Billy Joel, full name William Martin Joel, pianist, musician, songwriter and performer, was born on May 9, 1949.
Billy’s father, Howard Joel, from an early age teaches the boy to music, teaching him to play the piano. As a teenager, he begins to combine music classes with a visit to boxing school, as a result, he conducts more than two dozen fights, until he receives a nose injury.
In 1965, Billy was invited to the courtyard musical group “The Echoes”, where Joel plays keyboards. Because of music,
more
Billy Joel, full name William Martin Joel, pianist, musician, songwriter and performer, was born on May 9, 1949.
Billy’s father, Howard Joel, from an early age teaches the boy to music, teaching him to play the piano. As a teenager, he begins to combine music classes with a visit to boxing school, as a result, he conducts more than two dozen fights, until he receives a nose injury.
In 1965, Billy was invited to the courtyard musical group “The Echoes”, where Joel plays keyboards. Because of music, Billy never finishes high school.
In 1971, Billy Joel’s debut album Cold Spring Harbor was released, but the recording was spoiled and upset Billy breaks the contract with the producer, leaves for Los Angeles and gets a job as a pianist in a bar, without stopping doing creative work.
The song "Captain Jack", released in 1972, immediately became very popular on the Philadelphia radio station. At the end of the next year, the album “Piano Man” with the title song of the same name “Piano Man” was released, which later became the hallmark of the singer. In 1975, Joel returned to New York and dedicated the song "New York State of Mind", which became the unofficial anthem of New York.
The 1977 album "The Stranger" was a success. He was followed in 1979 by 52nd Street, which immediately took the first line of Billboard 200. The 1980 collection of Glass Houses, the song from which "It's Still Rock'n'Roll to Me" is the best example of good old rock 'n' roll of the 50s and brings Billy Joel a Grammy Award for "Best Male Vocal".
In 1987, the musician went on a world tour "The Bridge", in which he attended concerts of the USSR, held 3 performances in Moscow and 2 in Leningrad. The album "River of Dreams", released in 1993, occupies the first place in the charts of America. After the release of River of Dreams, the musician announces to the world that this is the last album with popular music recorded by him, his further work will be devoted to classical music. In 2001, the singer released a studio album called Fantasies & Delusions, which consists only of classical works. /
Discography
1971 Cold Spring Harbor
1973 - Piano Man
1974 - Streetlife Serenade
1976 - Turnstiles
1977 - The Stranger
1978 - 52nd Street
1980 - Glass Houses
1982 The Nylon Curtain
1983 An Innocent Man
1986 - The Bridge
1993 - River of Dreams
2001 - Fantasies & Delusions