NFT: More Famous/Popular - Bruce or Billy Joel

Guys selling million dollar motorcycles or cars - Joel
Guys selling million dollar horses - Bruce



(when he actually pays for them)

In comment 13044621 BillKo said:

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In comment 13044603 YAJ2112 said: Quote: In comment 13044597 pjcas18 said: Quote: has a net worth of 300M Billy has a net worth of 180M Bruce has been more frugal? - not saying it makes him more famous or popular (this is through 2014, at which time Bruce had another tour to probably add another $10M or so). per therichest.com Billy's been divorced more And didn't Brinkley basically steal everything right from out under him???

No that was just a divorce. His first wife and her brother are the ones who robbed him blind.

Liked a lot off his stuff then he just quit writing new material. Just freegin' quit.

Hall and Oates had more than both, and I dont think anyone is going to argue that they are as famous.

I feel as though more people know Born in the USA than uptown girl. Piano Man is probably the most popular out of either, but slots 2-7 I would probably give to Bruce (in todays terms).

his songs are more well known. Bruce is more of a pure rock guy and people that don't listen to rock don't really know his stuff outside of a handful of songs.

well regardless of which is more famous/popular it appears your friends were correct in that the answer isn't clear cut.

"And for the record I can't stand Bruce and enjoy Billy Joel
Mike in Long Beach : 3:21 pm : link "

me too Mike. never understood his appeal and can barely make out what he is singing. some of the songs are well written albeit simplistic. Billy Joel is far more harmonically competent and just a better singer.

Billy Joel

"Is that anywhere near Buffalo?!"
link - ( New Window )

In comment 13044678 Chuck Q said:

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"And for the record I can't stand Bruce and enjoy Billy Joel Mike in Long Beach : 3:21 pm : link " me too Mike. never understood his appeal and can barely make out what he is singing. some of the songs are well written albeit simplistic. Billy Joel is far more harmonically competent and just a better singer.

me three

so I don't think its all that close

As usual.

who think he wrote the soundtrack to their life. So there's that.

Simply who is more popular. I feel as though more people today know Born to Run, Dancing in the Dark, Glory Days, Born in the USA, etc. than they do anthonys song, captain jack, big shot, the stranger etc. Obviously everyone knows Piano man, but I am not sure how well trafficked the rest of his catalog is today.

I could be wrong about that which is why I started the thread.

includes the best of albums? It would seem to me best of numbers shouldnt be included but I suppose that is an argument for another thread.

plenty posted who they felt was more popular. Then I asked who was more talented, then it went to who people enjoy more.

Outside of Born to Run, Thunder Road and Dancing in the Dark, I'd imagine Bruce's hits resonate more with his fans than the public compared to Piano Man, New York State of Mind, Just the Way You Are, She's Always a Woman, Only the Good Die Young, Goodnight Saigon, Pressure, We didn't Start the Fire.

I don't think there's much debate on who had more widespread appeal with more songs. Bruce had some rock anthems that will keep him legendary.

Joel has had more individual hits and more #1's - which sort of negates the point that Bruce has more appeal of his songs if one judges just on popularity.

Joel would win big on Long Island and Bruce big in Jersey. Question is who the rest of the country would favor. Can't say I know.

know Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, New York State of Mind, Only the Good Die Young, It's Still Rock and Roll to Me, We Didn't Start the Fire, The Longest Time, Uptown Girl, and others.

arguments to be made on both side. I think I like the argument hat Billy had a higher peak but less of sustained peak. Different target audiences too.

Myself, I can listen to Billy sing for a very long time, but I get tired of his songs after a while. I think Bruce has some great songs, but honestly, I don't think he sings very well. At least for me, I dislike his voice.

I give Billy the overall win purely because with his looks, to bang Christie Brinkley you must have something great going on somewhere.

