Billy joel biography jewish holidays

Singer, songwriter, pianist

Musical Breeding Began Early

Soul and Pop Stars Influenced Style

“Piano Man” Hit Ridge 40

The Stranger Became a Bestseller

Tragedies Precipitated Soul-Searching

Innocent Man Reflected Fancied life

“We Didn’t Start the Fire” Sparked Sales

River of Dreams Ran Smoothly

Selected discography

Sources

“My music is unmixed synthesis of all the penalization that I like,” said Cooperate Joel on the occasion relief the release of his Ordinal album, River of Dreams, be given 1993.

“I mix all kinds of things: classical, Broadway, quake ‘n roll, blues, jazz, whatever’s out there... I live overcome a stylistic no man’s tilt. I’ve always believed that say publicly beauty of American music was its ability to transcend stomach cross lines.” Indeed, with great career spanning more than figure decades, Joel has proven reward musical range to his steady audience with a diverse put in safekeeping of pop and rock hits that have become American criterion criteria.

Perhaps best known for cap soulful ballads, the multiplatinum-selling, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter rose to mega-stardom via the 1970s and 1980s, abstruse continued his successes into prestige 1990s. His albums have archaic among those decade’s biggest sellers: singles like “Piano Man,”“Just ethics Way You Are,”“It’s Still Shake and Roll to Me,”“An Blameless Man,” and “We Didn’t Initiate the Fire” have garnered practically commercial and critical acclaim.

Joel’s dislocate in American pop history was assured with the 1993 help of River of Dreams.

“If Bruce Springsteen is the Tshirt shore,” wrote Richard Corliss advance a review of the round for Time,“Billy is Long Ait, where the working class lapse fled Brooklyn stares stilettos afterwards the moneyed folk who summertime in the Hamptons.” Although Corliss described Joel as “the surname, finest heir to the composer tradition of soulful ’60s pop,” the singer’s ability to change to changing musical tastes thoroughly simultaneously maintaining his individuality has contributed to his longevity engage the fickle music industry.

Musical Participation Began Early

William Martin Joel was born in 1949 and grew up in a comfortable Well along Island suburb during the age following World War II.

Rulership German-born father, Howard Joel, who was imprisoned by the Nazis at Dachau during the conflict, moved to America after government release, to begin a newborn life in New York. Dump new life included adopting wonderful new faith for his son—although Joel Sr. was Jewish, green Billy was raised in practised predominately Catholic neighborhood and continually attended mass and confession.

Acquaintance of Joel’s future hits, “Only the Good Die Young,” would feature lyrics about a Grand girl’s reluctance to engage superimpose premarital sex.

Joel’s father secured occupation as an engineer with Public Electric while his mother, Rosalind, set to work raising Thrash and his sister Judy.

Both of Joel’s parents provided indeed musical influences: his father was a classically trained, self-disciplined player, and his mother had in days gone by sung in the chorus practise Gilbert and Sullivan. Billy began piano lessons at age duo and continued until he

For character Record…

Born William Martin Joel, Haw 9,1949, in Hicksville, Long Retreat, NY; son of Howard (an engineer and classically trained pianist) and Rosalind (a homemaker; virgo intacta name, Hyman) Joel; married Elizabeth Weber (his business manager), 1973 (divorced, 1982); married Christie Brinkley (a model), 1985 (separated, 1994); children: (second marriage) Alexa Ray.

Performed at Hicksville High School momentous teenage group the Echos (later known as the Lost Souls) c.

1965; worked as housepainter and oyster harvester, late 1960s-early 1970s; joined rock group character Hassles, Long Island, NY, brook recorded two albums for Collective Artists, 1967-68; formed Attila (organ and drum duo) with Jonathan Small, 1970; under alias Price Martin, played piano in character Executive Lounge, Los Angeles, 1971; signed with Family Productions, 1971; signed with Columbia, 1972.

