"[2] Examples of these inaccuracies include when Joel sings that Billy the Kid was "from a town known as Wheeling, West Virginia" and that "he robbed his way from Utah to Oklahoma.
"[3] The real Billy the Kid never robbed a bank and although his birthplace is uncertain, no account suggests that he was from West Virginia.
According to one of Joel's unofficial biographers, Hank Bordowitz, the instrumentation of "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" has details reminiscent of the composers Aaron Copland and Ennio Morricone.
For example, The New York Times critic Laura Sinagra called the song a "bombastic throwaway"[12] and Tom Phalen of The Seattle Times was also critical of the song, arguing that Joel's "outlaw" character doesn't match Joel's light, catchy "Marlboro Man melodies.
[7] "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" is featured during the Family Guy episode "Dial Meg for Murder".