William Martin Joel
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3,010
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87
Film credits
33
Books
12
Awards
Billy Joel, the American singer-pianist nicknamed the Piano Man, has sold over 160 million records worldwide. His 1977 album ‘The Stranger’ became Columbia Records’ best-selling album at the time, yet he earned only $3,000 from it due to bad management. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him in 1999, and he won a Grammy Legend Award. His music remains a fixture on radio and in concert, with a monthly Madison Square Garden residency that sells out every show.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Billy Joel — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Billy Joel by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Billy Joel — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Billy Joel was born on May 9, 1949, in The Bronx, New York, to Howard Joel, a Holocaust survivor from Germany, and Rosalynd Nyman. He grew up in Hicksville, Long Island, where he began taking piano lessons at a young age.
To defend himself from neighborhood bullies, he took boxing lessons and won 22 out of 24 fights before a broken nose ended his boxing career. He attended Hicksville High School but left at 17 to pursue music after seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Joel’s first paid gig was at age 15 playing at a piano bar near his home. He later joined the band The Hassles and then Attila before starting his solo career. His breakthrough came with the 1973 single Piano Man, which became his signature song.
In 1977, he released The Stranger, the best-selling album in Columbia Records history at the time, though bad management left him with only $3,000. His 1978 album 52nd Street was the first album ever released on compact disc in 1982. Joel released a string of hits in the 1980s, including Uptown Girl 1983 and ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ 1989.
Joel married Elizabeth Weber, his business manager, in 1973; they divorced in 1982. In 1985 he married model Christie Brinkley, with whom he had a daughter, Alexa Ray Joel. The couple divorced in 1994. He was married to food critic Katie Lee from 2004 to 2011.
In 2015, he married Alexis Roderick; they have a daughter, Della Rose Joel. Joel has discussed his depression publicly and attempted suicide in 1970 by drinking furniture polish.
With over 160 million records sold worldwide, Billy Joel ranks among the best-selling music artists of all time. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him in 1999, and he received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2013. His music has been covered by numerous artists, and his song Just the Way You Are remains one of the most covered songs.
In 2003, his collaboration with Twyla Tharp, the musical Movin Out’, won two Tony Awards, including Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations for Joel. Since 2014, he has held a monthly residency at Madison Square Garden, with every show sold out. The Piano Man nickname endures, and his songs continue to be played on radio.
Browse the complete filmography of Billy Joel — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
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Every award, honor, and recognition received by Billy Joel — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Billy Joel's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
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A wall of memorable lines from Billy Joel — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
I Look in the Mirror and I Go: You’re a Rock Star? It’s Funny I Don’t Look Like a Rock Star, I Don’t Walk Around Thinking Like a Rock Star. I’m Just This Shmegdorf Walking Around and Somebody Confronts Me and Goes BILLY JOEL! and I’m Like: Right, I’m That Guy.
I Have a Theory as to Why I’ve Been Around so Long. I Don’t Think I’m All That Good, I Think I’m Competent, I Know How to Do What I’m Supposed to Do. I Know How to Play the Piano, I Know How to Sing in Key, I Know How to Write Music & Lyrics, I Know How to Record and I Know How to Perform. I’m Competent. I Know How to Do My Job.
I’d Rather Laugh with the Sinners, Than Cry with the Saints.
There’s Nothing Better Than Good Sex. but Bad Sex? a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Is Better Than Bad Sex.
I Love Telling Stories, and I Love Hearing a Good Story Being Told. Songwriting Is Fascinating in That It Incorporates Two Things That I Love to Do: Create a Story and Write the Music to It. Then I Get to Sing It and Play the Piano on Top of That. My Job Allows Me to Do Four Things That I Absolutely Love. It Doesn’t Get Much Better Than That.
It’s Weird You Know, the Values. Jonas Salk Invented the Polio Vaccine yet I’m Worth More Money Than He Is.
On a Three Week Commitment After Attempting Suicide at Age 21: I’d Go up to the Nurse’s Window and Say, Hey, I’m Okay, but These Other People Are Really Crazy. They’d Just Hand Me My Thorazine.
I Know: Rich Bastard. I Used to Feel Awkward About It, but I Shrugged It Off. It’s All Luck and Sweat. but I Earned It Though I Can’t Justify the Amounts.
I Looked Like Bubbles the Chimp.
I’m Just This Shlubby Guy Who Plays the Piano.
I’ve Been Able to Make a Living as a Musician, and That’s the Greatest Blessing of All. the Fame, the Wealth, the Awards, and All That, That’s All Gravy.
I Went into a Deep, Deep Depression After 9/11. 9/11 Just Knocked the Wind Out of Me, and I Don’t Know Even Now If I’ve Recovered from It. It Really, Really Hurt That Man Could Do That to Man.
I Made It Big Back When Middle Age Schlubs Like Myself Actually Had a Chance. the Music Scene Has Changed so Much. What’s on the Charts and What’s Played on Radio Is so Different to What’s Selling at the Record Store, Online and Concerts. Us Old Guys Still Sell Records and Concert Tickets, yet We Can’t Make the Charts and Air Play on the Radio Is a Pipe Dream. It’s a Strange Divide and a Large Reason Why I Stay Away from Making New Records.
Honestly, I’m Fresh Out of Ideas. I Told Myself Once I Had Nothing Else to Write About, I Was Done Making New Records.
The Residency at Madison Square Garden Is a Fantastic Setup. I Play Once a Month, so I Stay Fresh, and Since I Play at the Same Location, I Get to Dive Deep into the Catalog to Play Some Songs I Haven’t Visited in a While. It Make Every Show Unique and Special, and I Can Tell the Fans Love It as I’ve Sold Out Every Show.
Musicians Want to Be the Loud Voice for so Many Quiet Hearts.
Little-known facts about Billy Joel — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
A successful Long Island boxer, Joel won 22 out of 24 fights. He took boxing lessons after being beaten up by bullies. A broken nose in his 24th fight ended his boxing career and he transitioned to music.
Joel’s daughter with Christie Brinkley, Alexa Ray Joel, was named after pianist Ray Charles.
Joel is one of the few artists with top ten hits in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
Joel received classical piano training.
At age 16, Joel played piano on The Shangri-Las’ 1965 hit Leader of the Pack.
Christie Brinkley called Joel Joe because when they met, she wasn’t sure if Billy Joel was his full name and thought he looked like a Joe.
Joel performed in the We Are the World music video and sang in the choir.
Joel’s 1978 album 52nd Street became the first album ever released on compact disc in 1982.
Just the Way You Are, from 1977, is one of the most covered and radio-played songs of all time.
In 1970, Joel attempted suicide by drinking furniture polish.
Joel’s 1977 album The Stranger was the best-selling album in Columbia Records history, yet due to poor management, he earned only $3,000 from it.
Joel was inducted into the American Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.
At age 15, Joel got his first paid piano gig at a neighborhood piano bar. He enjoyed it so much that he dropped out of high school at 17 to pursue music. Later, under the name Bill Martin, he played at a piano bar in Los Angeles to support himself before releasing Piano Man.
Joel began a monthly residency at Madison Square Garden in 2014. As of March 2018, every show has sold out, and a banner hangs in his honor.
After the commercial failure of Cold Spring Harbor, Joel performed at the Executive Room in Los Angeles under the alias Bill Martin to avoid his contract.
Joel’s many hits include Piano Man 1973, ‘She’s Always a Woman’ 1978, My Life 1979, ‘It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me’ his first US #1 in 1980, Allentown 1982, Uptown Girl first UK #1, 1983, Tell Her About It US #1, 1983, The Longest Time 1983, ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ 1989, Leningrad 1989, The Rivers of Dreams 1993, and All About Soul 1993.
Joel composes all of his songs without collaborators.
Joel is the son of Rosalynd Nyman, born in England to an agnostic Jewish family, and Howard Joel, a Holocaust survivor whose family owned the fourth-largest mail order company in Germany until the Nazis dispossessed them. After divorcing, Howard returned to Europe and remarried. Joel’s half-brother, Alexander Joel, is a noted concert pianist.
Seven of Joel’s albums in a row have reached the Top 40.
At age 66, Joel married 34-year-old Alexis Roderick in his fourth marriage, and they have a daughter, Della Rose.
Joel performed all lead and backing vocals on The Longest Time.
Joel has openly discussed his battles with depression.
On November 24, 2010, Joel had double hip surgery in a Long Island hospital for a congenital hip condition.
Joel was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006.
Joel did not graduate high school because he lacked credits; he chose to pursue music instead of attending summer school.
With 77.5 million units sold in the US, Joel ranks as the third best-selling solo artist, behind Garth Brooks and Elvis Presley.
On September 20, 2004, Joel received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for recording at 6233 Hollywood Boulevard.
Joel’s musical Movin Out’, created with Twyla Tharp, earned 10 Tony Award nominations in 2003. It won two: Best Choreography for Tharp and Best Orchestrations for Joel.
In the mid-1990s, Joel stopped writing pop music to focus on classical composition, but he continued to perform his pop hits in concert.
Joel is a Grammy Award-winning singer.
After seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, Joel decided to pursue music.
In the late 1970s, following the global success of Turnstiles and 52nd Street, Joel performed televised concerts on The Old Grey Whistle Test and Music Laden.
Joel’s favorite classical composer is Ludwig van Beethoven.
Joel’s first label, Family Records, included a lifetime clause in his contract. When he later signed with Columbia, Family received 25 cents per album sold, and Columbia had to display Family’s name and copyright on every album until the late 1980s.
As a teenager, Joel lived at 21 Meeting Lane in Hicksville, New York.
In 1967, Joel’s band The Hassles reached #112 on the Billboard Singles Chart with ‘You’ve Got Me Hummin’.
Joel’s 52nd Street 1978 was the first commercial compact disc release in 1982.
Joel and his wife Alexis Roderick had a daughter, Della Rose Joel, on August 12, 2015; her middle name honors Joel’s late mother Rosalinda.
Joel’s early career included the bands The Echoes later The Lost Souls, The Hassles, and Attila. The Hassles performed at the Riviera Lounge in Westchester, New York in 1967.
Joel’s first wife, Elizabeth Weber, served as his business manager and was previously married to Jon Small.
Spanish singer Ana Belén recorded a successful cover of Piano Man in 1980, translated as El Hombre del Piano for her album Con las Manos Llenas.
Joel is a supporter of the Democratic Party.
Joel performed with Jon Small in both The Hassles and Attila.
Joel has been described as the American counterpart to British musician Elton John.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Billy Joel.
Celebrities similar to Billy Joel — same craft, ranked by reach.
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