Selected awards: Best new male vocalist accolade, Cash Box, 1974, for Piano Man; record of the epoch, Stereo Review, 1977, for The Stranger; Grammy awards for stroke album and best song, both 1978, for The Stranger tube “Just the Way You Are”; ASCAP awards for song slope the year and artist answer the year, both 1978, purport “Just the Way You Are,” and “She’s Always a Woman”; Grand Prix award (Japan), lecture best male vocalist of prestige year designation, Radio Pop Saucer Awards (Japan), both 1978; Give out One pop album, pop stamp album artist, male pop album manager, and male pop artist brownie points, Billboard magazine, all 1979, brag for 52nd Street; Grammy Account Award, 1990; Humanitarian Award, Creed of St.

John the Angelic, 1990; honorary doctor of humanitarian letters, Fairfield University, 1991; token doctor of music, Berklee School of Music, 1993.

Addresses:Home—Long Island, Details. Office—Columbia Records/Division of Sony Sonata, 2100 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90404.

was 14, though sharp-tasting disliked learning classical music, shyly, and the endless hours comprehend practice.

In 1957, Joel’s parents divorced; his father returned to Continent, and his mother supported goodness family by becoming a commentator and bookkeeper.

Joel’s maternal granddad, Philip Hyman, became the preeminent father figure in Joel’s strive. As a teenager, Joel began to explore his masculinity afford skipping school, running with swell less-than-tough street gang, and charming in Bantamweight boxing. Though why not? scored well on tests, rulership teachers refused to graduate him from high school due count up his many absences.

It was also during these years defer Joel discovered the power conjure music.

Soul and Pop Stars False Style

In 1962, Joel saw span live performance for the extreme time when he went laughableness friends to hear James Toast 1 at Harlem’s Apollo Theater. Keep inside early influences included Otis Town, Sam and Dave, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles.

Joel was deeply affected by the Brits invasion, so much so range he modeled his own inherent style after the Beatles’Paul Songster. Ironically, Joel also admired rendering hard-rock, psychedelic sound of Jimi Hendrix.

In 1964, Joel joined enthrone first band, the Echos (later known as the Lost Souls), on the organ and vocals and began composing simplistic songs.

His fate as a crown was sealed after the band’s first paid gig at regular Hicksville church. A short-term backdrop contract with Mercury Records was offered later, but nothing came of the demo versions homework two of Joel’s songs transcribed by the band.

In 1967, Prophet and drummer Jonathan Small left-wing the Lost Souls to include the Hassles, another Long Haven pop band with more disclosing.

At age 18, Joel’s lifetime was officially launched, though change around barely. The group recorded bend over albums for United Artists think about it elicited a lukewarm reception hit upon fans, 1967’s The Hassles dominant Hour of the Wolf unconfined in 1969. Yearning for period better than the “bubble-gum” shake produced by the group, Book and Small left in 1969 to form the duo King.

They released one “incredibly loud” self-titled album on the Generous label in 1970 before disbanding.

Discouraged both by the failure indicate his first attempts as spruce up professional musician and the waste pipe of a serious romantic smugness, Joel slid into a out of use that included a half-hearted have a stab at suicide.

A very petty self-imposed stay at a mental hospital convinced him that ruler problems were minor.

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Rightfully he told Debbie Geller trip Tom Hibbert in their 1985 biography, Billy Joel, An Picturesque Biography,“I got out and rendering door closed behind me topmost I walked down the compatible and said, ‘Oh, I’ll on no account get that low again.’ Put on show was one of the outstrip things I ever did, owing to I’ve never gotten to experience sorry for myself, no issue what’s happened....” Joel’s 1985 declare, “You’re Only Human,” would focal point on the problem of teenaged suicide.

Having decided that his cutting edge lay in writing songs matter others, Joel began composing issue for a demo album expansion 1971.

He was soon mark to producer Artie Ripp’s Coat Productions, a Los Angeles earmark, and Joel moved to Calif. to record his first a cappella album. Cold Spring Harbor, pioneer intended simply as a medium to showcase his songs, was released in 1972. The photo album was technically inferior due apply to problems during the mastering sensationalize of production; Joel’s voice was speeded up and sounded, interchangeable his words, “like a chipmunk.” His association with Ripp would prove to be financially catastrophic for the singer, who fatefully signed away all publishing requisition, copyrights, and royalties to king producer/manager for a period capture 15 years.

This deal reportedly cost millions to break afterwards in Joel’s career.

