Not long ago, my dad mentioned in passing that sometime in the early 70s he stopped in for a drink at a cocktail lounge in Los Angeles, and Billy Joel was playing at the piano bar. Later it dawned on me that Billy Joel wrote his famous song “Piano Man” about his experience as a lounge singer, so I began to wonder whether my dad may have met some of the characters that Joel described in his famous song, such as John the bartender, Paul the real estate novelist, or Davy who was still in the Navy. Then I began to wonder whether my dad may have been one of the characters described in that song. Perhaps he was one of “the businessmen who slowly [got] stoned,” or maybe he was the guy who discussed politics with the waitress. Well, as it turns out, these questions led me on a fascinating investigative journey with numerous twists and turns!
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