Happy 40th Anniversary to Billy Joel’s The Stranger, originally released September 29, 1977.

Music is often a reflection of the times we live in. Bob Marley's Survival (1979), John Lennon's Imagine (1971), and the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (1977) are examples of albums that personified the times. With their sound (reggae, pop rock and disco) and sign-of-the-times lyrics, they captured the essence of the ‘70s and were pop culture juggernauts. Billy Joel's milestone album The Stranger also fits within this category, as it homes in on the ups-and-downs of relationships, what makes his woman special and the everyday nitty gritty of life. It's blue collar pathos at its finest. Released on September 29, 1977, it was Joel’s fifth studio album and certified him a place in the annals of rock history.

William Martin Joel, born May 9, 1949 in the Bronx and raised in Long Island, allows his New York roots to permeate the sound, lyrics and style of his music. And it's glorious. Listening to his music, one can practically hear factory whistles and smell the barroom cigarette smoke. Prior to The Stranger, Joel was a hitmaker with songs such as "Piano Man," She's Got a Way" "Miami," and "New York State of Mind" scaling the charts as singles. His use of modest melodies and finely-crafted pop lyrics are his signature, and The Stranger exhibits these qualities to the fullest and makes this his chef d'oeuvre.

Released by Columbia Records, the no-frills album contains nine tracks, four of which became hit singles. As most stellar songwriting should do, each song on the album tells a story and is anecdotal in its approach. His collaboration with the man with the Midas touch, Phil Ramone, proved to be golden here, and they went on to engineer other timeless, incandescent material. The four singles released were "Just the Way You Are," "Only the Good Die Young," "She's Always a Woman" and "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)," with each chronicling Joel's plaintive three to seven minute stories of love, heartache and day-to-day challenges.