R. Kelly Trial: Surprise Witness Halts Trial; Alleged Third Woman in Video Takes Stand Today

Moments before the prosecution was to call their most damning witness against R. Kelly, a surprise witness for the defense shut down proceedings yesterday. The judge to halted testimony temporarily so Kelly's lawyer could meet with a still unidentified man who could undermine the testimony of the alleged other woman who participated in the sex tape at the heart of the trial. Court is back in session today, where that woman is expected to take the stand and positively identify R. Kelly and the then-underage girl on the tape. The surprise witness will need to have some groundbreaking information in order to affect the case, as the woman taking the stand today is expected to deal a severe blow to Kelly's defense.

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Song Stories

“Piano Man”

Billy Joel | 1973

Billy Joel’s first hit, “Piano Man,” was – ironically – an autobiographical lament about how his first album wasn’t a hit. When Cold Spring Harbor didn’t take off, Joel briefly became a lounge pianist in Los Angeles, and this song, about that experience, expressed his frustrations and fears at the time: “And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar/And say, ‘Man, what are you doing here?’” “It was all right,” Joel said later, about the gig. “I got free drinks and union scale, which was the first steady money I’d made in a long time.”

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