A biography of Billy Joel

A biography of Billy Joel ( A site written in August 2007 )

William Martin "Billy" Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist, songwriter, composer & musician. He released his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973. According to the RIAA, he is the sixth best selling artist in the United States.

Joel had Top 10 hits in the '70s, '80s, & '90s, is a six-time Grammy Award winner & has sold in excess of 100 million records worldwide. He was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame (Class of 1992), the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (Class of 1999), & the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (Class of 2006). Joel retired from recording pop music in 1993 but continued to tour (sometimes with Elton John). In 2001 he subsequently released Fantasies & Delusions, a CD of classical compositions for piano. In 2007 he returned to recording with a single entitled "All My Life", followed by an extensive "World Tour" from 2005-2007, covering many of the major world cities.

Early years
Born in the Bronx, New York, Joel was raised in Hicksville, New York. His father Howard was originally from Germany where his father (Billy Joel's grandfather) Karl Amson Joel had owned the fourth-largest mail order company in Germany before being dispossessed by the Nazis. His mother, Rosalind Nyman, was born in England, to an agnostic Jewish family. His parents later divorced, & his father moved back to Vienna, Austria. His sister Judith Joel, & half-brother Alexander Joel is an acclaimed classical pianist & conductor in Europe, now living in New York.

From an early age, Joel had an intense interest in music; especially European classical music. He reluctantly began piano lessons at an early age at his mother's insistence. His interest in music instead of sports was the source of teasing & bullying in his early years. (He has said in interviews that his piano instructor also taught ballet. This led neighborhood bullies to mistakenly think he was learning to dance.) As a teenager, Joel took up boxing so that he would be able to defend himself. He boxed successfully on the amateur Golden Gloves circuit for a short time (winning twenty-two bouts), but abandoned the sport shortly after having his nose broken in his twenty-fourth boxing match.

Joel attended Hicksville High School, & was to have graduated in 1967. However, he was one English credit short of the graduation requirement; he overslept on the day of an important exam due to his late-night musician's lifestyle. Faced with a summer in school to complete this requirement, he decided not to continue. He left high school without a diploma to begin a career in music. Despite the Vietnam War & the draft, Joel performed no military service. Because he was the sole provider for his mother & sister the selective service gave him an exemption. In 1992, the English credit requirement was waived by the Hicksville School Board & he received his diploma at Hicksville High's graduation ceremony 25 years after he left the school.

Musical career
The Hassles released two albums (The Hassles in 1967 & Hour of the Wolf, 1968) on the United Artists record label. Following The Hassles' demise in 1969, he formed the keyboard-and-drums based heavy metal duo Attila with Hassles drummer Jon Small. Attila released their eponymous debut album in July 1970 & disbanded the following October.

Early albums 1970–1976

Cold Spring Harbor (1971)
Joel signed his first solo record contract with Artie Ripp of Family Productions, & subsequently recorded his first solo album. Cold Spring Harbor (a reference to the Long Island town of the same name), was released in 1971. However, the album was mastered at the wrong speed, & the album was initially released with this error, resulting in Joel sounding a semitone too high. The onerous terms of the Family Productions contract also guaranteed him very little money from the sales of his albums.

In order to get out of the deal with Family Productions, Joel moved to Los Angeles, California with Elizabeth Weber, & they married in Los Angeles on September 5, 1971. For six months the following year, he played in the Executive Lounge piano bar under the name Bill Martin. This experience is what gave him the material for "Piano Man."

In addition, a Philadelphia radio station, WMMR-FM, started playing a tape of a new song, "Captain Jack," which was taken from a live concert broadcast which became an underground hit on the East Coast. An executive from Columbia Records named Herb Gordon heard his music & made his record label aware of Joel's talent. From there he signed with Columbia Records. Hits such as "She's Got a Way" & "Everybody Loves You Now" were originally released on this album, though they did not gain much attention until released as live performances in 1981 on Songs in the Attic. Since then they have become big concert numbers. Cold Spring Harbor got a second chance on the charts in 1983, when Columbia reissued the album after slowing it down to the correct speed. The album reached # 158 in the US & # 95 in the UK nearly a year later. Cold Spring Harbor caught the attention of Merrilee Rush ("Angel of the Morning") & she recorded a femme version of She’s Got A Way (He’s Got A Way) for Scepter Records in 1971.

