Billy Joel Tells the Story Behind ‘Allentown’
It Began as an Ode to a Long Island Community
By the 1980s, the steel industry of Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley was in full decline. Bethlehem Steel, one of the country’s largest steel producers, was shedding workers each year; it would eventually close its mills.
When struggling singer-songwriter Billy Joel began touring in 1971, his fans in cities like Bethlehem and Allentown were what Joel would call his “bread and butter.” From that perspective, Joel saw how the area had been decimated by the loss of jobs.
By 1982, Joel was a superstar, mixing piano-driven ballads with flat-out rockers like “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” his first number one single. That year Joel released the LP he would call his favorite, The Nylon Curtain. Influenced by the songwriting style of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the album was a hit with critics and fans. Joel told the Morning Call what inspired him to write its title track, “Allentown.”
“I remember reading about how the decline of the steel industry had been affecting the Lehigh Valley, and I decided that’s what I was going to write the song about…
I had been touring since the beginning of the ’70s, so there was maybe close to 10 years seeing America and wanting to write about what I’d seen…
