Billy Joel Quote RE: We Are The World

TwinkleDust

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Im a huge fan of billy joel. I think he is incredibly talented and also incredibly funny and humble. Ive seen a few of his shows and hes a great entertainer. I read something that kinda saddened me though. This is fom the quotes section on billy joels imbd page: "[about recording 'We Are the World'] I remember most of us who were there didn't like the song, but nobody would say so. I think Cyndi Lauper leaned over to me and said, 'It sounds like a Pepsi commercial.' And I didn't disagree."

hmm ive never heard billy speak badly of michael or any other artist so this socked me. I wonder if its a true quote or an imbd error (they have many) has anyone else ever heard negatives about WATW from the contributing artists? "most of us there didnt like it" you'd think we woulda heard more criticism then.
 
Billy Joel is super talented, a great singer and songwriter. I think that quote from him sucks, but oh well. I think "WATW" is a great song, and considering Michael wrote it all in one take by himself practically speaks for itself. His lyrics before the change were in a lot of ways better, and his chorul part "sha la, sha lingay" was better, imo, then the change to "One world, one children" or whatever they changed it to.

But, with that said, it doesn't change my opinon of Billy Joel as an artist. He's great in that regard. But maybe he was drunk during the recording and didn't know what he was listening to, lol. The problem with his statement is, every artist participating on the record was sent a demo beforehand. So if he really thought the song was that horrible, then why bother even showing up? Dissing the song is kind of childish considering it was for such a good cause.

I recommend buying the "WATW" anniversary DVD set as it has some awesome footage of Michael in the studio recording the backing vocals before anyone else shows up. You can hear the quality of his voice there so well and its the most beautiful ever. Plus you get to see his professionalism as a vocalist, not to mention he's so cute you could almost die watching it, lol.
 
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Billy Joel is a very respectable artiste, not my cup of tea but still, you know.

As much as they dislike the song, the song was such a huge hit, even till today people still remember this song and I thought this song showcased alot of the artistes' voices. Oh well, my personal opinion cos WATW is a great song and definitely doesn't sound like any Pepsi Commercial songs. LOL
 
Im a huge fan of billy joel. I think he is incredibly talented and also incredibly funny and humble. Ive seen a few of his shows and hes a great entertainer. I read something that kinda saddened me though. This is fom the quotes section on billy joels imbd page: "[about recording 'We Are the World'] I remember most of us who were there didn't like the song, but nobody would say so. I think Cyndi Lauper leaned over to me and said, 'It sounds like a Pepsi commercial.' And I didn't disagree."

hmm ive never heard billy speak badly of michael or any other artist so this socked me. I wonder if its a true quote or an imbd error (they have many) has anyone else ever heard negatives about WATW from the contributing artists? "most of us there didnt like it" you'd think we woulda heard more criticism then.

Well, they ultimately did it because it was about helping out people, not about the song. And that's a good thing. :)

Well, yeh, it kinda was a bad song.

I think the song is fabulous!! :D

Billy Joel is super talented, a great singer and songwriter. I think that quote from him sucks, but oh well. I think "WATW" is a great song, and considering Michael wrote it all in one take by himself practically speaks for itself. His lyrics before the change were in a lot of ways better, and his chorul part "sha la, sha lingay" was better, imo, then the change to "One world, one children" or whatever they changed it to.

But, with that said, it doesn't change my opinon of Billy Joel as an artist. He's great in that regard. But maybe he was drunk during the recording and didn't know what he was listening to, lol. The problem with his statement is, every artist participating on the record was sent a demo beforehand. So if he really thought the song was that horrible, then why bother even showing up? Dissing the song is kind of childish considering it was for such a good cause.

I recommend buying the "WATW" anniversary DVD set as it has some awesome footage of Michael in the studio recording the backing vocals before anyone else shows up. You can hear the quality of his voice there so well and its the most beautiful ever. Plus you get to see his professionalism as a vocalist, not to mention he's so cute you could almost die watching it, lol.

I don't think Michael's chorus was better at all... :lol: but that's just my opinion. The finished song is almost perfect, and the counter chorus they did go with seems to work better.