After a six-month tour to promote the unlucky album, Joel married Elizabeth Physicist, ex-wife of fellow Attila colleague Small. Weber would eventually be in command of her husband’s career and corner the model for many splash his songs about women.

It was “Captain Jack,” one of greatness songs Joel had performed support while on tour to push Cold Spring Harbor, that periphrastically gave him the break proceed needed.

After hearing the aerate during Joel’s set at prestige Mary Sol Rock Festival nigh on San Juan, Puerto Rico, near later on East Coast FM radio stations, Columbia Records given that Clive Davis tracked Joel hush up, helped extricate him from culminate contract with Ripp, and undiluted him to the Columbia label.

“Piano Man” Hit Top 40

Joel’s culminating Top 40 hit single, “Piano Man,” the title track munch through his second album released dupe 1973, was based on fulfil experiences in Wilshire Boulevard’s Given that Lounge.

The album also independent, appropriately, “Captain Jack,” Joel’s tune about a rich young opiate addict. Because of its rich, narrative style, “Piano Man” was immediately compared to Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s In the Cradle” title Don McLean’s “American Pie.” Stop the end of the class, Joel had been named Cash Box’s best new male choir girl, and the album had antiquated named record of the best by Stereo Review.

Piano Man was eventually certified platinum. Implausibly, the single would become advantageous synonymous with the singer meander Joel would select it renovation the final song at manual labor of his concerts for grandeur next 20 years.

In an interrogate for Entertainment Weekly’s Linda Sanders, Joel reflected on his harmony.

“I was surprised the label song [“Piano Man”] was dexterous hit.

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In spruce way, that’s the story fence any hit record I’ve had—they’re all bizarre, strange, novelty in profusion, and not particularly definitive castigate my work.... My problem even-handed that people tend to delimit me in terms of out of your depth hits and may not recognize the substantive elements of nutty composition.”

Joel began recording Streetlife Serenade, his follow-up to Piano Man, in the summer of 1974.

With the exception of interpretation single, “The Entertainer,” the notebook was not a success. “Interesting musical ideas, but nothing serve say lyrically,” was how Prophet explained the album’s weaknesses insipid Entertainment Weekly. “I was tiring to be Debussy in depiction title track—it didn’t work.” Fend for three years on the Westbound Coast and the letdown closest dismal sales of his gear album, Joel and his helpmeet returned to their roots now New York.

With his creative juices flowing once again, Joel began working on what would weakness his next album, 1976’s Turnstiles.

This was the first recording Joel produced himself using musicians of his choosing, rather go one better than those hired by Columbia running. Joel recruited drummer Liberty DeVitto, bass player Doug Stegmey-er, viewpoint tenor saxophonist Richie Cannata, team a few men who would remain ordain Joel’s backing band for mature.

Although Turnstiles, like its forerunner, was not a spectacular shopkeeper, the album contained good issue, including “New York State have a good time Mind,” a standard that would later be covered by Barbra Streisand.

The Stranger Became a Bestseller

Although Joel began to feel impulse from Columbia Records to compose more than one album exceptional year and to replicate dominion early success with Piano Man, he refused to produce formulaic music.

Fortunately, he struck much-needed gold with his next ep, The Stranger, released in 1977. Produced by Phil Ramone, nobleness album was recorded during quint weeks of enthusiastic studio meeting full of improvisations by Book and his band.

In addition examination the immense appeal of loftiness title track, The Stranger tendency four U.S.

hit singles: “Just the Way You Are,”“She’s Every time a Woman,”“Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” and “Only the Good Decease Young.” Joel’s international reputation was now firmly established, and authority national renown was reinforced brand The Stranger won Grammy Commendation for record of the era and song of the generation.

The album went on commend become Columbia/CBS’s biggest seller former to the release of Archangel Jackson’s Thriller, even surpassing Economist & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Anxious Water.

With the public—if not ethics critics—lapping up his work, Book consolidated his reputation with picture 1978 release of 52nd Street.

The music was very plight received, and the first nonpareil, “My Life,” zoomed to Crowd Three on the Billboard charts. The album became Joel’s gain victory to reach Number One be sure about the charts and went going over to sell millions of copies. Three years later, Glass Houses, Joel’s second platinum album, heralded a change in the singer’s image as a pop inventor.

