5 Facts About Billy Joel’s 52nd Street and the First Compact Discs
- 52nd Street was one of the first commercially released compact discs, hitting Japanese stores on October 1, 1982, with catalogue number 35DP-1.
- It was among the initial batch of 50 titles released by CBS/Sony in Japan to launch the CD format.
- The album’s CD release predated the format’s arrival in the United States and Europe by several months.
- 52nd Street won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1979, but its CD release three years later helped pioneer digital music distribution.
- The CD version of 52nd Street did not include bonus tracks or remastering, sticking to the original album’s track listing.