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Credit: Daniel Kramer \/ Billy Joel<\/p>\n
Mon 29 June 2026 8:00, UK <\/p>\n
Billy Joel <\/a>and Bob Dylan feel like they belong in two different worlds when looking at most of their tunes. <\/p>\n Dylan was never meant to focus on the mechanics of what recording meant when he made his first records, whereas Joel was making the kind of musical inventions that would have left most average rock and roll fans questioning what the hell they were even listening to. But if there was one piece of common ground that they had, it was that both of them knew that a good song could break through any kind of bullshit that you put in front of it.<\/p>\n That said, it\u2019s not like all of those classics came easy for Joel. Whereas Dylan was the kind of person that could come up with a classic on the fly back in the day, Joel knew that every single song was going to whotake hard work before it was actually ready for primetime. That\u2019s half the reason why he quit making music after River of Dreams<\/a>, but it\u2019s not like Dylan was ever claiming that writing songs was a walk in the park, either.<\/p>\n He has said on many occasions that he doesn\u2019t even recognise the kid that was up there singing \u2018Masters of War\u2019 back in the day, and while he\u2019s more than happy to have written those anthems in the past, don\u2019t ask him to write something just as good again. He wasn\u2019t interested in repeating himself all that often, but he could still look in awe when other songwriters knocked it out of the park.<\/p>\n And in the 1960s, no one seemed to tell their stories better than country musicians. The biggest names in country had the kind of standalone stories that could break people\u2019s hearts within only a few minutes, and while Glen Campbell was always on the fringes of country music half the time, the \u2018Rhinestone Cowboy\u2019 did manage to strike gold when he performed Jimmy Webb\u2019s \u2018Wichita Lineman\u2019.<\/p>\n There are plenty of songs that had more sophisticated wordplay, but Dylan didn\u2019t need a bunch of flowery language to get on board with Webb\u2019s song, calling<\/a> it \u201cthe greatest song ever written.\u201d And while Joel was always looking for something more out of his music, there are subtle touches in the production that make the song feel absolutely timeless.<\/p>\n Joel was always interested in throwing in some more nuanced instrumental parts in his songs, and when Campbell picked up the six-string bass for the final verse of the song, he delivered one of the most tasteful performances that anyone had ever done. That\u2019s the work of someone who truly knows the song they\u2019re playing inside and out, and Joel felt that he would have done anything to have a song that good under his belt.\u00a0<\/p>\n Further reading: From The Vault<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2018Just the Way You Are\u2019 and \u2018Scenes From an Italian Restaurant\u2019 definitely come close, but Joel felt that he would have done anything to make a song like this, saying<\/a>, \u201cIf I could write a song as good as \u2018Wichita Lineman\u2019, I\u2019d be a very happy man. I tried. There\u2019s a song called \u2018Stop in Nevada\u2019. I was trying to write \u2018Wichita Lineman\u2019. How do I evoke that?\u201d But hitting on a song that sounds as good as the Webb classic doesn\u2019t come from someone slaving away at their instrument like Joel says.<\/p>\n It\u2019s about someone capturing a piece of history and being able to put a little piece of their heart in between the notes whenever they perform. It\u2019s not every day that someone gets those magic moments, and while Webb was happy to have written the song, what matters is the people who keep those songs alive whenever they bring up what great songwriting is supposed to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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<\/a> The Far Out Bob Dylan Newsletter<\/p>\n