Critically acclaimed in the 70s, commercially astute in the 80s & 90s, but a fading star in the 00s, superstar singer-songwriter BILLY JOEL could merge Tin Pan Alley/Broadway motifs with a carousel of current pop-rock trends of the day. Loved by millions but panned by a plethora of journos, the flak (mostly jealous of the ladies at his arm) eventually got under his skin when he virtually retired from the studio in 2001, only to play major stadium concerts thereafter. Whether your bag be `Piano Man’, `Moving Out (Anthony’s Song)’ and `Just The Way You Are’ (a hit too for BARRY WHITE), or other smash hits `Uptown Girl’, `Tell Her About It’ and `We Didn’t Start The Fire’, JOEL had something in his repertoire for every budding pop fan.
Born William Martin Joel, 9 May 1949, The Bronx in New York, but raised in the hamlet of Hicksville on Long Island, Billy was adept at the piano from a young age. A rebel without a cause and a bit of a lad in his youth, he took up the noble art of boxing and duly became a welterweight champ for his local boys’ club. When his nose got broken, it was time to hang up his gloves and, in 1964, the classically-trained JOEL played piano in his first group, the British Invasion-bolstered covers combo, The Echoes. On quitting high school at 15, he pocketed small change playing sessions for producer George “Shadow” Morton, his claim to fame playing on The SHANGRI-LAS’ `Leader Of The Pack’ and `Remember (Walkin’ In The Sand)’. The Echoes had changed their name twice (to The Emeralds and, in turn, The Lost Souls), before Billy branched out as lead singer in The HASSLES.
The blue-eyed-soul/ballad-addled combo signed to United Artists and released a couple of albums after their initial SAM & DAVE cover version 45, `You Got Me Hummin’ flopped. Together with vocalist John Dizek, guitarist Richie McKenna, drummer Jon Small and bassist/buddy Howie Blauvelt (whom BJ insisting on the band recruiting to replace organist/bassist Harry Weber), `The Hassles’ (1967) {*6} debut LP. A second album, the Thomas Kay-produced `Hour Of The Wolf’, was recorded in 1968, but by the time of its release in January ’69, Dizek had left, probably disillusioned by the piano man’s takeover; Blauvelt was not on board and he would form “Black Betty” band RAM JAM several years on. .
Later in 1969, Billy became a rock critic for Changes art magazine and formed his own hard-rock duo, ATTILA, with Jon Small. They issued one disastrous eponymous LP for Epic Records before disbanding. Both dressed as Huns, the heavy-weight prog concept was an ill-advised career move and made even worse when he started an affair with Small’s wife, Elizabeth, whom he wed a few years on. Billy then suffered a bout of depression and entered Meadowbrook mental hospital with psychiatric problems after allegedly downing furniture polish in a suicide attempt.
In 1971, the piano man was back in circulation to sign a solo contract with Family Productions’ Artie Ripp, a man er… affectionately known as “Ripp-off” to his employees, due to him taking a large percentage of artist royalties. JOEL’s debut solo effort, COLD SPRING HARBOR (1971) {*3/*5} was duly issued, but due to a mixing fault, was pressed at the wrong speed!! Embarrassingly for the McCARTNEY-esque JOEL, who’d been well-received by live audiences, this version hit the shops without being corrected, and made him sound slightly Chipmunk-ish; a mid-80s re-release rectified matters. Nevertheless, the man’s piano playing was faultless and with ballads, `She’s Got A Way’, `Everybody Loves You Now’ and `You Can Make Me Free’, Billy proved his songwriting calibre. He subsequently moved to Los Angeles and settled down with Elizabeth Weber.
Culled from JOEL’s experiences of playing incognito as Bill Martin in lounge bars, the PIANO MAN (1973) {*7} opus gave him a deserved break with Columbia Records, after his `Captain Jack’ track was played on FM radio. Influenced by ELTON JOHN, NILSSON, HARRY CHAPIN et al, his character sketches and playful, funky-gospel and country-rock edges were indelible; his narratives best served up on the excellent Top 40 title track, `Travelin’ Prayer’ and `The Ballad Of Billy The Kid’.
The near equally impressive and commercially-adept STREETLIFE SERENADE (1974) {*6} carried on in much the same vein; JOEL at his strongest on ballad material like `Roberta’, `The Entertainer’ (a soft-rock Top 40 homage to SCOTT JOPLIN’s “The Sting”) and the back-to-back Wild West meets the Depression of both `Los Angelenos’ and `The Great Suburban Showdown’.