Piano Man (1973)
His experiences in Los Angeles connected him with record company executives, who bought out his contract with Ripp with the condition that the "Family Productions" logo be displayed alongside the Columbia logo for the next five albums. Also in the contract was the agreement that Family Productions would receive a 25 cent royalty for every album Joel sold, which would come back to haunt him when he hit it big. His brief tenure in Los Angeles also inspired his signature song "Piano Man." The album Piano Man was released in late 1973 & was certified Gold. To this day it has sold over four million copies. However, due to the large sums of money involved in the legal tangles of the contract buyout, Joel netted less than $7,000 in profit from his certified Gold record. Although this album is best known for its title track, several other future gems include "Captain Jack," "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" & "You're My Home" (the b-side of the "Piano Man" single, which would later be covered by Helen Reddy, who would release it as the flipside of her single Keep On Singing), all of which would become staples of Joel's live shows.

As of January 2007, the song "Piano Man" is still in the top 100 rock songs on iTunes.

Streetlife Serenade (1974)
Joel remained in Los Angeles to write Streetlife Serenade, his second album under the Columbia label. References to both suburbia & the inner city pepper the album. The standout track on the album is "The Entertainer," which picks up thematically where "Piano Man" left off. Joel was upset that "Piano Man" had been significantly edited down in order to make it more radio-friendly, & in "The Entertainer," he refers to the edit with sarcastic lines such as, "If you're gonna have a hit, you gotta make it fit, so they cut it down to 3:05." This refers to the album version of this song which is 5:37, & the edited single which is 3:05. Although Streetlife Serenade is often considered one of Joel's weaker albums (Joel has confirmed his distaste for the album), it nonetheless contains some notable tracks including the title track, with its Debussy-like intro, "Los Angelenos," & the instrumental "The Mexican Connection." It also marked the beginning of a more confident vocal style on Joel's part.

Turnstiles (1976)
Disenchanted with the L.A. music scene, Joel returned to New York in 1975. There he recorded Turnstiles, on which Joel used his own hand-picked musicians in the studio for the first time, & took a more hands-on role. Songs were initially recorded & produced by famed Chicago producer James William Guercio, who subsequently was fired. The songs were re-recorded & Joel took over, producing the album himself. The minor hit "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" echoed the Phil Spector sound, & was even covered by Ronnie Spector. The album also featured the New York anthem, "New York State of Mind," a bluesy, jazzy epic that has become one of Joel's signature songs & was later covered by fellow Columbia labelmates Barbra Streisand on her 1977 Streisand Superman album & as a duet with Tony Bennett on his 2001 "Playing with my friends: Bennett Sings The Blues" album. Other top songs on the album include "Summer, Highland Falls," & "Miami 2017 (I've Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway)." Songs such as "Prelude/Angry Young Man" would become a mainstay of his concerts for years.

Becoming a superstar 1977–1981

The Stranger (1977)
For his album The Stranger, Columbia Records united Joel with producer Phil Ramone. The album yielded four Top 40 hits on the Billboard Charts in the US, "Just the Way You Are" (# 3), "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" (# 17), "Only the Good Die Young" (# 24), & "She's Always a Woman" (# 17). Album sales exceeded Columbia's previous top album, Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, & was certified multi-platinum. It was Joel's first Top Ten album, as it rose to # 2 on the charts. Phil Ramone eventually produced every Billy Joel studio release until 1989's Storm Front.

The Stranger netted Joel Grammy nominations, for Album of the Year & Song of the Year, for "Just the Way You Are", which was written as a gift to his wife Elizabeth.

52nd Street (1978)
Joel faced high expectations on his next album. 52nd Street was conceived as a day in Manhattan, & was named after the famous street of same name which hosted many of the world's premier jazz venues & performers throughout the 1930s, 40's, & 50's. Fans purchased over seven million copies on the strength of the hits "My Life" (# 3), "Big Shot" (# 14), & "Honesty" (# 24). This helped 52nd Street become Joel's first # 1 album. "My Life" eventually became the theme song for a new US television sitcom, Bosom Buddies, which featured actor Tom Hanks in one of his earliest roles. 52nd Street was the first album to be released on Compact Disc in Japan (1982). The album won Grammys for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male & Album of the Year. Despite all the cover art for the album showing Joel holding a trumpet, he does not play the instrument on the album, though two tracks on the album do feature trumpets. Freddie Hubbard plays two solos in "Zanzibar" & joins Jon Faddis in the horn section for "Half A Mile Away".