In comment 13044716 FatMan in Charlotte said:

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Outside of Born to Run, Thunder Road and Dancing in the Dark, I'd imagine Bruce's hits resonate more with his fans than the public compared to Piano Man, New York State of Mind, Just the Way You Are, She's Always a Woman, Only the Good Die Young, Goodnight Saigon, Pressure, We didn't Start the Fire. I don't think there's much debate on who had more widespread appeal with more songs. Bruce had some rock anthems that will keep him legendary. Joel has had more individual hits and more #1's - which sort of negates the point that Bruce has more appeal of his songs if one judges just on popularity.

I'd say "Born in the USA" and a few others are up there.

I agree. I was just pointing out Joel's catalog is a lot deeper than Piano Man.

I like both artists, but from a musical standpoint, they are pretty different. Bruce is a rocker who plays to the crowd. Joel is a songwriter who is an absolute genius in crafting songs.

Joel has taken on several different musical genres like the Doo Wop/ 50's scene with An Innocent Man, his 70's anthems about his life and NYC on The Stranger and 52nd Street, then the gritty progressive music on The Nylon Curtain. I always felt Joel had more range, but both are great musicians.

In comment 13044710 bhill410 said:

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Simply who is more popular. I feel as though more people today know Born to Run, Dancing in the Dark, Glory Days, Born in the USA, etc. than they do anthonys song, captain jack, big shot, the stranger etc. Obviously everyone knows Piano man, but I am not sure how well trafficked the rest of his catalog is today. I could be wrong about that which is why I started the thread.

interesting that outside of Born to Run and Hungry, the seemingly best known Bruce songs to casual fans (Glory Days, Dancing in the Dark, Born in the USA) were all huge MTV hits at the time. Whereas Billy had a ton of pop hits that never even had a video. Not sure what that means, just an observation. I do think that among casual music fans, you're going to find people are more familiar with Billy's catalog. The love songs like Just the Way You Are and She's Got a Way are simply going to reach more people IMO. And there's certainly no shortage of monster pop hits (My Life, Still Rock and Roll, You May Be Right, Only the Good Die Young, Piano Man, We Didn't Start the Fire, Tell Her About it, Uptown Girl, etc.

in the same week (in a pre-Internet age) probably garnered him an awful lot of attention, as did his being touted as "the future of rock n' roll". Joel sold a lot of records, but lots of people who sold a lot of records may not be very well known today. Garth Brooks sold just south of 130 million albums--is he that famous nowadays?

I don't think Bruce's highlights are markedly better known than Billy Joel's among the younger set. Billy Joel also had a brief renaissance on pop channels with River of Dreams, were Bruce's singles getting that kind of play after the mid-80's? Bruce has a devout following that's probably larger than Billy Joel's, but Billy Joel probably has more fans.

hits in the 90s. And the Rising got some decent play, possibly in part due to the topic and where the country was in the early 2000s.

Heck Philadelphia may have been Bruces most "popular" song commercially but I dont think many of his more hard core fans would list it in the top 15. Probably say the same thing about River of Dreams. I absolutely loved that song at the time (was 10), but really didnt hold up for me in the long term.

Another not relevant observation is that when Billy Joel had his sirius channel I found myself thinking that they were running out of stuff to play, possibly because I am not sure if they had the rights to his live concerts.

In comment 13044768 bhill410 said:

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hits in the 90s.

true, although I'd argue those songs have little to no cultural footprint 20 years later. Your average fan isn't going to be able to sing any of the words. But put your average fan at a Billy Joel concert and they can probably sing along with almost every song.

so I'm pretty objective on this matter, and the answer that first occurs to me is Springsteen.

and 50 years later I'm still waiting to hear a Springsteen song I thought was worth listening to twice. For me it's Billy Joel by a wide margin.

though I'm a Bruce guy.

given the option to attend a Springsteen show or a Joel show on the same night Billy might be singing to the janitorial staff

while Philadelphia (9) and Secret Garden (19) were lower on the Billboard charts. But that's certainly a good point, both had salience in their own ways.

