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"Rosalinda's Eyes " is a song by Billy Joel that first appeared on his 1978 album 52nd Street . A single version was released in the winter of 1978
Musical structure[edit source]
The song begins with a piano intro, with the rest of the band then joining in, in a jazzy type rhythm, The riff is also used as a fill between verse and chorus sections and is also played at the end. The section order is intro-verse-fill-chorus-bridge-v-c-v-c-v-c-outro.
Background[edit source]
The romantic song is about a Cuban musician who struggles to makes ends meet by playing in a Puerto Rican band. He's homesick for his native country and tired of playing for people who don't appreciate his talent, but he finds comfort in the woman he loves and looks forward to reuniting with her. Joel told SiriusXM in 2016 that the song was "my attempt to write a letter that my father should have written to my mother."
Born in Germany, Howard Joel was a classically trained pianist who spent some time in Cuba before he immigrated to the United States, where he met Rosalind Nyman. During their marriage, which ended in divorce in 1957, Howard didn't openly express his love for his wife, and Billy thought she deserved better.
Reception[edit source]
Cash Box said that the "jazzy number, and keyboards lines back Joel's strong singing" and praised the "musical and lyrical
hooks ."
Record World called it a "Top 40 & adult [oriented rock] natural."
Reviewing Rosalinda's Eyes for
The Village Voice in 1979,
Robert Christgau noted Joel's talent for writing catchy songs and likened him to
Elton John , albeit with more "smarm."
[8] The Globe and Mail determined that "the music really is starting to sound repetitive and formulaic—as though the songwriter's musical vocabulary is too limited to match his sense of the big city's varied dramas."
[9]
Retrospectively, AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised Joel for expanding stylistically on 1977s The Stranger , describing the 52nd Street (album) song as "more sophisticated and somewhat jazzy."[1] In 2000, it was voted number 621 in Colin Larkin 's All Time Top 1000 Albums .[10] In 2003, 52nd Street was ranked number 352 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" ,[11] and at 354 on a 2012 revised list.[12]
Personnel[edit source]
References
^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas . "52nd Street – Billy Joel" . AllMusic . Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2011 .
^ Browne, David (May 22, 2007). "Billy Joel: 52nd Street " . Blender . Archived from the original on February 4, 2010. Retrieved October 19, 2015 .
. Retrieved February 27, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
.
.
^ Smith, Robin (November 18, 1978). "Billy Joel: 52nd Street ". Record Mirror . p. 18.
.
^ Christgau, Robert (April 2, 1979). "Christgau's Consumer Guide" . The Village Voice . Retrieved May 1, 2011 .
^ Gilday, Katherine (8 Nov 1978). "52nd Street Billy Joel". The Globe and Mail . p. F9.
.
^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time: 52nd Street – Billy Joel" . Rolling Stone . November 18, 2003. Archived from the original on December 20, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2020 .
^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" . Rolling Stone . May 31, 2012. Archived from the original on March 26, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2019 .
Studio albums Live albums Compilations Singles Other songs Tours Films See also
Years given are for the recording(s), including the soundtrack albums, not first release.
Albums as leader or co-leader
Open Sesame (1960)
Goin' Up (1960)
Hub Cap (1961)
Minor Mishap /Dedication! (Hubbard/Duke Pearson , 1961)
Ready for Freddie (1961)
The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard (1962)
Hub-Tones (1962)
Here to Stay (1962)
The Body & the Soul (1963)
Breaking Point! (1964)
Jam Gems: Live at the Left Bank (with Jimmy Heath , 1965)