Like I said above, even if they didn't like it, it doesn't matter because they did show up and sang that song for a cause. :yes: Not everyone was going to like it - but that's what WATW was all about- showing unity and coming together for one purpose.

As much as they dislike the song, the song was such a huge hit, even till today people still remember this song and I thought this song showcased alot of the artistes' voices. Oh well, my personal opinion cos WATW is a great song and definitely doesn't sound like any Pepsi Commercial songs. LOL

I agree. :yes:
 
He is just jealous....
the song is amazing... and you know Cindy Lauper hmmmmm
 
Billy Joel is a very respectable artiste, not my cup of tea but still, you know.

As much as they dislike the song, the song was such a huge hit, even till today people still remember this song and I thought this song showcased alot of the artistes' voices. Oh well, my personal opinion cos WATW is a great song and definitely doesn't sound like any Pepsi Commercial songs. LOL
We are the world hit a nerve across the world. Here is a group of celbs in Honk Kong singing it with passion the raise money for Sunami victims. it can't have been that bad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjaHF2tf6Is
 
We are the world hit a nerve across the world. Here is a group of celbs in Honk Kong singing it with passion the raise money for Sunami victims. it can't have been that bad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjaHF2tf6Is

Oh well, they may not like the song, but the world definitely love what they heard, cos this song still remains as a great song! :) And I watched this video on the TV, I thought they did a great job! :)
 
Billy Joel should be realistic, Michael was hardly going to write a classic song like Billie Jean or Don't Stop Till You Get Enough.

I don't think We Are The World is a brilliant song, and it does in my opinion sound like a Pepsi ad song. But charity songs are never the most amazing songs anyway, and it's much better that Bob Geldof's Band Aid songs Feed The World which kick started the whole Africa aid thing. We Are The World is the best charity song I've ever heard, and for a long time it was the biggest selling single of all time. So Michael wrote a song that did what it was intended to do, which was to sell millions on singles to raise for charity. Michael wasn't writing a song to change the shape of music, like he's done on his own albums, as that wasn't the goal of writing We Are The World.

I doubt Billy Joel or Cindy Lauper would have written a song half as good as We Are The World. Besides, what has Cindy Lauper done musically on critically or commercially success since 1984.
 
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Billy Who??? Nuff said.

nah actually billy joel is huge especially in the US. He's actually sold more than Michael here (just in the us) According to the Recording Industry Association :

Totals are derived from cumulative album sales totals (U.S. only).
Artists - Units (in millions)

THE BEATLES - 169.0
ELVIS PRESLEY - 118.5
GARTH BROOKS - 116.0
LED ZEPPELIN - 109.5
EAGLES - 91.0
BILLY JOEL- 79.5
PINK FLOYD - 73.5
BARBRA STREISAND - 71.0
ELTON JOHN - 69.0
AC/DC - 68.0
THE ROLLING STONES - 65.5
AEROSMITH - 65.5
MADONNA - 63.0
GEORGE STRAIT - 62.5
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - 62.5
MARIAH CAREY - 61.5
MICHAEL JACKSON - 60.5
METALLICA - 57.0
VAN HALEN - 56.5
WHITNEY HOUSTON - 54.0


But regardless, thanks i enjoyed reading all ur responses. I personally love the song and his vocals on it send chills down my spine. I think some of you made a great point that all charity songs tend to be a little campy or corny and pepsi-comercialish ...but maybe we should look at society for why that is. Why are people uncomfortable with idealism? Is it because deep down we feel its unattainable?


interesting.

I stand by billy joel...hes pretty amazing. He even did a handstand on his piano at a concert i saw! 50-sumthin years old lol! :punk:
 
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well, thats a very impressive list and while of course Id love to see him higher on the list, Its stll very very impressive ESPECIALLY since hes only released 6 solo albums versus all the others who probably have 15+ circulating. Also, notice he is one of 2 black arists on the list, and he beats Whitney.
 
well, thats a very impressive list and while of course Id love to see him higher on the list, Its stll very very impressive ESPECIALLY since hes only released 6 solo albums versus all the others who probably have 15+ circulating. Also, notice he is one of 2 black arists on the list, and he beats Whitney.
And MJ's work with J5 and Jacksons have not been included. Not fair.:(
 
