Piano Hits And The Piano Players Who Made Them.
Over the past fifty years some of the top songs have been sung and performed by piano men. There has always been something special about a singer who tickled the ivories, and there have been great piano hits across many genres.
Ray Charles, who had his life documented in the Oscar winning movie, Ray, starring Jamie Foxx, recorded his first album way back in 1947, but it was 1954 with a song called I Got A Woman, when he had his first solo success. In 1960 his version of Hoagy Carmichael’s Georgia On My Mind is perhaps his biggest hit and is also the official song of the state of Georgia now.
When Jerry Lee Lewis started stomping on the piano in the Nineteen Fifties, his wild man piano playing helped Rock ‘n Roll come alive. His smash hit song Great Balls Of Fire is still a very popular song today, and his style has influenced much of today’s music.
Not being able to see never held back the talents of Stevie Wonder. Obviously compared to Ray Charles, for both being African-American and blind, Steve Wonder made a hit debut album when he was just twelve years old. Throughout his childhood he studied and played a number of musical instruments but the piano and harmonica were always at the forefront. Over the past five decades he has had almost fifty hit songs, including classics like My Cherie Amour, For Once In My Life, Part Time Lover, Higher Ground and I Just Called To Say I Love You to name a few.
Elton John is a household name across the world today for his incredibly written songs. As famous for his flamboyant spectacles, and of course for performing his hit song Candle In the Wind at Princess Diana’s funeral, he has had hit songs for more than four decades, including Crocodile Rock, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, and Rocket Man.
Billy Joel first appeared on the scene in the early Seventies, and it was the aptly named The Piano Man, that gave him his first top forty hit of many. He followed it up almost immediately with The Entertainer, and with other hits over the years like Uptown Girl, written about his ex-wife, Christie Brinkley, and It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me.
Today artists like Alicia Keys in the USA, and Jamie Cullum in the UK, continue the trend of the singing pianist, churning out piano hits across the globe. Alicia Keys’ Falling was one of the biggest hits of 2001 and she won five Grammy awards the following year..
For more information about all aspects of learning the piano have a look at – Piano Hits
or, to find out about the best online piano course, read this – Rocket Piano
May 21, 2011
|
Posted by Jam Man
Categories:
Tags: