Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
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| “Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)” | |||||
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| Single by Billy Joel from the album The Stranger |
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| Released | 1977 | ||||
| Format | 7" | ||||
| Recorded | 1977 | ||||
| Genre | Rock | ||||
| Length | 3:28 | ||||
| Label | Columbia | ||||
| Producer | Phil Ramone | ||||
| Billy Joel singles chronology | |||||
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"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" is a hit song written and recorded by Billy Joel. The track details the singer's disgust with the upwardly-mobile bourgeois aspirations of working and lower-middle class New Yorkers who take pride at working long hours in order to afford the outward signs of having "made it". Named characters have stereotypically immigrant or first-generation American names (Anthony, Mama Leone, Sergeant O'Leary) and their jobs are blue-collar. Joel considers their rejection of their working-class roots (trading a Chevy for a Cadillac and buying a house in Hackensack) to be ultimately futile; In the end, the rewards are a "heart attack" or "a broken back" (c.f. Joel's portrayal of himself in "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant").
According to Joel, Anthony isn't a real person, but rather "every Irish, Polish, and Italian kid trying to make a living in the U.S."
The song originally appeared on his 1977 album, The Stranger. A live performance of it can be heard on 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert.
The song's title was parodied in the Family Guy episode "Movin' Out (Brian's Song)".
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[edit] Broadway musical
The Twyla Tharp Broadway dance musical Movin' Out, featuring the songs of Billy Joel, opened at the Richard Rodgers Theater, New York, on October 24, 2002, and played 1,307 performances before closing in December 2005. The lead piano player and singer of the show was Michael Cavanaugh. It toured the U.S. extensively from 2004 through 2007, featuring Darren Holden as lead Piano Man, and Matt Wilson, James Fox and Matthew Friedman as second Piano Men. The show transferred to London's West End on April 10, 2006, at the Apollo Victoria Theatre - where James Fox played lead piano and sang, with Darren Reeves as second piano man. However, it closed early on 22nd May due to poor ticket sales.
Movin' Out is also the title of the original Broadway cast album taken from the above musical.
[edit] Covers
- Live by The Format
- Indie band The Pale Pacific
[edit] Chart positions
| Charts | Peak position |
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| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 17 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 40 |
| UK Singles Chart | 35 |
[edit] External links
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