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nah actually billy joel is huge especially in the US. He's actually sold more than Michael here (just in the us) According to the Recording Industry Association :

Totals are derived from cumulative album sales totals (U.S. only).
Artists - Units (in millions)

THE BEATLES - 169.0
ELVIS PRESLEY - 118.5
GARTH BROOKS - 116.0
LED ZEPPELIN - 109.5
EAGLES - 91.0
BILLY JOEL- 79.5
PINK FLOYD - 73.5
BARBRA STREISAND - 71.0
ELTON JOHN - 69.0
AC/DC - 68.0
THE ROLLING STONES - 65.5
AEROSMITH - 65.5
MADONNA - 63.0
GEORGE STRAIT - 62.5
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - 62.5
MARIAH CAREY - 61.5
MICHAEL JACKSON - 60.5
METALLICA - 57.0
VAN HALEN - 56.5
WHITNEY HOUSTON - 54.0


But regardless, thanks i enjoyed reading all ur responses. I personally love the song and his vocals on it send chills down my spine. I think some of you made a great point that all charity songs tend to be a little campy or corny and pepsi-comercialish ...but maybe we should look at society for why that is. Why are people uncomfortable with idealism? Is it because deep down we feel its unattainable?


interesting.

I stand by billy joel...hes pretty amazing. He even did a handstand on his piano at a concert i saw! 50-sumthin years old lol! :punk:

As far as the RIAA list above it only represents how often an artist label certifies their sales NOT their actual sales, most artists are horribly undercertfied and Michael is no exception we all know most of his albums haven't been certified by SONY in years while SONY has been far more active in certifying albums by Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Barbara Streissand just to name a few. As for Billy Joel's comment, Billy is one of the greatest artists of all time I love his music but I know he wouldn't said what he said in the 80s it's more of the times now where everybody takes a shot at Michael because his reputation has been hit horribly since 1993 and well he's not on top anymore much easier to pick at someone when they are down jmho :flowers:
 
Well, yeh, it kinda was a bad song.

this is why a songwriter should never listen to a critic. critics are never right. the song more than served it's purpose. and i highly doubt that any of the critics, including joel or lauper could have written half as good a song. MJ is still at it..and joel and lauper have since handed in their songwriting cards. i would never trust their songwriting to my ears, at this time. MJ is the greatest selling artist of all time, riaa notwithstanding, in usa and the world. there's no logic in someone below, hitting at someone above them.

it's funny how people hate for a fan to defend MJ, and assume he should take that beating. but MJ's results speak louder than ALL his critics misinformed statements. it truly is lonely at the top. and this is why i hate idealism. and talk. results speak louder than all of that. and MJ is the only one in music who doesn't talk. he just comes up with results.
 
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this is why a songwriter should never listen to a critic. critics are never right. the song more than served it's purpose. and i highly doubt that any of the critics, including joel or lauper could have written half as good a song. MJ is still at it..and joel and lauper have since handed in their songwriting cards. i would never trust their songwriting to my ears, at this time. MJ is the greatest selling artist of all time, riaa notwithstanding, in usa and the world. there's no logic in someone below, hitting at someone above them.

it's funny how people hate for a fan to defend MJ, and assume he should take that beating. but MJ's results speak louder than ALL his critics misinformed statements. it truly is lonely at the top. and this is why i hate idealism. and talk. results speak louder than all of that. and MJ is the only one in music who doesn't talk. he just comes up with results.
hear, hear:D
 
weeeeelllll, I dont care how much Billy Joel has sold, cause I didnt buy any of it (not saying he sucks or anything, I just dont listen to him)
AND, Cyndi gets on my nerves really bad for some reason.

It is a wonderful song, and is it Michael's fault that some people are to engrossed in the "trends" in music that they cant recognize a beautiful song???


and BTW, I also reccomend that ppl get the 'we are the world anniversary special" dvd.
I loooooove that dvd, and it has so much extra footage!!!!! Think i'll watch it tonight.
*and I liked MJ's chorus better too (sha-lingay)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I LOVE Billy Joel, he's one of my faves :wub: But yeah, i do remember hearing that he didnt like the song. But he put on a happy face and sang the song any way...so who cares? lol Three cheers for Billy, hip hip....??
 
