"Movin’ Out" - Billy Joel

There's a detailed conversation regarding Billy Joel's "Movin' Out" going on right now in the "Piano Man" 45 version makes CD debut thread, so I thought it might be helpful for future reference purposes to begin a separate thread regarding the "Movin' Out" discussion. Here's what's been posted about the song so far in the "Piano Man" thread:

EdisonLite wrote: Are there any differences between [the two commercial 45 releases of Billy Joel's "Movin' Out" on catalog numbers] 10624 and 10708? Does the first one lack the car engine sound and the second one have it? I had no idea "Movin' Out" was the first single. One of the biggest albums of the '70s and the first single first bombed! How many months before "Just the Way You Are" was "Movin' Out" released, and was it before the LP was even released?

jimct wrote: Gordon: I have never heard a "Movin' Out" 45 with the car engine sound, but I don't have the Columbia 10624 to check against. "The Stranger" LP debuted on Billboard on 10/9/77, before the initial release of "Movin' Out", as best as I can tell. FYI, Earth, Wind & Fire's anxiously awaited 1st 45 in about a year, "Serpentine Fire" was the next sequentially released Columbia 45, 10625, and debuted on Billboard on 10/29/77. While labels don't ALWAYS release 45 exactly sequentially, it seems likely the Columbia 10624 release of "Movin' Out" was during the same week, about 3 weeks after "The Stranger" LP entered Billboard. It is strange to say this, but at this time it had been more than 3 1/2 years since the #25 hit "Piano Man", and nearly 3 years since his #34 hit, "The Entertainer." Billy Joel was VERY much a struggling Columbia artist at this time, who was VERY badly in need of a hit song. "Just The Way You Are" was just 21 numbers away, sequentially, from the initial "Movin' Out" 45 release, at Columbia 10646, and debuted just 2 weeks later than EWF, on 11/12/77. Two weeks is a highly unusual and short amount of time between an artist's 45 releases. When this does occur, it is normally done because radio would tell the Columbia label reps, who are calling us to try to get us to play the "Movin' Out" 45, something like, "You know, ___________, we're not too impressed with the "Movin' Out" 45, but WE think that the song off the album, "Just The Way You Are", is a smash! THAT should've been the single!" Billy's career was at a MAJOR crossroads here. I was still a year away from personally working in Top 40 at this point, but similar scenarios are not uncommon in the world of Top 40. Columbia seemed to quickly react, change course, and gave Top 40 the track that RADIO preferred - turned out to be his first gold single. And Billy's been a superstar artist ever since. The Columbia 10708 re-release of "Movin' Out" debuted on Billboard on 3/18/78. From the first time my local station played it, I heard them play the LP version, with the car engine sound. Personally, I always thought it was one of the best parts of the song. To this day, I have NEVER heard "Movin' Out" on the radio WITHOUT hearing the car engine SFX - in other words, the 45 version.

EdisonLite wrote: Thanks Jim.

cmmmbase wrote: both 45 releases of Movin' Out do not feature the car fx..

chendagam wrote: I agree that The car engine sound is the most important part of that song. It sounds so weird without it. I'm anal about playing 45 versions on my personal radio station so I play the one without it. Why do you think radio stations played the LP version when the "rule" was usually to play the single version.

Excellent question, Todd. I have 2 copies of the Columbia 10708 promo 45. I have just checked both the mono/stereo sides of both copies, just to be sure - no car engine sfx is found on EITHER side of either 10708 promo copy. To speculate on Chendagam's question, he is correct that the 45 version has the early, inside track on getting radio airplay. I just believe this was one of those rare times where Columbia just made an obviously poor edit choice. They removed what many radio folks perceived to be the KEY element of the song. But, having been sent the LP as well, radio could easily "right the wrong", by just dubbing/playing it off the LP. Also, that Columbia/styrene thing was ALWAYS in play at our radio station. I remember 2 years later, in 1979, Columbia sent us approx. 6 styrene promo 45s for Rex Smith's "You Take My Breath Away", and an LP as well. We didn't like the way the soft piano intro popped and crackled on ALL of the 45 copies, so we just dubbed it off of the LP. With Columbia, this was a COMMON issue for us. We'd have a "standard, knee-jerk" reaction - we even played the longer, cold-ending LP version of "Lovin, Touchin', Sueezin'" for this reason - generally, we'd try to avoid dubbing/playing a song off a Columbia styrene 45, even it if meant playing a SLIGHTLY different or longer mix. We did the same for Neil Diamond's "September Morn" - we played the LP version, with the piano intro, for this reason alone. We didn't always do it, though. For the Manhattans' "Shining Star", we decided to play copy after copy of the 45, since the LP version's ending ran about a FULL minute longer, while just going on and on.

jimct wrote: With Columbia, this was a COMMON issue for us. We'd have a "standard, knee-jerk" reaction - we even played the longer, cold-ending LP version of "Lovin, Touchin', Sueezin'" for this reason - generally, we'd try to avoid dubbing/playing a song off a Columbia styrene 45, even it if meant playing a SLIGHTLY different or longer mix.

I know what you mean about Columbia - I have many 45s (both promo and commercial) which look like they're on styrene. Luckily they all still play OK - but if there's just a pop or two here and there it usually doesn't bother me. Columbia is the label that had the most chart hits on Billboard - you'd figure they'd want their pressings to be of better quality - especially the ones played on radio. Oh well.

Were there two 45s for "Lovin Touchin Squeezin"? I've got both a promo and commercial copy. They both state a 3:44 running time, and they both end COLD.

I've never had an issue with styrene pressings. They play better than some of my vinyl pressings.

The printed time for "Movin' Out" is (3:30), but the actual time is (3:38). Just a tad bit more info for the database. The extra 10 seconds when compared with the LP version is a slightly longer fade.