Leningrad (song)

1989 single by Billy Joel

"Leningrad"

Single by Billy Joel
from the album  Storm Front
B-side|

* "Goodnight Saigon"
* "Vienna"
* "Scandinavian Skies"

Released| December 4, 1989 (1989-12-04)[1]
Length| 4:06
Label| Columbia
Songwriter(s)| Billy Joel
Producer(s)|

* Billy Joel
* Mick Jones

Billy Joel singles chronology
| "We Didn't Start the Fire"
(1989)  | "Leningrad"
(1989)  | "I Go to Extremes"
(1989)

|
|

"Leningrad" is a 1989 song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel from his album Storm Front (1989), released as a single in Europe only. The song title is derived from the contemporary name of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was included on his Greatest Hits Vol. 3 compilation in 1997.

## Synopsis

[edit]

The song was written by Joel about a Russian clown named Viktor Razinov, whom he met while touring the Soviet Union in 1987. Throughout the song, major items of Viktor's and Billy's lives are compared to show the cultural differences and similarities of the United States and the Soviet Union.

In the song, Joel describes Viktor's life as one of many Soviet children who lost fathers during World War II, specifically during the siege of Leningrad. He enlisted in the Red Army, drank vodka to fight the pain, and then became a circus clown, bringing joy to Russian children.

Joel described his childhood life as being "born in '49, a Cold War kid in McCarthy time". He briefly describes his life living near Levittown, and the fear of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Joel also makes a reference to the Korean War, a proxy war to the Cold War, as well as the Vietnam War.

In the end, the two meet after Joel's Leningrad concert (Viktor had journeyed across the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to see all six of the Russian concerts), where Viktor draws a laugh from Joel's daughter, Alexa Ray Joel. Billy Joel and Viktor Razinov embrace afterward. In the song's last line, Joel sings: "We never knew what friends we had, until we came to Leningrad."

The quote is printed on the single cover, but not on the cover of the 4-track CD, which instead features the titles of the extra songs: "Goodnight Saigon", "Vienna", and "Scandinavian Skies".

In 2015, Razinov traveled to New York City to see Billy Joel's concert in Madison Square Garden. For this reunion, Joel played "Leningrad", which he rarely plays live.[2]

The backup vocals for this song were sung by members of the Hicksville High School Choir.[3] It was a group of students selected by Hicksville High School choir director, Charles "Chuck" Arnold, who wrote the harmonies.[3] He retired in 1989 and remained in touch with Joel, who went to high school in Hicksville before quitting to start his music career. He offered this opportunity to his students as a tribute to him and his influence on Joel in his early years. Arnold was later singled out at a sold-out Denver, CO, show on August 8, 2019.[4]

## Critical reception

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Upon release of the single, Melody Maker reviewer Mick Mercer branded the artist "Not a Boring Bastard Anymore" and called the song an "understated ballad, with one great line" about Cold War kids.[5]

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

| Chart (1989–1990)  | Peak
position

|

Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] | 17
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[7] | 68
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[8] | 15
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[1] | 15
UK Singles (OCC)[9] | 53
West Germany (GfK)[10] | 14

### Year-end charts

[edit]

| Chart (1990)  | Position

|

Germany (Media Control)[11] | 66

## See also

[edit]

* List of anti-war songs

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Billy Joel – Leningrad" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
2. ^ "Exclusive Billy Joel MSG Backstage & Concert Photos – October 21, 2015". BillyJoel.com. October 21, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
3. ^ a b Storm Front - Billy Joel | Credits, retrieved April 16, 2023
4. ^ "Billy Joel's music teacher was at his Coors Field show (and he lives in Colorado)". KUSA.com. August 9, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
5. ^ Mercer, Mick (December 9, 1989). "Singles: Billy Joel – "Leningrad" (CBS)". Melody Maker. London: IPC Limited. p. 32\. ISSN 0025-9012. Archived from the original on March 28, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024 – via Flickr.
6. ^ "Billy Joel – Leningrad" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
7. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 12\. March 24, 1990. p. V. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
8. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 2, 1990" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
9. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
10. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Billy Joel – Leningrad" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
11. ^ "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1990" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved May 2, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* "Leningrad" official video

* v
* t
* e

Billy Joel

Studio albums|

* Cold Spring Harbor
* Piano Man
* Streetlife Serenade
* Turnstiles
* The Stranger
* 52nd Street
* Glass Houses
* The Nylon Curtain
* An Innocent Man
* The Bridge
* Storm Front
* River of Dreams
* Fantasies & Delusions

Live albums|

* Songs in the Attic
* Kontsert
* 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert
* 12 Gardens Live
* Live at Shea Stadium: The Concert

Compilations|

* Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II
* Souvenir: The Ultimate Collection
* Greatest Hits Volume III
* The Complete Hits Collection: 1973–1997
* The Ultimate Collection
* The Essential Billy Joel
* Piano Man: The Very Best of Billy Joel
* My Lives
* The Hits

Singles|

* "She's Got a Way" / "Everybody Loves You Now"
* "Piano Man" / "You're My Home"
* "Worse Comes to Worst"
* "Travelin' Prayer"
* "The Ballad of Billy the Kid"
* "The Entertainer"
* "I've Loved These Days" / "Say Goodbye to Hollywood"
* "Just the Way You Are" / "Vienna"
* "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"
* "Only the Good Die Young"
* "She's Always a Woman"
* "The Stranger"
* "My Life"
* "Big Shot"
* "Honesty"
* "Until the Night"
* "All for Leyna"
* "You May Be Right"
* "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me"
* "Don't Ask Me Why"
* "Sometimes a Fantasy"
* "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (Live)
* "She's Got a Way" (Live)
* "Pressure"
* "Allentown"
* "Goodnight Saigon"
* "Tell Her About It"
* "Uptown Girl"
* "An Innocent Man"
* "The Longest Time"
* "Leave a Tender Moment Alone"
* "This Night"
* "Keeping the Faith"
* "You're Only Human (Second Wind)"
* "The Night Is Still Young"
* "Modern Woman"
* "A Matter of Trust"
* "This Is the Time"
* "Baby Grand"
* "Back in the U.S.S.R." (Live)
* "We Didn't Start the Fire"
* References
* "Leningrad"
* "I Go to Extremes"
* "The Downeaster 'Alexa'"
* "That's Not Her Style"
* "And So It Goes"
* "Shameless"
* "All Shook Up"
* "The River of Dreams"
* "No Man's Land"
* "All About Soul"
* "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)"
* "To Make You Feel My Love"
* "All My Life"
* "Christmas in Fallujah"
* "Turn the Lights Back On"

Other songs|

* "Captain Jack"
* "Tomorrow Is Today"
* "Los Angelenos"
* "Root Beer Rag"
* "New York State of Mind"
* "Prelude/Angry Young Man"
* "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)"
* "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant"
* "Zanzibar"
* "Laura"
* "Scandinavian Skies"
* "Big Man on Mulberry Street"

Tours|

* The Nylon Curtain Tour
* An Innocent Man Tour
* The Bridge Tour
* Storm Front Tour
* River of Dreams Tour
* Face to Face Tours
* 1994
* 1995
* 1998
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2009
* 2010
* Billy Joel in Concert

See also|

* Discography
* Billy Joel band members
* Movin' Out
* The Last Play at Shea
* The Hassles
* Attila
* Alexa Ray Joel
* Christie Brinkley
* Oliver & Company
* soundtrack
* Katie Lee
* "Movin' Out" (Glee episode)

* Category

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