Superstars Who Gave Us Piano Hits To Love

For over half a century some of the greatest songs have been been performed by musicians who not only sang, but played the piano at the same time. Many of these stars didn’t need a big band, it was just their piano and their voice, and yet they were able to give us some of the greatest Piano hits of all time.

Thanks to the recent movie about his life, the first person who may spring to mind is Ray Charles. Jamie Foxx re-created his life in the movie and won an Oscar for his performance, but some of that certainly had to do with the music that Ray Charles gave us. 1954′s I Got A Woman was the start of a career that lasted until his recent death at the age of 73. Though of all the songs he performed it was a cover version of a Hoagy Carmichael song that many think of when they think of him. Georgia On My Mind, which he released in 1960, and won a Grammy for, was also named the State of Georgia’s official song in the late Seventies.

When Jerry Lee Lewis started stomping on the piano in the Nineteen Fifties, his wild man piano playing helped Rock ‘n Roll come alive. His smash hit song Great Balls Of Fire is still a very popular song today, and his style has influenced much of today’s music.

Stevie Wonder released his first hit album when he was just twelve, and has had so many hits since then. Despite being blind, he was able to learn many instruments throughout his childhood, but it is his piano hits and harmonica that most people think of when they hear his name. For Once in My Life, My Cherie Amour, Higher Ground, Part Time Lover and I just called to Say I Love You are just some of the songs over the past five decades that have been hits for him.

Perhaps the biggest showman of them all continues to entertain audiences today in Las Vegas, the one and only Elton John. From his first hit Crocodile Rock to songs like Don’t Go Breaking My Heart and Rocket Man, to the musical hit The Lion King, Elton John has written some of the twentieth century’s most memorable songs. He adapted his own song, Candle In The Wind, originally written about Marilyn Monroe, for the funeral of Princess Diana, performing it live for viewers across the world.

Billy Joel first appeared on the scene in the early Seventies, and it was the aptly named The Piano Man, that gave him his first top forty hit of many. He followed it up almost immediately with The Entertainer, and with other hits over the years like Uptown Girl, written about his ex-wife, Christie Brinkley, and It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me.

There are a number of artists today who continue to keep up the tradition of being piano-playing singers like jazz musician Jamie Cullum in the UK, and American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys. In 2001 Falling by Alicia Keys was one of the biggest singles ever, and she went on to win five Grammy Awards, including best song, the following year.

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