The Night of the Cookers
(1965)
Blue Spirits (1965–66)
Backlash (1966)
High Blues Pressure (1967)
A Soul Experiment (1968–69)
The Black Angel (1969)
The Hub of Hubbard (1970)
Red Clay (1970)
Straight Life (1970)
Sing Me a Song of Songmy (with İlhan Mimaroğlu , 1970)
First Light (1971)
Polar AC (1971–73)
Sky Dive (1972)
Keep Your Soul Together (1973)
Freddie Hubbard/Stanley Turrentine in Concert Volume One (1973)
In Concert Volume Two (with Stanley Turrentine , 1974)
High Energy (1974)
Gleam (1975)
Liquid Love (1975)
Windjammer (1976)
Bundle of Joy (1977)
Super Blue (1978)
The Love Connection (1979)
Skagly (1979)
Live at the North Sea Jazz Festival, 1980 (1980)
The Alternate Blues (with Clark Terry , Dizzy Gillespie & Oscar Peterson , 1980)
The Trumpet Summit Meets the Oscar Peterson Big 4 (with Terry, Gillespie & Peterson, 1980)
Born to Be Blue (1981)
Keystone Bop: Sunday Night (1981)
Outpost (1981)
Rollin' (1981)
Splash (1981)
Above & Beyond (1982)
Back to Birdland (1982)
Face to Face (with Oscar Peterson, 1982)
Ride Like the Wind (1982)
The Rose Tattoo (1983)
Sweet Return (1983)
Double Take (with Woody Shaw , 1985)
Life Flight (1987)
The Eternal Triangle (with Woody Shaw, 1987)
Feel the Wind (with Art Blakey , 1988)
Times Are Changing (1989)
Topsy – Standard Book (1989)
Bolivia (1990–91)
At Jazz Jamboree Warszawa '91: A Tribute to Miles (1991)
Live at Fat Tuesday's (1991)
Blues for Miles (1992)
MMTC: Monk, Miles, Trane & Cannon (1994–95)
New Colors (2000)
On the Real Side (2007)
With Art Blakey /The Jazz Messengers WithDexter Gordon WithHerbie Hancock WithBobby Hutcherson WithQuincy Jones WithWayne Shorter With others
The Soul of the City (Manny Albam , 1966)
The Other Side of Abbey Road (George Benson , 1969)
Out of This World (Walter Benton , 1960)
True Blue (Tina Brooks , 1960)
God Bless the Child (Kenny Burrell , 1971)
Cables' Vision (George Cables , 1979)
Droppin' Things (Betty Carter , 1990)
Free Jazz (Ornette Coleman , 1960)
Olé Coltrane (John Coltrane , 1961)
Africa/Brass (John Coltrane, 1961)
Ascension (John Coltrane, 1965)
Muses for Richard Davis (1969)
Outward Bound (Eric Dolphy , 1960)
Out to Lunch! (Eric Dolphy, 1964)
Undercurrent (Kenny Drew , 1960)
Leaving This Planet (Charles Earland , 1973)
Booker 'n' Brass (Booker Ervin , 1967)
Interplay (Bill Evans , 1962)
Sonic Text (Joe Farrell , 1979)
Boss of the Soul-Stream Trombone (Curtis Fuller , 1960)
Soul Trombone (Curtis Fuller, 1961)
Cabin in the Sky (Curtis Fuller, 1962)
Take a Number from 1 to 10 (Benny Golson , 1961)
Pop + Jazz = Swing (Benny Golson, 1962)
Slide Hampton and His Horn of Plenty (1959)
Sister Salvation (Slide Hampton , 1960)
Drum Suite (Slide Hampton, 1962)
The Quota (Jimmy Heath , 1961)
Triple Threat (Jimmy Heath, 1962)
Big Band (Joe Henderson , 1996)
Andrew Hill
, 1965)
Compulsion (Andrew Hill, 1965)
Sunflower (Milt Jackson , 1972)
Goodbye (Milt Jackson, 1973)
52nd Street (Billy Joel , 1978)
Reg Strikes Back (Elton John , 1988)
J.J. Inc. (J.J. Johnson , 1960)
Echoes of an Era (Chaka Khan , 1982)
Essence (John Lewis , 1960–62)
Water Sign (Jeff Lorber , 1979)
Doin' the Thang! (Ronnie Mathews , 1963)
Bluesnik (Jackie McLean , 1961)
MJQ & Friends: A 40th Anniversary Celebration (Modern Jazz Quartet , 1994)
Fingerpickin' (Wes Montgomery , 1958)
Roll Call (Hank Mobley , 1960)
The Blues and the Abstract Truth (Oliver Nelson , 1961)
Sweet Honey Bee (Duke Pearson , 1966)
The Right Touch (Duke Pearson, 1967)
Contours (Sam Rivers , 1965)
Drums Unlimited (Max Roach , 1965)
East Broadway Run Down (Sonny Rollins , 1966)
Numbers (Rufus , 1978)
Once a Thief and Other Themes (Lalo Schifrin , 1965)
Giant Box (Don Sebesky , 1973)
Sugar (Stanley Turrentine , 1970)
Together (McCoy Tyner , 1978)
Quartets 4 X 4 (McCoy Tyner, 1980)
Soundscapes (Cedar Walton , 1980)
Uhuru Afrika (Randy Weston , 1960)
Blue Moses (Randy Weston, 1972)
Awards for 52nd Street
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