Billy Joel Biography
He joined his first band at age fourteen, and participated in many more since and also played in piano bars under the name "Bill Martin". His first major album Piano Man was released in late 1973 and he has been releasing albums ever since. He has also toured successfully with Elton John, playing each other's songs.
Billy Joel has recently been returning to his fascination with classical music and has been experimenting in that area. Fantasies and Delusions, his first album of classical pieces, got a tepid response from critics but went to Number One on the classical charts.
Songwriting
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Billy Joel's songwriting cannot be separated from the life that
inspired so much of his work. He has made many references in his lyrics
to locations in the New York City metropolitan area, particularly the
Island, in his songs. For example, the Miracle Mile line in "It's Still
Rock & Roll to Me" refers to the affluent shopping district located on
Northern Boulevard in the community of Manhasset. Also, in his early
song Billy the Kid, he describes a certain "Billy" as being from the
Town of Oyster Bay, the municipality in which the hamlet of Levittown is
located. His song New York State of Mind — a track from 1976's
Turnstiles album that has since become a standard — also demonstrated
his affinity for his home state.
Several of Joel's songs have grown out of specific personal experiences,
including "Piano Man", which he wrote out of his experience of regularly
playing at a Los Angeles piano bar in the early 1970s, and "Scenes from
an Italian Restaurant," purportedly written about either the Syosset
mainstay Christiano's or a similar eatery in New York City's Little
Italy. His song "Vienna" was supposedly written based on a visit to his
father in Europe. And "Big Shot" is based on a bad date with Mick
Jagger's ex-wife Bianca.
Joel was not raised very religiously, and in fact attended Roman
Catholic mass with his Catholic friends, inspiring some of his
religion-themed lyrics. "Only The Good Die Young" is supposedly about a
high-school crush with a very religious girl.
Billy Joel paid tribute to life in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania in one of
his most popular songs, "Allentown," released in 1982. The song depicts
living in industrial Allentown, Pennsylvania during the economic
recession in the early 1980s.
Joel's family has also been a motivation for lyrical content; he penned
"Lullabye (Goodnight My Angel)" for her after she asked what happens
when people die. Similarly, his song "The Downeaster Alexa" combined his
love for his daughter with a depiction of the plight of boat captains in
the offshore fishing industry. "Uptown Girl" was a love song about the
seemingly mismatched romance between himself and Christie Brinkley,
Alexa's mother and his second wife.
Billy Joel has always had a trusting, open attitude in both his business
and personal relationships. This attitude was manifested as advice in
the song "Tell Her About It", as well as in an expression of his own
needs in "Honesty" and "And So It Goes." It can also be found in his
description of the elements needed to make a relationship work in "A
Matter of Trust."
The song "We Didn't Start the Fire" lists historical events from his
birth in 1949 through the mid-1980s — the first thirty-five years of
Joel's life, reflecting his fascination with culture and history. The
song "Leningrad" shows Joel's appreciation for the history of the Soviet
Union and his feelings about the Cold War in which he was raised. Before
Joel went into the music business, he had considered becoming a history
teacher; later in his career, he earned a New York state teaching
license.
In addition, having attempted suicide earlier in his life, Joel composed
a song on request called "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" specifically
to strengthen those contemplating suicide to choose life instead.
Billy Joel has recently been returning to his fascination with classical
music and has been experimenting in that area. Fantasies and Delusions,
his first album of classical pieces, got a tepid response from critics
but went to #1 on the classical charts.
This Billy Joel Biography Page is Copyright © 2004 - 2006 Chuck Ayoub