. It is really good ... a song about Billy and his affection for a prostitute

[@Prof_Jeff]

Loved that track from the first time I played Streetlife Serenade. It was one of that album's tracks I learned to play on the piano way back when.

[@davebzen795]

Jami - First, I have no idea whatsoever what happened to my comments, and I highly doubt that it was deleted. I came back to this submission today because I sent this out to a number of my friends to experience, two of whom are pianists (one Rock and the other Blues). Only one replied back, saying that she had seen this specific performance before and considered it to be among Billy Joel's best 'let it rip' ragtime performances. No one disagreed, nor did I. I have added it to my Best of Billy Joel Playlist as this was fantastic, and I can't thank you enough for submitting it. Harri's review was also outstanding. 👏👏 👏👏 👏👏 👏👏

[@seanscanlon9067]

Maybe have a listen to another of Billy's piano instrumentals called Nocturne, for a totally different sound.

[@davebzen795]

Sean - Thank you for bringing Nocturn to my attention. I truly appreciate you bringing this one to my attention. This Billy Joel instrumental was absolutely exquisite and I will most certainly be adding it to both my Best of Billy Joel playlist as well as my Best of Instrumentals playlists. Thank you for taking the time to make this recommendation.@@seanscanlon9067

[@iainsmith2434]

There is a video of them playing Travelling Prayer at the same concert in Germany. You need to watch it.

[@andyleclerc3600]

I used to go to Pawtucket RI with my family to see the Boston Red Sox farm team play. They always played this on the P.A.system at the beginning of each game.😊

[@johndistasio9518]

Wow

[@howtodoitdude1662]

The record company was pushing him to come out with a new album. He didn’t have enough material for songs so he recorded two instrumentals, and this is one of them.

[@joelliebler5690]

An amazing tune by the piano maestro leading into Angry Young Man!

[@Fool3SufferingFools]

The lead-in to Angry Young Man is a piece called Prelude. A bit similar to Root Beer Rag, but not the same.

[@jamiepasquariello2652]

​@@Fool3SufferingFoolsBilly is truly THE master artist of the 20th century

[@behringerm]

Just in case you thought the title “Piano Man” came from his best known song. He has chops. If he played against Keith Emerson & Chick Correa, I am not sure who would come out on top

[@riccardoangeli802]

Talento incredibile... Non sbaglia un pezzo ... Consiglio Leave a tender moment alone dal vivo con Tootsie Tielemans all armonica

[@seanscanlon9067]

The funny thing is, the band members here were not even part of Billy's band when he wrote and recorded this to put on an album.

[@thomastimlin1724]

How long did it take the band to Rehearse this? You mean catch up to him?

[@SM-jg8fr]

Borrowed a couple of moves from Chico Marx, too!