Glass Houses (1980)
The success of his piano-driven ballads like "Just the Way You Are" & "Honesty" never sat well with him. With Glass Houses, Joel attacked the new wave popularity with aplomb. The front cover consisted of Joel's real life modern glass house. The album spent 6 weeks at # 1 on the Billboard chart & yielded such classics as "You May Be Right" (# 7, May 1980), "Close To The Borderline"(flipside of the "You May Be Right" single), "Don't Ask Me Why" (# 19, September 1980), "Sometimes A Fantasy" (# 36, November 1980) & "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me," which became Joel's first Billboard # 1 song in July, 1980. Glass Houses won the Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male. It would also win the American Music Award for Favorite Album, Pop/Rock category.

Songs in the Attic (1981)
His next release, Songs in the Attic, was composed of live performances of less well-known songs from the beginning of his career. Songs in the Attic was recorded during arena & club shows in June & July of 1980. This release introduced many fans, who just discovered Joel when The Stranger became a smash in 1977, to many of his earlier compositions. The album reached # 8 on the Billboard chart & produced two hit singles: "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (# 17), & "She's Got a Way" (# 23). It sold in excess of 3 million copies. Though not as successful as some of his previous albums, the album was still considered a success by Joel[citation needed].The track "Los Angelenos" was recorded live at Toads Place in New Haven, CT in July of 1980

Building on success 1982–1986

The Nylon Curtain (1982)
The next wave of Joel's career commenced with the recording of The Nylon Curtain. Considered his most audacious & ambitious album, Joel took more than a page or two from the Lennon-McCartney songwriting style on this heavily Beatles-influenced album.

Work began on The Nylon Curtain in the spring of 1982. However, Joel was sidelined when he was involved in a serious motorcycle accident. At about 5:40 P.M. on April 15, 1982, Cornelia Bynum made a right turn at the intersection of New York Avenue & West 9th Street in Huntington. She then ran a red light & collided with Joel, who was going straight through a green light, on his 1977 XLCR Sportster. After the crash, he flew right over her car & landed on his back. Both his left wrist & hand were broken & badly damaged. Joel, lucky to be alive, managed to get up & take inventory of his helmet, leather, & boots, until a police officer arrived.

Joel was airlifted by helicopter to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. Because of the ensuing surgery, which included the temporary insertion of five pins into his wrist, hand, & a month in the hospital, production of the album was shut down temporarily while Joel recovered.

Once The Nylon Curtain was finished, Joel embarked on a brief tour in support of the album, during which his first video special, Live from Long Island, was recorded at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, on December 30, 1982.

The Nylon Curtain went to #7 on the charts, supported by the popular singles "Allentown", "Goodnight Saigon", & "Pressure." "Allentown" rose to #17 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it one of the most-played radio songs of 1982 & the most successful song from The Nylon Curtain album, besting "Pressure", which peaked at #20 & "Goodnight Saigon" which reached #56.

Joel's marriage began to suffer as his success rose, & on July 20, 1983 he & wife Elizabeth divorced (this is when it became official, although the couple had separated in July 1982). In accordance with the divorce agreement, Elizabeth took half of the singer's assets.

Following The Nylon Curtain tour, Joel retreated to the island of St. Bart's in February of 1983 for some rest & relaxation. At the bar of the hotel in which he was staying, Joel met supermodel Christie Brinkley, who had recently divorced her husband Jean-François Allaux. They eventually became a couple, & married on March 23, 1985.

An Innocent Man (1983)
The song "Uptown Girl" was one of the first songs written when Joel returned from vacation. Uptown Girl is widely considered to be about Christie Brinkley who he started dating during the song's creation (The Music Video also included Christie Brinkley in it). It became a worldwide hit upon its release, & Joel's sole # 1 in the United Kingdom. The resulting album, An Innocent Man, was compiled as a tribute to the rock & roll music of the 1950s & 1960's, & also resulted in Joel's second Billboard # 1 hit, "Tell Her About It", which was the first single off the album in the Summer of 1983. The album itself reached # 4 on the charts & #2 in UK. It also boasted 6 top-30 singles, the most of any album in Joel's catalog. At the time the album came out that Summer, WCBS-FM began playing "The Longest Time" both in regular rotation & on the "Doo Wop Shop". Many fans wanted this to be the next single released in the fall, but that October, "Uptown Girl" would be released, peaking at # 3. In December the title song, "An Innocent Man", would be released as a single & would peak at #10 & #8 in the UK, early in 1984. That March "The Longest Time", a Doo Wop song would finally be released as a single & peak at # 14 on the Hot 100 & be a number one Adult Contemporary hit. That summer, "Leave A Tender Moment Alone" would be released & hit # 27 while "Keeping the Faith" would peak # 18 in January of 1985. An Innocent Man was also nominated for the Album of the Year Grammy, but lost to the inevitable winner that year Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2 (1985)
Following the success of An Innocent Man, Joel had been approached to release an album of his most successful singles. This was not the first time this topic had come up, but Joel had initially considered "Greatest Hits" albums as marking the end of one's career. This time, he agreed, & Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2 was released as a 4-sided album & 2-CD set, with the songs in sequence of when they were released. The new songs "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" & "The Night Is Still Young" were recorded & released as singles to support the album, both reached the top 40 peaking at # 9 & # 34 respectively.

Greatest Hits was highly successful, selling over 20 million copies worldwide & becoming the top-selling double album of all time by a solo artist (and second overall after The Wall by Pink Floyd). It has since been certified diamond by the RIAA for over 20 million albums sold. To date it is the 6th best selling album in American music history according to the RIAA.

Coinciding with the Greatest Hits album release, Joel released a 2-volume Video Album that was a compilation of the promotional videos he had recorded from 1977 to the present time. Along with videos for the new singles off the Greatest Hits album, Joel also recorded a video for his first hit, "Piano Man," for this project.

The Bridge (1986)
Joel had already scored a Top 10 hit with "Modern Woman" from the 1985 movie, "Ruthless People," (starring Bette Midler, Danny DeVito, Helen Slater & Judge Reinhold), when he began work on the album that would become The Bridge in early 1986. Ray Charles duetted with Joel on the ballad "Baby Grand" (which Joel wrote by himself), & Steve Winwood played Hammond organ on the song "Getting Closer." The final song recorded for the album was "Code Of Silence." Cyndi Lauper contributing backing vocals on "Code of Silence" & garnered the only co-writing credit of Joel's entire career for helping him with the lyrics to the song.

Though it broke into the Top Ten, The Bridge was not a success in relation to some of Joel's other albums, but it yielded the hit "A Matter Of Trust" (#10). In a departure from his "piano man" persona, Joel is shown in its video as playing a Les Paul-autographed Gibson guitar. The ballad "This Is The Time" also charted, peaking at #18, & has been a favorite on the prom circuit ever since. "Modern Woman" was also released as a single & was quite successful, but Joel has since said in interviews he doesn't care for the song, & subsequently it has been left off most of his compilation sets (the exception appears to be My Lives).

It was also the last Billy Joel album to carry the "Family Productions" logo.

At around this time, Billy completed voice work on Disney's Oliver & Company, released in 1988. A loose adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, Billy brought both his acting & musical talents to the film as Dodger. For the film, Billy recorded a song titled "Why Should I Worry?" Critics were generally positive towards the film, & pointed to Billy's acting contribution as one of its highlights, despite it being his first acting job. In interviews, Billy explained that he took the job due to his love of Disney cartoons as a child.

The USSR period 1987
Throughout his tour supporting The Bridge, Joel & his handlers started planning a trip to the Soviet Union. He would be one of the first American rock acts to play there since the Berlin Wall went up, a fact not lost on history buff Joel. There would be six live performances, three each at indoor arenas in Moscow & Leningrad. Joel & his family (including young daughter Alexa) & his full touring band made the trip in June 1987. The entourage was filmed for television & video to eventually offset the cost of the trip, & the concerts were simulcast on radio around the world.

The audience in at least the first Moscow shows was filled with members of the Communist Party, who received tickets from the government as a perk. Most of that audience took a long while to warm up to Joel's energetic show, something that never had happened in other countries he had performed in. As a result of that a minor international incident occurred when he famously flipped over an electric keyboard during the second Moscow show as a show of frustration that his lighting engineers would not turn down the house lights to calm the audience despite several requests. The lighting engineers were more concerned with the amount of light being adequate for filming.

(1987)
A album which meant Russian for "Concert," was released in the fall of 1987. Singer Peter Hewlitt was brought in to hit the high notes on his most vocally challenging songs, like "An Innocent Man."

It has been estimated that Joel lost more than US $1 million of his own money on the trip & concerts, but he has said the goodwill he was shown there was well worth it.

Later albums 1989–1994

Storm Front (1989)
The song "We Didn't Start the Fire," the first single from the album Storm Front, was released in September 1989. The song became Joel's third US Number 1 hit.

Storm Front was released in October, & it eventually became Joel's first Number 1 album since Glass Houses, 9 years earlier. Storm Front was Joel's first album since Turnstiles to be recorded without Phil Ramone as producer. For this album, he wanted a new sound, & worked with Mick Jones of Foreigner fame. Joel also revamped his backing band, firing everyone, save drummer Liberty DeVitto, guitarist David Brown, & saxophone player Mark Rivera & bringing in new faces, including talented multi-instrumentalist Crystal Taliefero, who would go on to become Joel's musical director & architect of his live sound. After "We Didn't Start the Fire," Storm Front also produced the top ten hit "I Go To Extremes" (# 6). The album was also notable for its song "Leningrad," written after Joel met a clown in the Soviet city during his tour in 1987, & "The Downeaster Alexa," written to underscore the plight of fishermen on Long Island who are barely able to make ends meet. Another well-known single from the album was the ballad "And So It Goes". Billy Joel became the first ever performer to hold a show at Yankee Stadium, packing the house two sold out nights in a row.

River of Dreams (1993)
Joel started work on River of Dreams in early 1993. Its cover art was a colorful painting by Christie Brinkley that was a series of scenes from each of the songs on the album. The eponymous first single was the last top 10 hit Joel has penned to date, & #1 for a staggering twelve weeks on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. The album includes hits such as "The River of Dreams," "All About Soul," & "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)," written for his daughter, Alexa. A radio remix version of "All About Soul" can be found on "The Essential Billy Joel" (2001), & a demo version appears on "My Lives" (2005). The song "The Great Wall of China" was written about his ex-manager Frank Weber & was a regular in the setlist for Joel's 2006 tour. "2000 Years" was prominent in the millennium concert at Madison Square Garden, December 31, 1999, & "Famous Last Words" closed the book on Joel's pop songwriting (for now).

1994–present
On August 25, 1994, Joel & second wife Christie Brinkley divorced.

On December 31, 1999 Joel performed at New York's Madison Square Garden, which at the time was considered to be Joel's last solo concert. The concert (dubbed The Night Of The 2000 Years) ran on close to 4 hours & was later released as 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert.

In 2001 Joel released Fantasies & Delusions, a collection of classical piano pieces. All were written by Billy Joel & performed by Richard Joo. Joel often uses bits of these songs as interludes in live performances, & some of them are part of the score for the hit show "Movin' Out." The album topped the classical charts at # 1. Joel performed "New York State of Mind" live on September 21, 2001, as part of the America: A Tribute to Heroes benefit concert, & on October 20, 2001, along with "Miami 2017 (I've Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway), at the concert for New York City in Madison Square Garden. That night, he also performed "Your Song" with Elton John.

Joel has toured extensively with Elton John on a series of "Face to Face" tours. During these shows, the two have played each other's songs & performed duets. They grossed over $46,000,000 in just 24 dates.

In 2005, Columbia released a box set, My Lives, which is largely a compilation of demos, b-sides, live/alternate versions & even a few Top 40 hits. The compilation also includes the Umixit software, in which people can remix "Zanzibar," "Only the Good Die Young," "Keepin' The Faith," & live versions of "I Go To Extremes" & "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" with their PC. Also, a DVD of a show from the River of Dreams tour is included.

On January 7, 2006, Joel began a tour across the United States. Having not written, or at least released, any new songs in 13 years, he featured a sampling of songs from throughout his career, including major hits as well as obscure tunes like "Zanzibar" & "All For Leyna." His tour included an unprecedented 12 sold-out concerts over several months at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The singer's stint of 12 shows at Madison Square Garden broke a previous record set by New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen when he played 10 sold-out shows at the same arena. The record earned Joel the only retired number (12) in the arena owned by a non-athlete. This honor has also been given to Joel at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia where a banner in the colors of the Philadelphia Flyers is hung honoring Joel's 46 Philadelphia sold-out shows. He also had a banner raised in his honor for being the highest grossing act in the history of the Times Union Center (formerly the Knickerbocker Arena & Pepsi Arena) in Albany, NY. This honor was given to him as part of the April 17, 2007 show he did there. On June 13, 2006, Columbia released "12 Gardens Live", a double album containing 32 live recordings from a collection of the 12 different shows at Madison Square Garden during Joel's '06 tour.

2006 also saw Billy Joel visit the United Kingdom & Ireland (as part of the European leg of his 2006 tour) for the first time in many years, playing to capacity crowds in Birmingham, Sheffield, Southampton, Manchester, Glasgow, London & Dublin. On July 31, 2006, Joel performed a free concert in Rome, Italy with the Colosseum as the backdrop, & performed classic hits for hundreds of thousands of fans. Joel performed favorites such as "New York State of Mind," "Honesty," & "Just the Way You Are." While introducing one song, the 57-year-old singer joked in shaky Italian, "This song is as old as the Colosseum." Organizers estimated 500,000 people turned out for the show. The concert was opened by Canadian pop-rocker & songwriter Bryan Adams.

Billy Joel toured South Africa, Australia, Japan, & Hawaii in late 2006, & subsequently toured the Southeastern United States in February & March 2007 before hitting the Midwest in the spring of '07.

On January 3, 2007 news was leaked to the New York Post that Billy had recorded a new song with lyrics -- this being the first new song with lyrics he'd written in almost 14 years The song, entitled "All My Life," was Joel's newest single (with second track "You're My Home" Live from Madison Square Garden 2006 tour) was released into stores on February 27, 2007.

On February 4, 2007, Joel sang the national anthem for Super Bowl XLI, & was the first to sing the national anthem twice at a Super Bowl.

On April 17, 2007, Joel was honored in Albany, NY, for his 9th concert at Times Union Center. He is now holding the highest box office attendance of any artist to play at the arena. With his daughter Alexa Ray Joel in attendance, a banner was raised in his honor marking this achievement.

Songwriting & musical styling
Joel's lyrics have made many references to locations in the New York City metropolitan area, particularly Long Island. For example, the "Miracle Mile" line in 1980s "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me" refers to the affluent shopping district located on Northern Boulevard in the community of Manhasset & 1980s "You May Be Right" references walking through the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn alone as proof of craziness. In his 1973 song "The Ballad of Billy the Kid," he describes a certain "Billy" as being from the town of Oyster Bay, the municipality in which the hamlet of Hicksville is located. He has since stated, in the liner notes from his album Songs in the Attic, that this "Billy" is not himself, but rather an Oyster Bay bartender. Additionally, the song "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" mentions several Long Island/New England locations & ports, such as Montauk & Gardiner's Bay.

Several of Joel's songs have grown out of specific personal experiences, including "Piano Man," which he wrote describing his regular job playing at a Los Angeles piano bar in the early 1970s, & "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," written about Angelo's, an eatery on Mulberry Street in New York City's Little Italy. His song "Vienna" was supposedly written about a visit to his father in Europe.

Contrary to persistent rumors, "Big Shot" was not based on a bad date with Mick Jagger's ex-wife Bianca.

In a Playboy interview, Joel indicated that "Rosalinda's Eyes" was penned for his mother, Rosalind, as the song his father should have written for her.

"Only the Good Die Young" created a bit of a stir within the religious community when it was first released in 1977. Some radio stations even refused to give the song any airtime. It is said that while Joel was doing a show in St. Louis, he had been specifically asked not to perform the song during the show & even received death threats; in response, Joel played it twice. Joel has said about the song that "the point of the song wasn't so much anti-Catholic as pro-lust."

Influences
His music reflects influences from many different genres including classical music, 1950s doo wop, Broadway/Tin Pan Alley, jazz, blues, gospel, pop, & straight-up rock & roll. This has, in part, led to his broad success over a long period of time, but made him difficult to categorize in popular music today.

Joel's greatest musical influence is probably The Beatles, in particular the songwriting style of Paul McCartney.

Streaming audio segments of Billy Joel discussing the influence of The Beatles on his becoming a musician Classic Rock Central
Streaming audio full interview of Billy Joel talking about the influence of The Beatles on his becoming a musician mykec.com

Band
In the mid 1970s, the touring & studio lineup of Joel's band stabilized. The main lineup consisted of:

Billy Joel - lead vocals, piano, synthesizer, organ, guitar, harmonica
Liberty DeVitto — drums, percussion
Doug Stegmeyer — bass guitar, backing vocals
Russell Javors — rhythm guitars, acoustic guitar, harmonica, backing vocals
David Brown — lead guitars, 12-string guitar
Richie Cannata — saxophones, flute, clarinet, piano, synthesizer, organ, percussion, backing vocals
This was also the lineup for Joel's first live album, Songs in the Attic.

The 1980s & 1990s saw significant changes to Joel's band. By the River of Dreams tour, the only remaining long standing member of the band was DeVitto. T-Bone Wolk joined playing bass guitar, as well as other instruments, including accordion. Multi-instrumentalists Crystal Taliefero & Mark Rivera joined & remain in his band to this day. Rivera had taken over the prominent saxophone solo in the song "New York State of Mind" that had previously been performed by Cannata (and was re-recorded by Phil Woods for the Greatest Hits version of the song). The 1993 River of Dreams tour saw the addition of Dave Rosenthal on keyboards who also remains with the band. Tommy Byrnes has become a frequent band member on guitar & was both a musical consultant & band member in the Movin' Out musical. For the 2006 tour, Joel did not invite DeVitto back as drummer. Chuck Burgi (from the Broadway production of Movin' Out) replaced DeVitto. Cannata returns on saxophones, along with Rivera & Taliefero, with Cannata again performing the "New York State of Mind" solo. Carl Fischer plays trumpet & trombone when needed, most notably in the classic song, "Zanzibar".

Awards & achievements
Despite having never graduated from high school due to a missed exam, Joel has been presented with multiple honorary doctorates:

Billy Joel receiving an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Syracuse University, May 14, 2006Doctor of Humane Letters from Fairfield University (1991)
Doctor from Berklee College of Music (1993)
Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University (1997)
Doctor of Music from Southampton College (2000)
Doctor of Fine Arts from Syracuse University (2006)
High School Diploma awarded 25 years after he left by the School Board.
Disney Channel Awards Kca Awards Joel was also named MusiCares Person of the Year for 2002, an award given each year at the same time as the Grammy Awards. At the dinner honoring Joel, various artists performed versions of his songs including Nelly Furtado, Stevie Wonder, Jon Bon Jovi, Diana Krall, Rob Thomas, & Natalie Cole. He was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on Oct 15, 2006. In 2005, Billy Joel was put in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Joel was also the singer of the National Anthem at Super Bowl XXIII & Super Bowl XLI, both of which were played in Miami. He is the first singer ever to sing the National Anthem in two Super Bowls.

Personal life

Marriages
Joel married his business manager Elizabeth Weber on September 5, 1971, & they divorced on July 20, 1983.

Joel married Christie Brinkley on March 23, 1985. Their daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, was born January 1, 1986. Alexa was given the middle name of Ray after Ray Charles, one of Joel's musical idols. Joel & Brinkley's marriage ended in divorce on August 25, 1994, although the couple remains quite friendly.

On October 2, 2004, Joel married 23 year-old culinary artist Katie Lee. At the time of the wedding, Joel was 55. Joel's daughter, Alexa Ray, then 18, served as maid of honor. Joel's second wife, Christie Brinkley, attended the union & gave the couple her blessing. Lee works as a restaurant correspondent for the PBS show, George Hirsch: Living it Up!. In 2006, Katie Lee hosted Bravo's Top Chef.

Alcoholism
In 2002 Joel entered Silver Hill Hospital, a substance abuse & psychiatric center in New Canaan, Connecticut. In March 2005 he checked into the Betty Ford Center, where he spent 30 days.

Trivia
Is rumored to be an atheist.
Once performed on the Canadian children's show You Can't Do That On Television.
Once performed "Just the Way You Are" on the children's show Sesame Street.
He has a banner in the rafters of the Times Union Center, Nassau Coliseum, Madison Square Garden, Wachovia Center, & Hartford Civic Center in Hartford.
Billy Joel's height is 1.66 meters (about 5'5 ½")
Was the first to perform a concert at Yankee Stadium in New York City
Has crashed his car into 5 different trees.
Performed "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" for a high school talent show, with the lyrics about Brenda & Eddie actually referring to the popular teenagers in Joel's high school. The students, up in arms at Joel's blatantly-critical lyrics, booed him off the stage.
Provided both the voice & singing voice for the character Dodger in the Disney full-length animated feature Oliver & Company alongside Cheech Marin, Richard Mulligan, Dom DeLuise, Robert Loggia, Bette Midler & Joey Lawrence, among others.
During the 1994 Grammy Award Show, the director cut short Frank Sinatra's acceptance speech for receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. During Billy's performance of 'River of Dreams', at the interim pause in the song, Billy extended it, looked at the celebrity audience with a grin while pretending to check his watch & said, "valuable advertising time going by...dollars...dollars...dollars..." which was met with laughter from the audience.
Billy Joel lyrics have been found on Asian soap & disinfectant packaging soap packet disinfectant
Billy Joel was on the site selection committee for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Seven members supported San Francisco for the Hall of Fame & seven members supported Cleveland. Billy Joel was asked to break the impasse. Billy Joel had voted for Cleveland to be the home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Various songs from Billy Joel are currently being performed by The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps for their 2007 competitive season. Their show theme is called "And So It Goes" with their repertoire including The Stranger, Angry Young Man, & So It Goes, Invention in C Minor, Pressure, I Loved These Days, & Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.
He has said numerous times that his favorite city to play in after New York City, is Buffalo, NY

DVD, video & notable TV appearances
Don Kirshner's Rock Concert (1974) (Television) (Performed "Piano Man," "Somewhere Along the Line," & "Captain Jack")
The Midnight Special (1975) (Television) (Sang "Travelin' Prayer" & "The Ballad of Billy the Kid")
Billy Joel Tonight (1976) (Time Life Video) (VHS) (Palmer Auditorium, Connecticut College, New London, CT)
The Old Grey Whistle Test (1977) (Television)
Musikladen (1978) (German television concert)
20/20 (1980) (Television)
Live from Long Island (1982) (CBS/Fox) (VHS) (Originally aired on HBO as "Billy Joel: A Television First." Recorded live at Nassau Coliseum)
MTV Special: Innocent Man Tour (1983) (Television) ("Behind-the-scenes" look at Joel's Innocent Man tour)
From a Piano Man to an Innocent Man (1984) (BBC Television Broadcast)
Farm Aid (1985) (Television)
Video Album, Vol. 1 (1986) (CBS/Fox) (VHS)
Video Album, Vol. 2 (1986) (CBS/Fox) (VHS)
Live From Leningrad USSR (1987) (CBS) (VHS) (Originally aired on HBO)
1989 NFL Super Bowl XXIII (Sang National Anthem)
Eye of the Storm (1990) (VHS) (Sony) (Compilation of five music videos from the Storm Front album)
Live at Yankee Stadium (1990) (Sony) (DVD/VHS)
A Matter of Trust (1991) (CBS) (VHS) (Documentary of the 1986 Russian tour)
Shades of Grey (1993) (Sony) (PBS documentary on the making of River of Dreams. Released on VHS)
Live from the River of Dreams (Sony) (1993) (Originally aired on Sat 3 (German television) & later edited for the Disney Channel. Released on DVD (Edited Version) in the My Lives box set in 2005)
Greatest Hits, Vol. III (Sony) (1997) (DVD/VHS)
The Rosie O'Donnell Show (1997) (Television)
VH1: Behind the Music (1997) (Television)
VH1: Storytellers (1997) (Television)
VH1: Video Time Line (1998) (Television)
Inside the Actor's Studio (1999) (Bravo Network)
Mad About You: "Murray at the Dog Show" (1999) (NBC Television) (Appeared as himself; wrote the music for the song "Lullabye For You" which was featured in the episode. Paul Reiser wrote the lyrics.)
ABC 2000 (1999/2000) (television VHS) (International broadcast; portions of Joel's New Years Eve concert were aired live)
Piano Grand! A Smithsonian Celebration (2000) (Joel served as host & performer; aired on PBS; released on DVD)
MLB World Series- Subway Series Game 1 (2000) (Television) (Performed the National Anthem)
Die, Joel Akte (The Joel Files) (2001) (PBS Documentary)
America: A Tribute To Heroes (2001) (Television, Radio, DVD)
Charlie Rose (2001) (PBS television/DVD)
The Concert for New York City (2001) (Television, VHS/DVD)
A&E Special: In His Own Words (2001) (A&E Network) (Master class recorded at the University of Pennsylvania)
The Essential Video Collection (2001) (Sony) (DVD/VHS) (Music Video compilation)
The 2003 Tony Awards" (Television) (Performed "New York State of Mind")
The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2005) (Television) (Performed "Miami 2017" & "Only the Good Die Young")
Late Night with Conan O'Brien (2005) (NBC) (Performed "Everybody Loves You Now" & "Vienna")
The Today Show (2005) (NBC) (Performed "Keepin' the Faith" & "She's Right on Time")
The Today Show (2006) (NBC) (Performed "The Good Life" with Tony Bennett live)
The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch (2006) (CNBC)
American Chopper (2006) ("The Billy Joel Bike") (Television, DVD)
Tokyo, Japan (2006) (Television, DVD)(Concert was taped & produced by The Fuji Television Network)
2007 NFL Super Bowl XLI (Sang National Anthem)
Joel also appeared on Saturday Night Live several times:

1978: sang "Only the Good Die Young" & "Just the Way You Are"
1981: sang "Miami 2017" & "She's Got a Way"
1989: sang "We Didn't Start the Fire" & "The Downeaster 'Alexa"
1993: sang "The River of Dreams" & "All About Soul"

Credits on Broadway
Movin' Out (2002), is a musical based on twenty-four Billy Joel songs which was a smash hit on Broadway from 2002 to 2005 (last Broadway show was on December 11, 2005). Joel was composer, lyricist, & orchestrator & won a Tony Award for Best Orchestrations. The musical is really a dance performance choreographed by famed choreographer Twyla Tharp, with Joel's songs sung by Michael Cavanaugh.

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