A change of management to wife Elizabeth, and residence swap back to the Big Apple, TURNSTILES (1976) {*7} sounded more assured; `New York State Of Mind’, JOEL’s most accomplished track of his career up to that point. All self-penned, the album might’ve hit pay-dirt, but his ELTON JOHN-meets-SPRINGSTEEN style was all-too apparent on ones-that-got-away, `Say Goodbye To Hollywood’, `Summer, Highland Falls’ and `James’.
His early promise finally realised on the Phil Ramone-produced THE STRANGER (1977) {*8}, an album that reached No.2 in the chart, it spawned such enduring candlelight smoochers as `Just The Way You Are’ (written for Elizabeth) and `She’s Always A Woman’. The Top 20 hits were coming thick and fast by way of the quirky `Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)’ and `Only The Good Die Young’, although it was in the classy and sophisticated `Scenes From An Italian Restaurant’ and the epic 9-minute closer, `Everybody Has A Dream’, that gave the set its sense of purpose and strength.
The chart-scaling 52nd STREET (1978) {*7} was Ramone’s answer to the jazzy STEELY DAN (a la Broadway), while the rollicking piano pop-rock of `My Life’ hit No.3 in the singles chart and furnished the piano man with his biggest UK Top 20 hit single to date. A dazzling array of showman sophistication and scouring areas only RANDY NEWMAN and ELTON JOHN dared to tread, follow-on hits `Big Shot’ and `Honesty’ underlined his say in mainstream AOR.
GLASS HOUSES (1980) {*7} kept up the momentum and the multi-platinum sales; the retro pastiche of `It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me’ furnished singer-songwriter JOEL his first No.1 single, while proving he could still be relied upon for cringe-inducing lyrics. Rather than pick UK Top 40 hit `All For Leyna’ to make the grade on home-soil, he and Phil challenged the new wave pop scene of America to buy in bulk, copies of `You Make Me Right’, `Don’t Ask Me Why’ and `Sometimes A Fantasy’.
A further challenge would be his sprinkling of mainly reprised ballads on the SONGS IN THE ATTIC (1981) {*7}, a devilishly good Top 10 set – recorded in concert June-July 1980 – that was made all the more better by lush arrangements of his best tunes from his first four sets. Divorced from his wife Elizabeth on July 20, 1982, he subsequently courted supermodel and future star of his `Uptown Girl’ promo video, Christie Brinkley, whom he met in the Caribbean in ’83; Billy married her on March 23, 1985, had one child together (Alexa Ray Joel), but divorced in August ‘94.
With his Top 10 set, THE NYLON CURTAIN (1982) {*7}, however, JOEL turned his attention to more pressing concerns, addressing such SPRINGSTEEN/LENNON-style issues as Vietnam veterans (`Goodnight Saigon’) and unemployment (`Allentown’). The grandiose concept or social commentary about Baby Boomers in the Ronnie Reagan era, the layered song cycle unveiled ear-candy such as `Pressure’ or the BEATLES-esque `Scandinavian Skies’.
1983’s Top 5 AN INNOCENT MAN {*8}, on the other hand, saw JOEL revisiting his musical roots by way of the Stax-like `Easy Money’ or the bobby-socks-addled Top 20 hit, `The Longest Time’. By far the biggest British success of his career, the post-“Grease II” record was a highly listenable blend of doo-wop pastiche, soul and early rock’n’roll. It was also packed with monster transatlantic hits: `Uptown Girl’ (his only UK No.1), `Tell Her About It’ (another US chart-topper) and the ballad-y title track, while others like `Leave A Tender Moment Alone’, `Keeping The Faith’ and `The Night Is Still Young’, were not far off the mark.
THE BRIDGE (1986) {*6} carried on in a vaguely similar, if not so successful Top 10 vein. `Modern Woman’ (from the movie Ruthless People) and `A Matter Of Trust’ both charted identical Top 10 territory, while the Top 20 `This Is The Time’ (b/w `Code Of Silence’ featuring CYNDI LAUPER) and the minor hit `Baby Grand’ (with RAY CHARLES), petered out slightly.
To mark just how giant a star JOEL had become, his almost unique visit to the Soviet Union spurred a concert CD in KOHYEPT: LIVE IN LENINGRAD (1987) {*4}, which didn’t win any converts back in the U.S.A. where it just scraped into the Top 40. While one imagines a young Putin boogie-ing on down, Billy’s hits were cheekily augmented by careful re-treads of The BEATLES’ `Back In The U.S.S.R.’ and DYLAN’s `The Times They Are A-Changin’’.