Still, I think the breakdown is that Billy Joel has a bigger fanbase and Bruce had/has a more fervent one.

For the simple fact that he crosses over more genres and people so more people like him. Bruce has a more dedicated following

Springsteen is the most overrated mfr in music history.

but the Bertram has gel coating and a deep V hull while the Hattaras has a modified V and Imiron paint. So maybe it's the Bertram after all.

In comment 13044854 grizz299 said:

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but the Bertram has gel coating and a deep V hull while the Hattaras has a modified V and Imiron paint. So maybe it's the Bertram after all.

If you're trying to be funny, it ain't working. But, stand in there, you got 2 more swings.

In comment 13044807 Vinny from Danbury said:

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and 50 years later I'm still waiting to hear a Springsteen song I thought was worth listening to twice.

This is such a ridiculous statement...

trolled Billy Joel.

Point Springsteen.

In comment 13044865 speedywheels said:

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In comment 13044807 Vinny from Danbury said: Quote: and 50 years later I'm still waiting to hear a Springsteen song I thought was worth listening to twice. This is such a ridiculous statement...

Not that ridiculous

In comment 13044875 OC2.0 said:

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In comment 13044865 speedywheels said: Quote: In comment 13044807 Vinny from Danbury said: Quote: and 50 years later I'm still waiting to hear a Springsteen song I thought was worth listening to twice. This is such a ridiculous statement... Not that ridiculous

Yes it is. I get people not being a huge fan, but seriously? But there isn't an objective person out there who can't at least acknowledge Born to Run and The River as terrific albums (not songs, but ALBUMS)...

I'm just not/never been a Bruce fan...

For the most part...I find Bruce overly bombastic and Anthem type music...

' Turnstiles' is a great album...Top 15 Albums for my taste...

Early Bruce seems more my style...


And I didn't read the whole thread....

you love Bruce and hundreds of thousands of people feel likewise, and a few million more (myself included) are casual fans.

Or you hate Bruce because of his politics or his persona or because his fans can be utterly insufferable.

Billy Joel probably has a broader fanbase because he does cross genres, because a lot of his stuff has a pop sound and so climbed the charts when it came out, and because one does not feel like an outsider if one can't rattle off his favorite five shows. And he did manage to have a reasonably successful musical on Broadway and on the road, ten years after anything commercially successful.

Whether you like one or the other, both or neither, they each deserve their due.

hyperbole here?

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think it's Bruce by a mile. I don't think Joel sells out stadiums gtt350 : 6:41 pm : link : reply given the option to attend a Springsteen show or a Joel show on the same night Billy might be singing to the janitorial staff

Did you miss the part above where from 2014 to 2016 Joel sold out 74 consecutive shows, all in major arenas or stadiums? It's fine to not like him, but don't make shit up

the venue often. Bruce could certainly do the same. I am a fan of both artists and have seen both dozens of times. I agree with the above comment- Bruce or Billy on the same night. Bruce hands down. Billy is off the stage in two hours while Bruce us just warming up. Bruce is far and away a better performer.

He played in most of the major cities in the US, including several on the West Coast, plus shows in Wembley and Frankfurt, and he sold out 74 consecutive shows. In major stadiums.

Then this Spring/Summer, he did a tour of baseball stadiums and sold out every one.

not sure where the myth started that he doesn't draw well.

everytime here in DC. Just keep him off the LIE.

as I do Billy's, but I've seen him perform live and he's a great live performer.

I think a Billy writes much better melodies.

But Bruce is a sensational song writer with tremendous melodies. If Bruce wanted to write pop 40 stuff he would have hundreds of hits.
Bruce as an entertainer is far and away better imho. He plays piano as well as harmonica does slow ballads as well as rocks but what is little known is how well he plays guitar. he would do a blues set that would blow your mind. . His guitar playing would freak some of you out if you heard him in a small club as i was very fotunate to witness in my youth. blues, rock the whole nine yards

.

Yet, I hear more Billy Joel on my preset channels.