Billy Joel never released “New York State of Mind” as a single, but it’s become one of the most enduring songs in his incredible songbook. Now, it’s about to get a very New York update via a duet between the “Piano Man” and Brooklynite Barbra Streisand on her new album, Partners, due out September 16.
This isn’t Babs’ first time recording the song; she originally did a cover “New York State of Mind” on her 1977 album Superman. And as he says in a new video at Radio.com, Joel credits this as an important moment in his career: “She really put me on the map as a songwriter. I was always very appreciative of that.”
All these years later, Joel is still a bit in awe of Ms. Streisand: “It’s a little intimidating to walk into a studio and know that you’re going to sing a duet with Barbra Streisand.”