Travelin' Prayer - Billy Joel | The Midnight Special

[@leestamm3187]

For all the youngsters out there, this is an example of what us old geezers knew as "musicians."

[@josepmariaromeu2005]

And no need of choreography 😅

[@GuiitarBilly]

In 1973 I heard this song on the radio and something about it and the guy singing and playing it caught my ear. I didn’t typically buy full albums for one song but I did with this one because none of the local stores had the Traveling Prayer single. It had barely charted and I’d heard the song that first time on an FM station that didn’t care about the charts. When I played the entire album at home, I was happy to find it had several good songs on it, the guy was a good songwriter, competent singer and a Great piano player. I liked the title track ‘Piano Man” well enough, but like Ballad of Billy the Kid and Captain Jack too. Traveling Prayer remained my favorite and I realized I was becoming a fan of this new guy Billy Joel, despite the spooky drawing of him on the album cover. He looked like a ghost. A New York ghost, but still a ghost.

[@StephanieJeanne]

The GOAT, Billy Joel! Great song performance. That band was killer, too. The awesome banjo player looked like Nick Offerman. Thanks, Midnight Special!😀💜

[@jenbloom6848]

Totally Offerman!

[@_RZ____]

And the banjo player was a real pro!

[@ThinkHEAVEN-YouTube]

Why in God's name - was this song NEVER ON THE 📻 RADIO? I'm just hearing it for the first time in my life in 2024? A 😭 CRYING SHAME!

[@leestamm3187]

It was an album track. FM rock stations sometimes played it back in the day.

[@josephroman8568]

Wow! I’ve never heard this song before but it’s really incredible! This is why I love the Midnight Special! 🎶♥️👍🏻

[@Eggmanontheair]

first track of the Piano Man album. A tad slower on the record than it is here.

[@spongo]

Even with the recording of the record having been sped up slightly. @@Eggmanontheair

[@seanscanlon9067]

@@spongo I think you might be getting things a little mixed up, as this song was on Billy's second solo album Piano Man and it was his debut album Cold Spring Harbor that had issues when recorded at the wrong speed.

[@scottamori3188]

Billy Joel and his band were really hitting on all cylinders at this point. Banjo, piano tenor sax, oh my!

[@michelesmoke4131]

Billy Joel at his finest!

[@gregoryduncan3067]

Happy Birthday, Burt. Let The Midnight Special shine it's ever lovin' light on YOU! 🎉

[@xaviercallobre6822]

True musicianship all the way around. These guys were really cooking. I love that they included the banjo part that was featured on the album. Absolutely fantastic. This song alone proves that Bill Joel is probably the best piano-player/singer-songwriter ever! Whew!

[@williammartinjoel1]

The late great Doug Stegmeyer on bass guitar is immense!!!

[@baylen2187]

He’s so underrated

[@MrSheymie]

Wow. Fantastic musicians and band. Locked together in sweet time.

[@Buffbino]

Wow wow WOW! I have always loved this song from the Piano Man album and never saw Billy performing it live! This is absolutely awesome -- thank you, Midnight Special! What a treat this!!

[@oldskool4612]

Wow what a treat that was. I know every tune off Piano Man by heart. To see this performed live was incredible.

[@ianwatkins6202]

Been a diehard fan of Billy's for almost 45 years now!!❤

[@abcdefghijklmnnopqrstuvwxy2312]

that name...

[@ianwatkins6202]

@@abcdefghijklmnnopqrstuvwxy2312 Billy Joel is a great name!!😊

[@brianbrino4310]

Simply excellent as everything coming from Billy Joel!

[@minsterhill]

A terrific meaningful song that was a part of my youth and meant more than even the brilliant lyrics and music it provided!

[@206or16]

One of my favorites from the Geography Album 👍🏼 Awesome live performance!

[@HellOnWheel]

Wow, Ron Swanson on the banjo!

[@StephanieJeanne]

I thought the same thing!😂

[@id513128]

I guess, even on NBC, Duck Silver can't be on tevevision I guess.

[@jenbloom6848]

Wow! Billy Joel at his best!

[@rsilb]

This was absolutely awesome!

