Billy Joel

Billy Joel Bio

William Martin Joel, widely known by his nickname “Piano Man,” is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Born on May 9, 1949, in the Bronx, New York City, Joel grew up on Long Island and began formal piano lessons at age four. After dropping out of high school in 1967 to pursue music, he signed a solo record deal and, from 1971 to 1993, released twelve studio albums that blended pop, rock, and elements of classical and rhythm and blues. His 1977 album The Stranger became Columbia Records’ best-selling release, and his signature song “Piano Man” remains a concert staple.

With over 160 million records sold worldwide, Joel ranks among the best-selling music artists of all time and is the fourth-best-selling solo artist in the United States. He is the recipient of six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for 52nd Street, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Joel has also received the Kennedy Center Honors and the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, and he holds the record for the most concerts performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Early Life and Background

William Martin Joel was born on May 9, 1949, in the Bronx, New York, and moved with his family to Hicksville on Long Island when he was one year old. His mother, Rosalind Joel, was born in Brooklyn to Jewish parents who emigrated from England, and his father, Howard Joel, was a German-born Jewish classical pianist and engineer whose family fled the Nazi regime in the late 1930s. Joel’s parents met in 1942 while performing in a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera The Pirates of Penzance at the City College of New York, and they divorced in 1957.

At age four, Joel began taking piano lessons at his mother’s insistence and continued with formal tuition until he was about sixteen. His teachers included the noted American pianist Morton Estrin and musician Timothy Ford. As a child, Joel was inspired to pursue a career in music after seeing the Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, and he later became a competitive amateur boxer on the Golden Gloves circuit before abandoning the sport after breaking his nose.

Joel attended Hicksville High School but did not graduate with his class in 1967 because he missed a crucial English exam after playing a late-night piano bar gig to help support his mother and sister. Rather than attend summer school, he chose to begin a music career, and in 1992, he submitted essays to the school board and was awarded his diploma at Hicksville High School’s annual graduation ceremony 25 years after he had left.

Path to Music

At age sixteen in 1965, Joel joined a group called the Echoes, which specialized in British Invasion covers, and he played piano on several records released through Kama Sutra Productions. He later joined the Long Island band the Hassles, with whom he released four singles and two albums, and in 1969, he formed the duo Attila with drummer Jon Small. Attila disbanded in October 1970 after Joel began an affair with Small’s wife, Elizabeth, and Joel signed a solo deal with Family Productions, releasing his debut album Cold Spring Harbor in 1971.

A live radio broadcast on Philadelphia’s WMMR-FM in April 1972 made “Captain Jack” a popular underground hit on the East Coast, which led Columbia Records executive Herb Gordon and label president Clive Davis to sign Joel. While working at a piano bar in Los Angeles under the pseudonym “Bill Martin,” Joel composed “Piano Man,” which became the title track of his 1973 Columbia debut and one of the most recognized songs in popular music. His early albums Streetlife Serenade (1974) and Turnstiles (1976) earned him a dedicated following and a string of touring successes across North America.

Billy Joel Career

Early Career (1965-1976)

Joel’s early career began in 1965 with the Echoes and continued through his time with the Hassles and the duo Attila, whose self-titled debut album was released in July 1970. After signing with Family Productions, he released Cold Spring Harbor in 1971, which was a commercial disappointment despite producing the songs “She’s Got a Way” and “Everybody Loves You Now.” His 1972 live radio performance of “Captain Jack” in Philadelphia brought him to the attention of Columbia Records, and his 1973 album Piano Man introduced his most enduring song.

Joel spent the mid-1970s refining his songwriting and live presence with Streetlife Serenade in 1974 and Turnstiles in 1976, the latter being the first album to feature his regular touring band. Although Streetlife Serenade was received unfavorably by critics, songs like “The Entertainer” and “Root Beer Rag” became staples of his live shows. By 1976, Joel had built a strong reputation as a touring performer and signed on legendary producer Phil Ramone to collaborate with him starting in 1977.

Breakthrough (1977-1986)

The Stranger, released in 1977 and produced by Phil Ramone, was Joel’s commercial breakthrough and “established Joel as a household name.” The album reached number two on the Billboard chart, was certified multi-platinum, and yielded four Top 25 hits, including “Just the Way You Are,” “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” “Only the Good Die Young,” and “She’s Always a Woman.” “Just the Way You Are” won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, and Rolling Stone later ranked The Stranger among the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Joel released 52nd Street in 1978, and the album became his first to reach number one on the Billboard 200, propelled by the singles “My Life,” “Big Shot,” and “Honesty.” 52nd Street won Grammy Awards for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, and Album of the Year. In 1980, Glass Houses spent six weeks at the top of the chart and produced “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” which became Joel’s first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and the album won the 1981 Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male.

Joel released An Innocent Man in 1983 as a tribute to 1950s rhythm and blues and doo-wop, and the album reached number four on the Billboard chart while producing the hits “Tell Her About It,” “Uptown Girl,” and “The Longest Time.” An Innocent Man was nominated for the Album of the Year Grammy but lost to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. His next album, The Bridge, was released in 1986 and produced the hit singles “A Matter of Trust” and “Modern Woman,” and it was Joel’s last album to carry the Family Productions logo.

Notable Works and Milestones

Joel’s signature works include the albums The Stranger and 52nd Street and the songs “Piano Man,” “Just the Way You Are,” “Movin’ Out,” “Uptown Girl,” “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” and “The Longest Time.” His 1985 compilation album Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II has been certified double diamond by the RIAA and ranks among the best-selling albums in American music history. Joel has recorded with Ray Charles, performed at the 1979 Havana Jam festival, and toured the Soviet Union in 1987 as one of the first rock artists to play a fully staged concert tour there.

Billy Joel Award Nominations

Over the course of his career, Billy Joel has received 23 Grammy Award nominations, in addition to nominations from the American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and other major industry organizations. His Grammy nominations include Album of the Year honors for 52nd Street, which he won, and for An Innocent Man, which he lost to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Joel has also been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction of his peers, including the Righteous Brothers, John Mellencamp, and Sam & Dave.

Billy Joel Awards Won

Billy Joel has won six Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Just the Way You Are” and Album of the Year for 52nd Street. He received the Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male, in 1981 for Glass Houses, and he has been recognized with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1999, the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction in 1992, and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame induction in 2006.

Billy Joel Family

Billy Joel was born to Howard Joel, a German-born Jewish classical pianist and engineer, and Rosalind Joel, a Brooklyn-born woman of English Jewish descent. His parents divorced in 1957, after which his father returned to Europe and settled in Vienna, Austria, and his mother raised him and his sister on Long Island. Joel has a half-brother, Alexander Joel, born to his father in England, who became a classical conductor in Europe and served as chief musical director of the Staatstheater Braunschweig.

Personal Life

Billy Joel has been married four times and is the father of three daughters. He married his first wife, Elizabeth Weber Small, in 1973 and divorced in 1982, and he married model Christie Brinkley in 1985, with whom he has a daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, born in 1985; the couple divorced in 1994. Joel married chef Katie Lee in 2004 and divorced in 2009, and on July 4, 2015, he married Alexis Roderick at his Oyster Bay estate, with whom he has two daughters, Della Rose Joel, born in 2015, and Remy Anne Joel, born in 2017. The family resides in Manalapan, Florida, where Joel continues to live with his wife and their two younger daughters.