5 Things to Know About Billy Joel’s 52nd Street Album Title

  1. The album is named after 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan.
  2. That street was a historic hub for jazz musicians from the Great Depression through the 1950s.
  3. Billy Joel chose the title to honor that jazz legacy.
  4. The street was once lined with clubs where legends like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie played.
  5. By 1978, when the album came out, most of those clubs had closed, making the title a tribute to a lost era.