  cold spring harbor is the first solo album by american singer-songwriter billy joel, released on november 1, 1971. he had already released three albums as a member of the bands the hassles (1966 to 1969) and attila (1970). ==composition and recording== cold spring harbor was named after a hamlet of the same name in the town of huntington, new york, a seaside community near joel's hometown. the lyrics of "tomorrow is today" were derived from a note joel had written when he tried to commit suicide by drinking furniture polish. he was found by his drummer and taken immediately to a hospital where his stomach was pumped. joel would release live versions of "she's got a way" and "everybody loves you now" on the album songs in the attic in 1981. the first song was released as a single in early 1982, and peaked at number 23 on the billboard hot 100 chart.whitburn, joel (2004). the billboard book of top 40 hits, 8th edition (billboard publications) ==production notes== ===mastering=== through an error in the album's mastering, the songs played slightly too fast, causing joel's voice to sound unnaturally high (a semitone higherâjoel joked that he sounded more like one of the chipmunks than himself). according to a long standing rumor, when joel first heard the finished product, he "ripped it off the turntable, ran out of the house, and threw [the record] down the street." artie ripp, owner of family productions and hence the owner of the original master tapes, was responsible for the production error, and the mistake cost him his friendship with joel. he had originally signed the then-unknown 22-year old joel to a 10-record contract that stripped joel of all rights to the
1971_debut_albums Albums_arranged_by_Jimmie_Haskell Albums_conducted_by_Jimmie_Haskell Billy_Joel_albums Columbia_Records_albums English-language_albums Philips_Records_albums Quality_Records_albums