Billy Joel was in a particularly nostalgic mood when he made his ninth studio album, An Innocent Man, released in August 1983. A concept record, the LP was an homage to the music Joel listened to and loved as a kid.
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For the album's lead single, "Tell Her About," the artist threw it back to his love for classic Motown music of the 1960s. Released towards the end of July 1983, the song cruised up the Hot 100 to park it at #1 for the week of September 24, 1983.
Helping drive the song up the charts was a hot music video that was in heavy rotation on MTV. The clip imagined Billy Joel as an emerging artist performing on the legendary Ed Sullivan Show.
"I went to Billy Joel after we did the [Live from Long Island] concert special," director Jay Dubin told Songfacts about making the clip, which features a cameo by late comedy legend, Rodney Dangerfield. "I said, "Hey Billy, wouldn't it be great if you were like all those great guys, and you were on the Ed Sullivan Show? You know: 'Now, Mr. William Joel.' He says, 'Okay, do it.' Simple as that. Done."
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