Billy Joel joins Rock Band because of The Office

Singer Billy Joel has offered some of his hit songs to the game Rock Band 3, in part due to The Office episode The Chump.

Confused? Okay, here’s the story.

1. During The Office episode ‘The Chump,’ Jim and Pam tries to distract Michael from Donna by inviting him over for dinner:

Pam: We were wondering if you would like to have dinner with us tonight, in our home, and play with our baby.
Jim: We can order in from Hooters.
Michael: Oh, Hooters to go. Nice.
Pam: We can watch a movie and play Rock Band.
Jim: Billy Joel Rock Band.
Michael: That exists?
Pam: Yes.

2. Entertainment Weekly then recapped the episode:

Pam [tries] to choreograph the whole office into a post-breakup support group for Michael … But Michael was curiously unresponsive. He liked the ice cream, of course, but he didn’t like it enough to drown his sorrows in it. Nor did he respond when Jim and Pam invited him over for dinner and Rock Band: Billy Joel, which let’s hope never actually exists ever.

3. In his October 20, 2010, interview with USA Today (no longer available), Joel responded with:

One more new project has Joel venturing into virtual competition. A dozen of his hits will be downloadable for the video game Rock Band 3, out Tuesday. “I’ve never allowed my music to be used in a game before,” but an Entertainment Weekly review of NBC’s The Office changed his mind.

Alluding to an episode in which characters mention a Rock Band featuring Billy Joel, “the critic wrote something like, ‘God forbid that ever should happen.’ So I called my people and said, ‘Get me (on) that Rock Band game.’ Then I wrote the critic, saying that every time I get a check, I’ll give him a little nod.”

There you go. The cultural influence of The Office.