Wrapping Up My Celebration Of “Music A – Z!”

I really love sharing my music countdown of songs using the alphabet, and I’m wrapping it up with some great music! This is Billy Joel onstage at Madison Square Garden – onstage for 3 solid hours with no break, singing songs like this one:

Billy Joel’s “An Innocent Man” is a beautiful song – and it begins with the letter “A” where this series began, and now that I’m wrapping my “Music A – Z” series, let’s begin with Joel’s only “music with a Z”!

5 – “Zanzibar” by Billy Joel

This song is from Joel’s 6th album “52nd Street” – the album’s title is a reference to 52nd Street, a popular street location in Midtown Manhattan for jazz musicians, beginning during the Great Depression and continuing through to the 1950s. Joel’s label was headquartered within the CBS Building on West 52nd Street at the time of the album’s release.

“52nd Street” was Joel’s first #1 album, and he never looked back!

The song isn’t about the Tanzanian archipelago – it’s a New York nightclub!

“Ali dances and the audience applauds
Though he’s bathed in sweat, he hasn’t lost his style
Ali don’t you go downtown
You gave away another round for free, whoa

Me, I’m just another face at Zanzibar
But the waitress always serves a secret smile, whoa
She’s waiting out in Shantytown
She’s gonna pull the curtains down for me, for me

I’ve got the old man’s car
I’ve got a jazz guitar
I’ve got a tab at Zanzibar
Tonight that’s where I’ll be, I’ll be”

Here’s a live performance from the late 70’s:

I’ve included a lot of Billy Joel songs in my “Music A – Z” series, most recently for this smash hit:

Such an upbeat pop tune, just one of the songs with a “U” I profiled…see the rest here:

Another music legend makes this list, sadly he died too young, and created an alter ego that is still iconic today:

4 – “Ziggy Stardust” by David Bowie

“The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars” was Bowie’s fifth album, released in 1972, and it heralded the debut of a new figure in rock and roll, his alter ego Ziggy Stardust:

Here’s how Bowie described it:

“What I did with my Ziggy Stardust was package a totally credible, plastic rock & roll singer – much better than the Monkees could ever fabricate,” David Bowie later said of his definitive alter ego. “I mean, my plastic rock & roller was much more plastic than anybody’s. And that was what was needed at the time.”


As Rolling Stone said just last year:

“In fact, what Bowie concocted on 1972’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars was more than just a fresh, clever concept. Ziggy was a tight and cohesive song cycle that laid out a visionary direction for pop music, setting a new standard for rock & roll theatricality while delivering his synthetic ideal with campy sex appeal and raw power.”

This video is from a terrific BBC documentary on the making of “Ziggy Stardust”:

Thanks to “Mister Sussex” on YouTube for putting this together from a variety of sources, and he synched it with the version of the song performed live in Santa Monica in 1972.

Bowie’s death stunned music fans, but his music lives on.

Here is a look at some of the incredible music and movies he left us:

Next up is a great alternative rock band that’s been making music for more than 20 years:

3 – “Zebra” by Beach House

I happened upon this band and never looked back: Beach House has a “Beach Boys” vibe, with music that feels like you are chilling on the beach on a perfect sunny day!

Here is the music video – enjoy!

U2 also had a song with a “Z”:

2 – “Zooropa” by U2

Honestly, I had forgotten about this album, U2’s 8th, released in 1993….but I put it on the other day and it’s a gem from start to finish, beginning with the title track!

Here is the video for “Zooropa”:

Finally, here’s a “Z” song from one of the most popular bands of the 90’s:

1 – “Zoom” by The Smashing Pumpkins

The 90’s gave us bands like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and The Smashing Pumpkins, who had a unique sound and style thanks to lead singer Billy Corgan:

“Zero” comes from their smash hit album “Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness” – a tight rock gem:

“My reflection, dirty mirror
There’s no connection to myself
I’m your lover, I’m your zero
I’m the face in your dreams of glass

So save your prayers
For when we’re really gonna need them
Throw out your cares and fly
Wanna go for a ride?”

Here’s the music video:

The “Mellon Collie” album is a masterpiece, and includes this song as well:

This is an image from “1979”, the smash hit from the album….just one of my “songs with an N” that you can see here!

If you go to my front page and click on the Music button, you can see all 26 letters in my countdown! If you like these stories, PLEASE CLICK THE “LIKE” BUTTON SO I KNOW!

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Let me know if you enjoyed my “Z” trip through music!

Categories: 70's Music, Art, Classic Rock, Music, Obscure Music, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities

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