Billy Joel's Glass Houses was one of my first LPs. I kept it in constant rotation during sixth grade. I always knew that this was one of several albums that sought to defend rock and roll from punk, disco and the like. The lyrics to "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" makes that clear. The song begins:

What's the matter with the clothes I'm wearing
Can't you tell that your tie's too wide
Maybe I should buy some old tab collars
Welcome back to the age of jive
Where have you been hidin' out lately, honey
You can't dress trashy
'Til you spend a lot of money
Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new sound
Funny, but it's still rock and roll to me

What I didn't know, until checking out the Wikipedia page this morning, is considered by some to be a direct response to The Jam's This Is the Modern World.