While 1989’s STORM FRONT {*5} rose to the top (UK Top 5) on the back of the `We Didn’t Start The Fire’ chart-topper (an uncharacteristically ballsy rocker which set the tone for the rest of the album), his partially successful attempts at stadium bombast by way of `I Go To Extremes’, `And So It Goes’ and the minor hit `The Downeaster “Alexa”’ were same old/same old. Other news in ‘89, was that he fired his manager, ex-brother-in-law Frank Weber, after an audit of the accounts showed nearly $100 million missing. The following year, JOEL was awarded $2 million by the courts, and a countersuit by Weber for $30 million was thrown out. In 1992, BJ filed another multi-million dollar lawsuit, this time for fraud, malpractice and breach of contract against ex-lawyer Allen Grubman, although they subsequently settled out of court.
Employing a fresh cast of seasoned musicians, JOEL finally unveiled RIVER OF DREAMS (1993) {*4}, another top-selling opus. While the doo-wop influenced title track went Top 5, other singles such as `All About Soul’, `No Man’s Land’ and `Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)’ only made any headway on home turf. Nevertheless, for over almost three decades, JOEL had proved himself a consistent writer and performer, an elder statesman of pop/rock who paid little heed to constant press barbs.
2000 YEARS: THE MILLENNIUM CONCERT (2000) {*5} only partly lived up to its grandiose, overblown title; the record a document of JOEL’s New Year’s Eve ‘99 bash at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Although the veteran pianist had ostensibly retired from the music biz, he hammed it up one more time with a crowd pleasing run through his back catalogue, even wheeling out the obligatory `Auld Lang Syne’ at the bells.
The pianist subsequently invested his creative energies in composing classical music, or rather classical music with populist flourishes. FANTASIES & DELUSIONS (2001) {*5} was a collection of solo piano works written by JOEL but performed by Richard Joos. While it might be argued that the record was not, strictly speaking, a BILLY JOEL album, the man’s trademark, strident melodicism was neatly stamped over most of the material, making it a pleasurable listen even for pop fans not normally taken to buying such high-brow pieces.
With no new pop material forthcoming, JOEL fans had to dig in their pockets while their hero delved into his past on three consecutive stocktakers: the career-spanning anthology “Piano Man – The Very Best Of…” (2004), the exhaustive boxed-set “My Lives” (2005) and the MSG-revisiting set, 12 GARDENS LIVE (2006) {*7}. Having married 23 year-old Katie Lee in October ’04, but divorced several years later (with a few visits to the Betty Ford Clinic in between), the resident Madison Square Gardens “Piano Man” finally tied the knot again on the 4th of July 2015, this time to Alexis Roderick.
Born William Martin Joel, 9 May 1949, The Bronx in New York, but raised in the hamlet of Hicksville on Long Island, Billy was adept at the piano from a young age. A rebel without a cause and a bit of a lad in his youth, he took up the noble art of boxing and duly became a welterweight champ for his local boys’ club. When his nose got broken, it was time to hang up his gloves and, in 1964, the classically-trained JOEL played piano in his first group, the British Invasion-bolstered covers combo, The Echoes. On quitting high school at 15, he pocketed small change playing sessions for producer George “Shadow” Morton, his claim to fame playing on The SHANGRI-LAS’ `Leader Of The Pack’ and `Remember (Walkin’ In The Sand)’. The Echoes had changed their name twice (to The Emeralds and, in turn, The Lost Souls), before Billy branched out as lead singer in The HASSLES.
The blue-eyed-soul/ballad-addled combo signed to United Artists and released a couple of albums after their initial SAM & DAVE cover version 45, `You Got Me Hummin’ flopped. Together with vocalist John Dizek, guitarist Richie McKenna, drummer Jon Small and bassist/buddy Howie Blauvelt (whom BJ insisting on the band recruiting to replace organist/bassist Harry Weber), `The Hassles’ (1967) {*6} debut LP. A second album, the Thomas Kay-produced `Hour Of The Wolf’, was recorded in 1968, but by the time of its release in January ’69, Dizek had left, probably disillusioned by the piano man’s takeover; Blauvelt was not on board and he would form “Black Betty” band RAM JAM several years on. .
Later in 1969, Billy became a rock critic for Changes art magazine and formed his own hard-rock duo, ATTILA, with Jon Small. They issued one disastrous eponymous LP for Epic Records before disbanding. Both dressed as Huns, the heavy-weight prog concept was an ill-advised career move and made even worse when he started an affair with Small’s wife, Elizabeth, whom he wed a few years on. Billy then suffered a bout of depression and entered Meadowbrook mental hospital with psychiatric problems after allegedly downing furniture polish in a suicide attempt.
