William
Martin "Billy" Joel
Billy Joel was born on May 9, 1949, in Bronx, New York.
He is an American
singer, pianist, and songwriter.
Billy
Joel recorded many popular hit songs and albums from 1973 (beginning
with the single "Piano Man") to his retirement from recording pop music
in 1993. He is one of the very few rock or even pop artists to have Top
10 hits in the '70s, '80s, and '90s. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he
has sold in excess of 100 million records worldwide and is the sixth
best selling artist in the United States, according to the RIAA. Joel's
induction into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame (Class of 1992), the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame (Class of 1999), and the Long Island Music Hall of
Fame (Class of 2006) has further solidified his status as one of
America's leading music icons. He has continued to tour occasionally
(sometimes with Elton John) in addition to writing and recording
classical music.
Early years
Billy
Joel first lived in the South Bronx, in New York City, but his family
soon moved to Hicksville, Long Island. Often he himself, along with many
in the media, have confused this with him living in neighboring
Levittown, NY (formed 1947). In truth, Joel lived on Meeting Lane in
Hicksville, a town that has existed since 1648, near the Levittown
border, in a section of town where Post-WW2, there were houses developed
by Abe Levitt, known as Levitt Houses, thus forming nearby Levittown.
His father, Howard (né: Helmut) Joel, was a Jewish Holocaust survivor
from Germany, whose father Karl Amson Joel 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, and his father moved back to Eastern
Europe. His half-brother Alexander Joel is an acclaimed classical
pianist and conductor in Europe, now living in New York.
From an early age Billy Joel had an intense interest in music; especially
classical music. He began piano lessons at an early age, and his
interest in music instead of sports was the source for much teasing and
bullying in his early years. 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, but abandoned the sport shortly
after having his nose broken in a boxing match.
Billy
Joel attended Hicksville High School, and 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. In 1992, the English credit
requirement was waived by the Hicksville School Board and he received
his diploma at Hicksville High's graduation ceremony 25 years after he
left the school. Becoming
a superstar 1977–1981
The Stranger (1977)
For Billy Joel's 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. Album sales exceeded Columbia's previous top album, Simon &
Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, and 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 Billy Joel Grammy nominations, for Album of the Year and
Song of the Year, for "Just the Way You Are", which was written as a
gift to his wife Elizabeth and became his highest charting song to date
in the United States.
52nd Street (1978)
Joel faced high expectations on his next album. 52nd Street was
conceived as a day in Manhattan, and was named after the block where
Columbia Records' office was located. Fans purchased over seven million
copies on the strength of the hits "My Life", "Big Shot," and "Honesty."
This helped 52nd Street become Billy Joel's first No.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 doesn't play the instrument on the album, though
two tracks on the album do feature trumpets. Freddie Hubbard plays two
solos in "Zanzibar" and joins Jon Faddis in the horn section for "Half A
Mile Away".
Glass Houses (1980)
Billy
Joel in a promotional picture for Glass Houses.The success of his
piano-driven ballads like "Just the Way You Are" and "Honesty" never sat
well with him. With Glass Houses, Joel attacked the new wave popularity
with aplomb. This album 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) and "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me," which
became Joel's first Billboard No.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)
Billy Joel's 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 and club shows in June and 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.
Billy Joel's article from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
