B-side She's Right on Time Format 7" Genre Pop rock | Released 1984 Recorded 1983 Length 4:41 | |
"Keeping the Faith" is a song by rock singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released from his 1983 album An Innocent Man. It reached #18 on the main US Billboard Hot 100 chart and #3 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The song was the only single from the album that failed to chart on the UK Singles Chart, despite the success of An Innocent Man in the United Kingdom.
Contents
"Keeping the Faith" is the last track on and final single from the album and the lyrics sum up Joel's reason for creating the album, which hearkens back to the sounds and style of 1950s and early 1960s pre-British Invasion rock and roll music.
The song was remixed for release as a 7" vinyl single. An extended remix was also released on US promotional 12" vinyl singles (Columbia AS 1982). Both 7" and 12" releases state "Special Mix" on the label and both have a printed run time of 4:44. The actual run times for the 7" and 12" are 4:52 and 5:27, respectively. A third, previously unreleased remix was released on the My Lives box set. The box set incorrectly states the version as "12" Remix." The actual 7" and 12" mixes have never been released on CD or even in digital format for stores like iTunes - despite customer demand.
Music video
The music video for the song depicts a court trial to determine whether Joel is innocent and is "keeping the faith" (as the song "An Innocent Man" plays in the background.) The courtroom audience is populated by 1950s' acts on one side, and 1960s' acts (including a Jimi Hendrix lookalike) on the other, and shows Joel singing and dancing throughout the video. Joel and the judge (character actor Richard Shull) in the video are seen on the single cover for the single. Richard Pryor makes a cameo appearance at the beginning of this video and Joe Piscopo makes a cameo at the end. Joel's wife-to-be Christie Brinkley also appears in the video and at the end, a boy is seen shining a man's shoes.
Background
The song itself is set in the 1980s, with the singer reminiscing about the 1950s' lifestyle. As a result, Joel lists many prominent items of the time, in particular, Lucky Strike cigarettes, chino pants, Sen-Sen mints, Trojan condoms, and Old Spice after shave, as well as many fashion styles common during the time, including matador boots "with the Cuban heel", and the Pompadour hairstyle. The song is also about the styles of music common during the 1950s ("I'm going to listen to my 45s"). At the same time, Joel questions being overly sentimental about the past, singing, "The good old days weren't always good./ And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems."