inoccent man was released first. but he still may have wrote the song for the movie before his record was released and just tacked it on inncocent man
shareEasy Money was a planned promotional song tacked onto an album already in production.
shareWell, Easy Money came out in late summer 1983. When did the album come out-late 1983? He might've written it for the film and then put it on his album to cash in. Billy Ocean did that a few years later with his hit song from Jewel of the Nile put on Love Zone.
shareMy memory is that I heard the song in the movie theater before the album came out.
My memory could be wrong.
It would seem to me like they were released close enough that Joel knew they would be on both. I don't think there was a soundtrack album - or even a single. At least I don't remember every seeing one.
I think the song was requested - and Joel wrote it FOR the film - based on the fact that the lyrics seem to fit the activity in the film.
But it's possible he had the song and the film people titled it to match the song.
Billy Joel wrote "Easy Money" as a homage to James Brown and Wilson Pickett.
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