In 1971, the piano man was back in circulation to sign a solo contract with Family Productions’ Artie Ripp, a man er… affectionately known as “Ripp-off” to his employees, due to him taking a large percentage of artist royalties. JOEL’s debut solo effort, COLD SPRING HARBOR (1971) {*3/*5} was duly issued, but due to a mixing fault, was pressed at the wrong speed!! Embarrassingly for the McCARTNEY-esque JOEL, who’d been well-received by live audiences, this version hit the shops without being corrected, and made him sound slightly Chipmunk-ish; a mid-80s re-release rectified matters. Nevertheless, the man’s piano playing was faultless and with ballads, `She’s Got A Way’, `Everybody Loves You Now’ and `You Can Make Me Free’, Billy proved his songwriting calibre. He subsequently moved to Los Angeles and settled down with Elizabeth Weber.
Culled from JOEL’s experiences of playing incognito as Bill Martin in lounge bars, the PIANO MAN (1973) {*7} opus gave him a deserved break with Columbia Records, after his `Captain Jack’ track was played on FM radio. Influenced by ELTON JOHN, NILSSON, HARRY CHAPIN et al, his character sketches and playful, funky-gospel and country-rock edges were indelible; his narratives best served up on the excellent Top 40 title track, `Travelin’ Prayer’ and `The Ballad Of Billy The Kid’.
The near equally impressive and commercially-adept STREETLIFE SERENADE (1974) {*6} carried on in much the same vein; JOEL at his strongest on ballad material like `Roberta’, `The Entertainer’ (a soft-rock Top 40 homage to SCOTT JOPLIN’s “The Sting”) and the back-to-back Wild West meets the Depression of both `Los Angelenos’ and `The Great Suburban Showdown’.
A change of management to wife Elizabeth, and residence swap back to the Big Apple, TURNSTILES (1976) {*7} sounded more assured; `New York State Of Mind’, JOEL’s most accomplished track of his career up to that point. All self-penned, the album might’ve hit pay-dirt, but his ELTON JOHN-meets-SPRINGSTEEN style was all-too apparent on ones-that-got-away, `Say Goodbye To Hollywood’, `Summer, Highland Falls’ and `James’.
His early promise finally realised on the Phil Ramone-produced THE STRANGER (1977) {*8}, an album that reached No.2 in the chart, it spawned such enduring candlelight smoochers as `Just The Way You Are’ (written for Elizabeth) and `She’s Always A Woman’. The Top 20 hits were coming thick and fast by way of the quirky `Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)’ and `Only The Good Die Young’, although it was in the classy and sophisticated `Scenes From An Italian Restaurant’ and the epic 9-minute closer, `Everybody Has A Dream’, that gave the set its sense of purpose and strength.
The chart-scaling 52nd STREET (1978) {*7} was Ramone’s answer to the jazzy STEELY DAN (a la Broadway), while the rollicking piano pop-rock of `My Life’ hit No.3 in the singles chart and furnished the piano man with his biggest UK Top 20 hit single to date. A dazzling array of showman sophistication and scouring areas only RANDY NEWMAN and ELTON JOHN dared to tread, follow-on hits `Big Shot’ and `Honesty’ underlined his say in mainstream AOR.
GLASS HOUSES (1980) {*7} kept up the momentum and the multi-platinum sales; the retro pastiche of `It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me’ furnished singer-songwriter JOEL his first No.1 single, while proving he could still be relied upon for cringe-inducing lyrics. Rather than pick UK Top 40 hit `All For Leyna’ to make the grade on home-soil, he and Phil challenged the new wave pop scene of America to buy in bulk, copies of `You Make Me Right’, `Don’t Ask Me Why’ and `Sometimes A Fantasy’.
A further challenge would be his sprinkling of mainly reprised ballads on the SONGS IN THE ATTIC (1981) {*7}, a devilishly good Top 10 set – recorded in concert June-July 1980 – that was made all the more better by lush arrangements of his best tunes from his first four sets. Divorced from his wife Elizabeth on July 20, 1982, he subsequently courted supermodel and future star of his `Uptown Girl’ promo video, Christie Brinkley, whom he met in the Caribbean in ’83; Billy married her on March 23, 1985, had one child together (Alexa Ray Joel), but divorced in August ‘94.
