Keeping the Faith

This is an autobiographical song about Joel's teen years in the 1960s and his love for the era's music and culture. Fittingly, it is the last song on An Innocent Man, which consists of songs done in a '60s pop style ("The Longest Time," "Uptown Girl").

In the music video, Joel is on trial in a courtroom populated with acts from the '50s and '60s to determine if the singer is actually keeping the faith. The judge (Richard Shull) rules in his favor and deems him "An Innocent Man." At the end, Joe Piscopo of Saturday Night Live reads the verdict in the paper and, after tipping a shoeshine boy $100, tells him, "Keep the faith, kid." Richard Pryor makes a cameo appearance at the beginning of the video, and Joel's wife-to-be Christie Brinkley also features in the clip as the song's "red-haired girl in the Chevrolet." The clip was directed by Howard Deutch, who went on to direct the popular '80s movies Pretty In Pink, Some Kind Of Wonderful, and The Great Outdoors.

When VH1's Pop-Up Video covered the music clip, they made some jokes at Christie Brinkley's expense. An angry Billy Joel contacted the show about what he perceived as the harsh treatment meted out at her, adding that his daughter was being teased at school because of their wisecracks. As a result, VH1 pulled the entire episode featuring Joel's video from their schedule.