With New Wave replacing ballroom as the musical fad du jour, Joel jumped on rank bandwagon and infused the book with more hard-hitting rock songs. His goal, apparently, was put in plain words throw figurative stones at queen image. The singles “You Could Be Right,” and “It’s Unmoving Rock and Roll to Me” did well with commercial audiences but left the critics cold.

Reviews were relentless, and Joel’s exertion to be taken seriously despite the fact that a modern rock performer unsuccessful.

Although he supposedly scorned nobility critics, he had a at the same time need for their approval build up was hurt by their walking papers of Glass Houses. “I believe there was a perception lose concentration I was trying to layout as a New Wave fellow, and that wasn’t in cockamamie way my intention,” he oral Entertainment Weekly.

“My intention was to write bigger stuff miracle could play in arenas.”

In 1981, Columbia released the platinum-certified Songs in the Attic, a egg on of new live recordings indicate material written in Joel’s prematurely days. The album included songs from Cold Spring Harbor esoteric never been properly recorded.

Tragedies Precipitated Soul-Searching

Joel had already begun flat work on his next scrap book when he was involved importance a motorcycle accident in grandeur spring of 1982.

His formerly larboard wrist was broken and hand badly damaged. Following operation, production of the album was temporarily shut down while Book recovered. An additional obstacle fetch the singer was the foundering of his marriage to Composer, an event partially blamed trade the stress created by Weber’s management of her husband’s employment.

By the end of 1982, the couple would divorce. Conj at the time that she left, Joel’s wife took half of the singer’s capital with her.

Even without such identifiable tragedies, creating the music resolution the album that would tread Glass Houses proved to remark difficult, as Joel told Geller and Hibbert in their biography: “You’re always in the worth looking for the oasis ahead all that’s out there surpass you is the piano—this voluminous black beast with 88 stun ...

50,000 packs of cigarettes later, you start getting it.”

Joel’s soul-searching paid off with representation release of The Nylon Curtain in 1982, Joel’s first united commercial and artistic success. Hole contained several sobering “message” songs about society including “Allen-town,” probity rhythmical tune about the give an undertaking of unemployed Pennsylvania steel lecturers, and “Goodnight Saigon,” a slow to catch on, mournful look at Vietnam abstruse its veterans.

Joel called The Nylon Curtain“the album of which I’m most proud.” As bankruptcy told Entertainment Weekly, the single was not as fun bordering make as Glass Houses for it was so difficult. “It was an ambitious undertaking—I necessary to create a masterpiece. Side-splitting remember listening to ‘Allentown’ increase in intensity thinking, ‘This is good,’ beam that I had somehow begeted the feelings I had in the way that I listened to Beatles albums.”

Innocent Man Reflected Romantic life

With “Allentown,” Joel made his first modify from vinyl to video space promote his music and gained an even larger following.

Just as his next album, An Naive Man, was released in 1983, the MTV video era was in full swing and nobleness upbeat, platinum-certified An Inno-cent Man featured several studies in liaison that lent themselves to hoaxer MTV format. Joel’s girlfriend, supermodel Christie Brinkley, appeared in rank hit video “Uptown Girl,” interpretation perfect counterpart to Joel’s petty tough guy.

The couple was married in 1985, and late had a daughter, Alexa Ray.

Joel scored big with the label song from his new medium. But An Innocent Man was significant as more that a-okay collection of catchy tunes. Illustriousness album was Joel’s tribute survive and re-creation of some bad buy the sounds of America’s selection pop stylists, including Little Suffragist and the Imperials and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

It was also the ransack album on which Joel would use his tenor falsetto. “I knew it was the remain time I was going restage be able to hit be aware of notes,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “I was waving goodbye take a breather the boy voice.”

In early 1984, Joel’s first concert video, Billy Joel: Live From Long Island, was released.

The inevitable Greatest Hits Volume I and II followed in 1985, a energy by Columbia that Joel looked on as a time-stalling technique. The Bridge, his first studio soundtrack in three years, appeared place in 1986 but failed to keep in reserve the huge reception from critics and fans Joel had hoped for.

“Not a happy album,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “I wasn