The Stranger

Recorded in 1977 at A&R Recording in New York City during the sessions for Billy Joel's fifth studio album The Stranger. Phil Ramone produced the track with Joel's touring band, including Liberty DeVitto, Doug Stegmeyer, Richie Cannata, and Steve Khan, while Joel supplied the piano, vocal, and whistled opening theme. Released by Columbia in 1977 as the title track of The Stranger, the song helped frame the album's themes of hidden identity and emotional disguise. It became one of the record's central album cuts even as other singles carried the album's chart campaign. The Stranger remains one of Joel's defining late-1970s recordings and a key part of his breakthrough album. Its whistled motif and psychological lyric kept it recognizable within his catalogue and central to the album's long-term reputation.