[@that70sgirl90]

Show casing all the different instruments was brilliant! 💎 Happy New Year! 🥂 Happy Thursday... thank you for sharing! 💖

[@StephanieJeanne]

That was fantastic! 🤩

[@that70sgirl90]

@StephanieJeanne The best!! 👌 Happy New Year.... May your Blessings be Great and your Troubles be Few! Cheers! 🥂 Thankful for all your wonderful comments! 💗 Have a wonderful and peaceful day! 🕊💖

[@StephanieJeanne]

@@that70sgirl90 Aww, thank you! I wish you the same! ☺️🎉💟

[@that70sgirl90]

@@StephanieJeanne 🤗 💟

[@that70sgirl90]

@JRAylett Wonder why ? Thank you for sharing! 😊

[@rnemchev]

It's so fast! Great musicians!

[@glennmeyer4539]

They were the days

[@theidiotsocietymusic]

Fantastic

[@Oklahoma-Dreaming]

The video brought back some bad memories. It made me think of the first time I ever watched, “Deliverance.” I think I’ll stay out of the woods from now on.

[@tdvcleve]

Exceptional!!

[@SilverStingray1974]

Cookin!!!!

[@charmerci]

Wow! Never thought that he played this live.

[@coldacre]

he played it all the time between 1972 - 1976

[@fastjazz]

Effing Awesome!!!!!!

[@krisg3984]

Such fun !

[@stanleeikki]

Whew!!

[@vec875]

He was great back in the day. Then he went all uptown girl on us.

[@gregoryduncan3067]

There's a lot of instrumentalism in this one. They get to show off a bit. Hey, did I just invent a new word?

[@StephanieJeanne]

I looked it up. It's already a word. But it fits!🎉😄

[@gregoryduncan3067]

The spell checker had an issue with it but what does it know?

[@StephanieJeanne]

@@gregoryduncan3067 Haha, it's not used very often apparently. Great word!

[@daniellaarias7583]

♥️🙌♥️🙌♥️🙌♥️

[@digidrum2003]

What's the musician lineup here?

[@mikegaffey8201]

Check out Dolly Partons version💥💥

[@that70sgirl90]

Thank you, I will do that. 😊

[@seanscanlon9067]

The lyrics of this song are: Um, don'tcha give her too much rain Try to keep her away from pain Because my baby hates to cry Whereas Dolly sings: Because my baby hates to fly I think it might be because a few lines early it goes: Hey, Lord would ya look out for her tonight If she is sleepin' under the sky

[@charlielaunder4520]

Ron Swanson on banjo

[@DaveMar-w6r]

Anyone know the personnel here? That doesn’t look like Liberty on drums.

[@DaveMar-w6r]

Never mind, liberty joined later. Rhys.

[@HellOnWheel]

Looks like Ron Swanson on banjo

[@suzyq4111]

Billy wasn't allowed to use his own guys on his first 2 Columbia LPs. Only member of the "core" here is the late Doug Stegmeyer on bass. Third LP (Turnstiles) was recorded after Billy returned to NY and has Liberty, Doug, Russell Javors and Richie Cannata.

[@GuiitarBilly]

That may be John Almond on sax, he was in Billy’s band briefly in the mid-70s. Old timers might remember him from some 60s British jazz and rock groups and session work (BluesBreakers Beano album). He joined John Mayall officially for the live “Turning Point” album in 1969, which may have been the first time an electric artist ‘unplugged.’ After that one Mayall plugged back in and Johnny and Turning Point acoustic guitarist Jon Mark left to for the Mark-Almond band. They were a moderately successful recording and live act in the early 70s that I saw a couple times at Fillmore West. 25 years later I was surprised to find Johnny living near me in the Bay Area suburbs, playing gigs with local club bands, still killing it on sax. RIP

[@coldacre]

@@suzyq4111 these ARE his own guys here. Rhys Clark was Billy Joel's drummer from 1971 - 1975. the label organized for Ron Tutt to drum on the 2nd & 3rd albums as he was the session drummer to the stars during that era. all the guys you see here in this video is Billy's touring band

[@shiftd_1114]

👍smokin