This Is the Time (song) explained

This Is the Time
Cover:	This Is the Time.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Billy Joel
Album:	The Bridge
B-Side:	Code of Silence
Released:	November 1986^[1]
Length:	4:56
Label:	Columbia
Producer:	Phil Ramone
Prev Title:	A Matter of Trust
Prev Year:	1986
Next Title:	Baby Grand
Next Year:	1986

"This Is the Time" is a song performed by Billy Joel released as the third single from his album The Bridge. The song reached No. 18 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.^[2]

Reception

Billboard called it a "melancholy rock ballad from a doom-filled perspective."^[3] Cash Box said that the "songwriting genius of Joel is in force again in this wistful, melodic ballad."^[4]

Chart positions

Chart (1986–1987)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[5]	73
Canadian Singles Chart^[6]	26
U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[7]	18
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary^[8]	1
U.S. Billboard Album Rock Tracks	32

In pop culture

• The song was featured on the NBA VHS NBA Superstars, in a segment showcasing Hall of Fame players from the 1950s to the 1970s. It was also played during Larry Bird's retirement ceremony at the Boston Garden in 1993, this time honoring past players of the Boston Celtics.
• "This Is the Time" is the title of a 2014 season 2 episode of The Carrie Diaries in which Carrie (AnnaSophia Robb) attends her senior prom. Joel's song is referenced by character Donna LaDonna (Chloe Bridges) during her prom queen acceptance speech as the music begins to play in the background. It is mentioned twice more in conversations shortly thereafter. The Correatown cover version of the song also plays in the closing minutes of this penultimate episode.
• In Italy this song was used as opening and closing theme for the soap opera "Guiding Light" (In Italy called "Sentieri") from 1986 to 2007.^[9]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Great Rock Discography. 437.
2. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Joel Whitburn . 2002 . Record Research . 127.
3. Billboard. November 15, 1986. 2022-08-07. 89. Reviews.
4. Single Releases. Cash Box. November 15, 1986. 2022-08-07. 9.
5. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 156.
6. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121023142641/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.0775&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=b9sjvsib1m02ofm7r52fsddr25. 2012-10-23.
7. Web site: Billy Joel Chart History (Hot 100). 27 January 2024 . Billboard . en-US.
8. Web site: Billy Joel Chart History (Adult Contemporary). 27 January 2024 . Billboard . en-US.
9. Web site: La Stampa - Finisce Sentieri la soap delle soap. 11 August 2009.