With his Top 10 set, THE NYLON CURTAIN (1982) {*7}, however, JOEL turned his attention to more pressing concerns, addressing such SPRINGSTEEN/LENNON-style issues as Vietnam veterans (`Goodnight Saigon’) and unemployment (`Allentown’). The grandiose concept or social commentary about Baby Boomers in the Ronnie Reagan era, the layered song cycle unveiled ear-candy such as `Pressure’ or the BEATLES-esque `Scandinavian Skies’.
1983’s Top 5 AN INNOCENT MAN {*8}, on the other hand, saw JOEL revisiting his musical roots by way of the Stax-like `Easy Money’ or the bobby-socks-addled Top 20 hit, `The Longest Time’. By far the biggest British success of his career, the post-“Grease II” record was a highly listenable blend of doo-wop pastiche, soul and early rock’n’roll. It was also packed with monster transatlantic hits: `Uptown Girl’ (his only UK No.1), `Tell Her About It’ (another US chart-topper) and the ballad-y title track, while others like `Leave A Tender Moment Alone’, `Keeping The Faith’ and `The Night Is Still Young’, were not far off the mark.
THE BRIDGE (1986) {*6} carried on in a vaguely similar, if not so successful Top 10 vein. `Modern Woman’ (from the movie Ruthless People) and `A Matter Of Trust’ both charted identical Top 10 territory, while the Top 20 `This Is The Time’ (b/w `Code Of Silence’ featuring CYNDI LAUPER) and the minor hit `Baby Grand’ (with RAY CHARLES), petered out slightly.
To mark just how giant a star JOEL had become, his almost unique visit to the Soviet Union spurred a concert CD in KOHYEPT: LIVE IN LENINGRAD (1987) {*4}, which didn’t win any converts back in the U.S.A. where it just scraped into the Top 40. While one imagines a young Putin boogie-ing on down, Billy’s hits were cheekily augmented by careful re-treads of The BEATLES’ `Back In The U.S.S.R.’ and DYLAN’s `The Times They Are A-Changin’’.
While 1989’s STORM FRONT {*5} rose to the top (UK Top 5) on the back of the `We Didn’t Start The Fire’ chart-topper (an uncharacteristically ballsy rocker which set the tone for the rest of the album), his partially successful attempts at stadium bombast by way of `I Go To Extremes’, `And So It Goes’ and the minor hit `The Downeaster “Alexa”’ were same old/same old. Other news in ‘89, was that he fired his manager, ex-brother-in-law Frank Weber, after an audit of the accounts showed nearly $100 million missing. The following year, JOEL was awarded $2 million by the courts, and a countersuit by Weber for $30 million was thrown out. In 1992, BJ filed another multi-million dollar lawsuit, this time for fraud, malpractice and breach of contract against ex-lawyer Allen Grubman, although they subsequently settled out of court.
Employing a fresh cast of seasoned musicians, JOEL finally unveiled RIVER OF DREAMS (1993) {*4}, another top-selling opus. While the doo-wop influenced title track went Top 5, other singles such as `All About Soul’, `No Man’s Land’ and `Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)’ only made any headway on home turf. Nevertheless, for over almost three decades, JOEL had proved himself a consistent writer and performer, an elder statesman of pop/rock who paid little heed to constant press barbs.
2000 YEARS: THE MILLENNIUM CONCERT (2000) {*5} only partly lived up to its grandiose, overblown title; the record a document of JOEL’s New Year’s Eve ‘99 bash at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Although the veteran pianist had ostensibly retired from the music biz, he hammed it up one more time with a crowd pleasing run through his back catalogue, even wheeling out the obligatory `Auld Lang Syne’ at the bells.
The pianist subsequently invested his creative energies in composing classical music, or rather classical music with populist flourishes. FANTASIES & DELUSIONS (2001) {*5} was a collection of solo piano works written by JOEL but performed by Richard Joos. While it might be argued that the record was not, strictly speaking, a BILLY JOEL album, the man’s trademark, strident melodicism was neatly stamped over most of the material, making it a pleasurable listen even for pop fans not normally taken to buying such high-brow pieces.
With no new pop material forthcoming, JOEL fans had to dig in their pockets while their hero delved into his past on three consecutive stocktakers: the career-spanning anthology “Piano Man – The Very Best Of…” (2004), the exhaustive boxed-set “My Lives” (2005) and the MSG-revisiting set, 12 GARDENS LIVE (2006) {*7}. Having married 23 year-old Katie Lee in October ’04, but divorced several years later (with a few visits to the Betty Ford Clinic in between), the resident Madison Square Gardens “Piano Man” finally tied the knot again on the 4th of July 2015, this time to Alexis Roderick.