"This Is the Time" is a song performed by

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

released as the third single from his album ''

The Bridge The Bridge may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Art * ''The Bridge'' (sculpture), a 1997 sculpture in Atlanta, Georgia, US * Die Brücke (''The Bridge''), a group of German expressionist artists * ''The Bridge'' (M. C. Escher), a lithograph ...

''. The song reached No. 18 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topped the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart.

Reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' called it a "melancholy rock ballad from a doom-filled perspective." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that the "songwriting genius of Joel is in force again in this wistful, melodic ballad."

Chart positions

In pop culture

*The song was featured on the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

VHS ''NBA Superstars'', in a segment showcasing

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

players from the 1950s to the 1970s. It was also played during

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend" Bird is widely regarded a ...

's retirement ceremony at the

Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (later ...

in 1993, this time honoring past players of the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. *"This Is the Time" is the title of a 2014 season 2 episode of ''

The Carrie Diaries ''The Carrie Diaries'' is a young adult novel, the first in a series of the same name by American author Candace Bushnell. The series is a prequel to Bushnell's 1997 collection ''Sex and the City'', and follows the character of Carrie Bradshaw ...

'' in which Carrie (

AnnaSophia Robb AnnaSophia Robb (born December 8, 1993) is an American actress, model, and singer. She began her career as a child actress making her feature film debut in ''Because of Winn-Dixie'' (2005). She then starred in a string of successful films pl ...

) attends her senior prom. Joel's song is referenced by character Donna LaDonna (

Chloe Bridges Chloe Marisa Suazo Devine (born December 27, 1991), known professionally as Chloe Bridges, is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Zoey Moreno in the sitcom '' Freddie'' (2005–2006) and as Dana Turner in the Disney Channel origin ...

) 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 Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

this song was used as opening and closing theme for the

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

"''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

''" (In Italy called "''Sentieri''") from 1986 to 2007.

References

{{Authority control 1986 singles 1986 songs Billy Joel songs Columbia Records singles Song recordings produced by Phil Ramone Songs written by Billy Joel