Billy Joel has released his first new song in 17 years, “Turn the Lights Back On.” The stunning performance, which arrived at 7 a.m. ET on February 1, 2004, offers the classic rock legend’s rich vocal, along with beautiful orchestration. Joel, who turns 75 on May 9, wrote the song with GRAMMY-nominated songwriter and producer Freddy Wexler, Arthur Bacon, and Wayne Hector. It was produced by Wexler. Watch the lyric video below.
The six-time GRAMMY® Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame® inductee and Kennedy Center® honoree will take the stage this Sunday at the 2024 GRAMMY Awards, airing at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.
Joel initially alluded to the song on TikTok, following his debut on the platform. He has delivered a classic “Billy Joel-style tune,” embodying the hallmarks of his signature sound. In the lyrics, he asks, “Did I wait too long… to turn the lights back on?” His last new single was 2007’s “All My Life.”
The song is available for download in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.
Joel, who has a busy 2024 calendar, remains one of the most influential artists of all time and a generational storyteller. Beyond selling over 160 million albums around the world and emerging as “the fourth-best-selling solo artist in the United States,” he has garnered six GRAMMY® Awards out of 23 nominations. Among dozens of accolades, he earned induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame® in 1992 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame® in 1999. He became the MusiCares “Person of the Year” in 2002 and received the Kennedy Center® Honors in 2013. Making history, his double-diamond Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II stands out as “the sixth most-certified album of all time.” Hits such as “Piano Man,” “Uptown Girl,” and “We Didn’t Start The Fire” have resounded through eras. Upon his 100th sold-out performance at Madison Square Garden, the state of New York (his home) declared July 18 “Billy Joel Day.”