Billy Joel was a New Yorker to his bones. Growing up in the city in the '50s and '60s, he was immersed in early rock, doo-wop, jazz, and R&B. After a few false starts, he scored a hit with 1973's "Piano Man," then broke through with his 1977 album The Stranger, whose hit singles "Just the Way You Are" and "Only the Good Die Young" marked the soft and rocking sides of his personality. While still scoring hit after hit, later albums like The Nylon Curtain and the nostalgic An Innocent Man garnered the critical acclaim that escaped him in the early days.