The Ukulele Alphabet: Scenes From an Italian Restaurant by Billy Joel
Letter J, Week 1
“Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” by Billy Joel
Is this the most controversial Ukulele Alphabet choice I’ve made yet? Out of the many, many artists and bands I’ve discussed with others over the years, Billy Joel may be the one who inspires the most extreme reactions. People either really love or really hate the guy’s music.
So, haters, please feel free to move on and wait for next week’s installment.
As for the rest of you….
Blly Oel, as my sibling and I called him because of a quickly-typed misspelling in an AOL trivia chat room back in the ‘90s, has been a constant presence in my musical life for as far back as I can remember.
Storm Front and the Greatest Hits compilation were my main points of education, but it’s Scenes in particular that soundtracked my senior year of high school.
By then, I had a car, so of course I had a whole bunch of mixtapes for my driving entertainment.
And this song received the prime Side 1, Track 1 spot on my Fall 1995 mixtape, titled “The Sunset Café Crew” in honor of the Italian restaurant in town where a bunch of our classmates worked and where we’d all go before football games on Fridays.
No cold beer, no hot lights, just post-school afternoons tooling around with my sibling, my best friends J-me, Deb, and Andrea in tow, having everyday teenage adventures and singing along to Billy Joel.
This is a freaking great driving-around song, even if you don’t have the car top down or the ability to do so in a 1990s Ford Escort.
Listen to the original version of “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant”:
What’s the Ukulele Alphabet?
Read all about my 2025 ukulele performance project (and its rules) here.
I want to A-B-SEEEE some more!
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