Don't Ask Me Why (Billy Joel Song) - Wikipedia

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• 1 Reception
• 2 Charts Toggle Charts subsection
  • 2.1 Weekly charts
  • 2.2 Year-end charts
• 3 Certifications
• 4 Personnel
• 5 See also
• 6 References

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Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 1980 single by Billy Joel

"Don't Ask Me Why"
Single by Billy Joel
from the album Glass Houses
B-side	"C'était Toi (You Were the One)"
Released	July 24, 1980
Genre	Bossa nova[1] yacht rock[2] folk rock[3] pop[4] Latin rock
Length	2:59
Label	Columbia Records
Songwriter	Billy Joel
Producer	Phil Ramone
Billy Joel singles chronology
"It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" (1980) "Don't Ask Me Why" (1980) "Sometimes a Fantasy" (1980)

"Don't Ask Me Why" is a 1980 song by Billy Joel released as the third single from the album Glass Houses. The song spent two weeks at number one on the Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5]

The track contains all acoustic and Latin percussion instruments performing in an Afro-Cuban rhythmic style. An eclectic, instrumental "Latin Ballroom" piano solo, played over the bridge section after the second verse, is also featured in part of the song; Joel states that the mix for the midsection includes "fifteen pianos overdubbed on top of each other."[6]

The syncopated "333322" accent pattern in the verses is identical to that in the song "Big Shot", from Joel's previous album 52nd Street (1978). The same pattern can be found in other songs of the 1980s, including "Karma Chameleon" (1983) by Culture Club, "Crazy for You" (1985) by Madonna, "Summer of '69" (1985) by Bryan Adams, and "Desire" (1988) by U2.[7]

Reception

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Billboard found the song to be "catchy" and felt that Joel's vocal performance sounded similar to Paul McCartney.[8] Cash Box said it has a "crisp pop/Latin/rock rhythm" and that the lyrics deal with the "themes of success and chance."[9] Record World called it "one of [Joel's] easy rollin' romantic piano ballads that often become pop standards."[10]

Charts

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Weekly charts

[edit]

Chart (1980)	Peakposition
Canada RPM Top Singles[11]	4
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[12]	1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13]	42
French Singles Chart[14]	42
UK Singles (Record Business)[15]	73
UK Airplay (Record Business)[16]	6
US Billboard Hot 100[17]	19
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[18]	1
US Cash Box Top 100	21

Year-end charts

[edit]

Chart (1980)	Rank
Canada[19]	45
US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[20]	122

Certifications

[edit]

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[21]	Gold	500,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

[edit]

• Billy Joel – lead and backing vocals, acoustic piano, Yamaha electric grand piano
• David Brown – acoustic guitar
• Russell Javors – acoustic guitar
• Doug Stegmeyer – bass
• Liberty DeVitto – maracas, bass drum, triangle, claves, ratchet, castanets

See also

[edit]

• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1980 (U.S.)

References

[edit]

1. ^ "Don't Ask Me Why − Billy Joel | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
2. ^ "The Stranger at 70: Billy Joel's 25 best songs". Yardbarker.com. March 31, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
3. ^ "Off the Record: 'Glass Houses'". The Northwest Florida Daily News.
4. ^ "Don't Ask Me Why − Billy Joel". Onefinalserenade.com. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 127.
6. ^ Bordowitz, Hank (2006). Billy Joel: The Life & Times of an Angry Young Man. New York: Billboard Books. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-8230-8248-3. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
7. ^ Traut, Don (2005). "'Simply Irresistible': Recurring Accent Patterns as Hooks in Mainstream 1980s Music". Popular Music. 24 (1): 57–77. doi:10.1017/S0261143004000303. JSTOR 3877594.
8. ^ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. August 2, 1980. p. 60. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
9. ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. August 2, 1980. p. 18. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
10. ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Record World. August 2, 1980. p. 1. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
11. ^ "RPM 100 Singles (Vol. 34, No. 2, October 25, 1980)". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
12. ^ "Image : RPM Weekly". Bac-lac.gc.ca. September 27, 1980. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
13. ^ "Billy Joel – Don't Ask Me Why" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
14. ^ "InfoDisc : Bilan des Ventes par Artiste". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
15. ^ "The Singles Chart 61-100" (PDF). Record Business. 1980-11-10. p. 13. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
16. ^ "Top 75 Airplay Chart" (PDF). Record Business. 10 November 1980. p. 20. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
17. ^ "Billy Joel Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
18. ^ "Billy Joel Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
19. ^ "Top 100 Singles". RPM. Vol. 34, no. 6. December 20, 1980. Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
20. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
21. ^ "American single certifications – Billy Joel – Don%t Ask Me Why". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 18, 2025.

v t e Billy Joel
Studio albums	Cold Spring Harbor Piano Man Streetlife Serenade Turnstiles The Stranger 52nd Street Glass Houses The Nylon Curtain An Innocent Man The Bridge Storm Front River of Dreams Fantasies & Delusions
Live albums	Songs in the Attic Kohuept 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert 12 Gardens Live Live at Shea Stadium: The Concert
Compilations	Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II Souvenir: The Ultimate Collection Greatest Hits Volume III The Complete Hits Collection: 1973–1997 The Ultimate Collection The Essential Billy Joel Piano Man: The Very Best of Billy Joel My Lives The Hits Billy Joel: Opus Collection
Singles	"She's Got a Way" / "Everybody Loves You Now" "Piano Man" / "You're My Home" "Worse Comes to Worst" "Travelin' Prayer" "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" "The Entertainer" "James" "I've Loved These Days" / "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" "Just the Way You Are" / "Vienna" "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" "Only the Good Die Young" "She's Always a Woman" "The Stranger" "My Life" "Big Shot" "Honesty" "Until the Night" "All for Leyna" "You May Be Right" "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" "Don't Ask Me Why" "Sometimes a Fantasy" "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (Live) "She's Got a Way" (Live) "Pressure" "Allentown" "Goodnight Saigon" "Tell Her About It" "Uptown Girl" "An Innocent Man" "The Longest Time" "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" "This Night" "Keeping the Faith" "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" "The Night Is Still Young" "Modern Woman" / "Sleeping with the Television On" "A Matter of Trust" "This Is the Time" "Baby Grand" "Back in the U.S.S.R." (Live) "We Didn't Start the Fire" References "Leningrad" "I Go to Extremes" "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" "That's Not Her Style" "And So It Goes" "Shameless" "All Shook Up" "The River of Dreams" "No Man's Land" "All About Soul" "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" "To Make You Feel My Love" "All My Life" "Christmas in Fallujah" "Turn the Lights Back On"
Other songs	"Captain Jack" "Tomorrow Is Today" "Los Angelenos" "Root Beer Rag" "New York State of Mind" "Prelude/Angry Young Man" "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" "Zanzibar" "Laura" "Scandinavian Skies" "Big Man on Mulberry Street"
Tours	The Nylon Curtain Tour An Innocent Man Tour The Bridge Tour Storm Front Tour River of Dreams Tour Face to Face Tours 1994 1995 1998 2001 2002 2003 2009 2010 Billy Joel in Concert
See also	Discography Billy Joel band members Movin' Out The Last Play at Shea The Hassles Attila Alexa Ray Joel Christie Brinkley Oliver & Company soundtrack Katie Lee "Movin' Out" (Glee episode) Billy Joel: And So It Goes
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