I can sort of see his point, I mean the song wasn't the greatest. The only reason it's memorable is because it was used as a charity song (for a good cause.)

Michael has written much better songs than We Are The World. :yes:
 
whos billy joel again?

I'm really surprised you haven't heard of him.:unsure:

Anyway, he's a pop artist from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. He was mostly popular for hits like Piano Man, Just The Way You Are, Moving Out (Anthony's Song), My Life, It's Still Rock & Roll To Me, You May Be Right, Allentown, Pressure, Uptown Girl, We Didn't Start The Fire, and The River Of Dreams.
 
i post this in the old MJ FOrum a year and change ago. anyway alot of haters because of a few things: 3 Black Men made history with this song. Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote the song and Quincy Jones Produced it. that might have something to do with it and also most of the acts were associated or on sony music at the time and nobody in that room was touching Michael Jackson.

Billy Joel whom I do respect for his past work needs to go sit his drunk behind down somewhere and write anthem for people to sing on. maybe he can write a good 12 step program theme song.
 
i post this in the old MJ FOrum a year and change ago. anyway alot of haters because of a few things: 3 Black Men made history with this song. Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote the song and Quincy Jones Produced it. that might have something to do with it and also most of the acts were associated or on sony music at the time and nobody in that room was touching Michael Jackson.

Billy Joel whom I do respect for his past work needs to go sit his drunk behind down somewhere and write anthem for people to sing on. maybe he can write a good 12 step program theme song.

My God. Are you serious? This has to be the most ridiculous comment ever. Someone dares say they didn't really like a Michael Jackson penned song, so you condemn and criticize his personal issues.

Not to mention making it into a race issue. How crazy. I can't stand Snoop Dogg - does that equate me to a member of the KKK.

Get real and read this. People are allowed to like or not like an MJ record. In fact people are allowed not to like the man himself. It's their bloody opinion, that's all. You cannot personally attack them for it. They are not 'haters'.
 
My God. Are you serious? This has to be the most ridiculous comment ever. Someone dares say they didn't really like a Michael Jackson penned song, so you condemn and criticize his personal issues.

Not to mention making it into a race issue. How crazy. I can't stand Snoop Dogg - does that equate me to a member of the KKK.

Get real and read this. People are allowed to like or not like an MJ record. In fact people are allowed not to like the man himself. It's their bloody opinion, that's all. You cannot personally attack them for it. They are not 'haters'.
And Mistermaxxxx is doing just that. Exercising HIS right to not like the man. I can never understand the argument people make when they criticise people who express their dislike for others. You argue that the people who criticise MJ have a right to,then so do the people who criticise the people who criticise MJ. The argument is double sided. If you don't like what the man says, then give it a pass. It is his feelings that he expresses. it is his opinion and he broke no rules by doing so. If we all agree on everything, then what is the point of having a forum at all.:cool:
 
Some are missing the point. Not everyone in that bunch of 40 people were going to like the song. What's honourable is that they recorded the song together in unity, regardless of musical and personal taste. Through that song, those artists helped to raise over $60 million dollars for Africa and local causes. Isn't that good enough?

I don't believe Billy Joel was even criticising it, really, just stating his and other people's opinion about the song.
 
And Mistermaxxxx is doing just that. Exercising HIS right to not like the man. I can never understand the argument people make when they criticise people who express their dislike for others. You argue that the people who criticise MJ have a right to,then so do the people who criticise the people who criticise MJ. The argument is double sided. If you don't like what the man says, then give it a pass. It is his feelings that he expresses. it is his opinion and he broke no rules by doing so. If we all agree on everything, then what is the point of having a forum at all.:cool:

Okay, I'll accept that. I just wanted to point out that it if a person doesn't like MJ or an MJ song it doesn't make them a 'hater'.
 
Yeah, but what's the point 20 years later? If he really thought it was such a bad song, he didn't have to appeare on it. Prince didn't, even though he was asked. Although he tried later to add a guitar solo I heard.
 
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