"Until the Night"
Single by Billy Joel
from the album 52nd Street
B-side"Root Beer Rag"
ReleasedMarch 1979
Recorded1978
Genre
Length6:35 (album version)
5:00 (single version)
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Billy Joel
Producer(s)Phil Ramone
Billy Joel UK singles chronology
"Honesty"
(1979)		 "Until the Night"
(1979)		 "All for Leyna"
(1980)

"Until the Night" is a song written by Billy Joel for his 1978 album, 52nd Street. Although passed over for single release in the US, "Until the Night" was issued as the second single from 52nd Street in the UK - following "My Life" - in March 1979 and reached #50 on the UK Singles Chart.[1][2]

Various versions of the single are in existence for different countries, with different B-sides including "Root Beer Rag", "Big Shot", and "Just the Way You Are" (all on CBS label).[3] "Until the Night" is also included on the 2005 Billy Joel four-CD and one-DVD compilation entitled My Lives (in reference to the song "My Life").

Music and lyrics

Music lecturer Ken Bielen described "Until the Night" as a "big ballad in the Righteous Brothers tradition.[4] Joel biographer Mark Bego described it as a "dramatic sweeping ballad that sounds as if it is straight out of the Phil Spector songbook.[2] According to Bego, the song was written as a tribute to the Righteous Brothers.[2] The arrangement features many instruments, including strings, horns and castanets, that give it a sound reminiscent of the Righteous Brothers' 1960s hits.[4] Richie Cannata contributes a jazzy saxophone solo in the middle of the song.[2] Joel sings parts of the song in a higher voice and other parts in a deeper voice, and sometimes these two voices are double tracked, which also produces a sound reminiscent of the Righteous Brothers.[4]

The lyrics describe a romance where the couple has to separate each morning so each can go to work.[4] They are insecure about the relationship, but when they get back together in the evening everything is okay.[4]

Reception

Ultimate Classic Rock critic Dave Lifton rated "Until the Night" as Joel's 6th best love song, describing it as "an homage to the sweeping urban romanticism of Phil Spector's work with the Righteous Brothers."[5] Pop culture historian Andrew Ross described "Until the Night" as a "schlock masterpiece."[6] Rolling Stone critic Stephen Holden described "Until the Night" as "the formal piece de resistance of an album that, though far from great, boasts much of the color and excitement of a really good New York street fair."[2] Billboard critic Melinda Newman called it an example of Joel "at his most tender and romantic."[7] Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that "Until the Night" is among Joel's best songs.[8]

Personnel

Cover versions

"Until the Night" was recorded by Czech singer Helena Vondráčková as "In der Nacht"[9] for her 1979 album Doch in der Nacht, which comprised German-language renderings of Billy Joel songs. This version was issued as the album's single with "Ein Engel, der weiß, was er will" (originally "She's Always a Woman") as the B-side. Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers recorded "Until the Night" for his 1980 album Sweet Thunder.[10] Charlie McCoy covered the song with Laney Smallwood in 1981.[11] The single reached #92 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.[12]

Chart positions

Chart (1979) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[1] 50

References

  1. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 284. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Bego, Mark. (2007). Billy Joel: The Biography. Da Capo Press. pp. 137–139. ISBN 9781560259893.
  3. ↑ "Until the Night". Discogs. 1979. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Bielen, K. (2011). The Words and Music of Billy Joel. ABC-CLIO. p. 51. ISBN 9780313380167.
  5. ↑ Lifton, Dave (February 13, 2013). "Top 10 Billy Joel Love Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  6. ↑ Deaville, James (2020). "Disavowing Billy Joel: Taste Shaming and "Schlock" fandom". In Duchan, Joshua S.; Banagale, Ryan Paul (eds.). "We Didn't Start the Fire": Billy Joel and Popular Music Studies. Lexington Books. p. 179. ISBN 9781793601827.
  7. ↑ Newman, Melinda (May 9, 2009). "Billy's Best". Billboard. p. 36. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  8. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "52nd Street". Allmusic. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  9. ↑ "Helena Vondráčková - in der Nacht ( Until the Night) - YouTube". YouTube.
  10. ↑ "Sweet Thunder". Allmusic. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  11. ↑ Kirby, Kip (September 12, 1981). "Nashville Scene". Billboard. p. 34. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  12. ↑ "Charley McCoy: Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-01-12.

Sources

  • 52nd Street copyright 1978, Sony Entertainment Inc.
  • My Lives, copyright 2005, Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
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