William Joseph Martin "Billy" Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter. He released his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973. According to the RIAA, he is the sixth best-selling recording artist in the United States.[1]
Joel had Top 10 hits in the '70s, '80s, and '90s; is a six-time Grammy Award winner; and has sold in excess of 150 million albums worldwide.[2] He was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame (Class of 1992), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Class of 1999), and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (Class of 2006). Joel retired from recording pop music in 1993 but continued to tour (sometimes with Elton John). In 2001 he subsequently released Fantasies & Delusions, a CD of classical compositions for piano. In 2007 he returned to recording with a single entitled "All My Life", followed by an extensive "World Tour" from 2005-2007, covering many of the major world cities.
+ Early years
Born in the Bronx, New York, Joel was raised in Hicksville, New York. His father Howard (born Helmut) was originally from Germany, where his father (Billy Joel's grandfather) Karl Amson Joel had owned the fourth-largest mail order company in Germany before being dispossessed by the Nazis. His mother, Rosalind Nyman, was born in England, to a Jewish family (Philip and Rebecca Nyman). His parents divorced in 1960, and his father moved back to Vienna, Austria. Billy has a sister, Judith Joel, and a half-brother Alexander Joel, who is an acclaimed classical pianist and conductor in Europe, now living in New York.[3]
From an early age, Joel had an intense interest in music, especially European classical music. His father was an accomplished classical pianist. Billy reluctantly began piano lessons at an early age at his mother's insistence, including with the noted American pianist Morton Estrin[4] and musician/songwriter, Timothy Ford. His interest in music instead of sports was the source of teasing and bullying in his early years. (He has said in interviews that his piano instructor also taught ballet. This led neighborhood bullies to mistakenly think he was learning to dance.) As a teenager, Joel took up boxing so that he would be able to defend himself. He boxed successfully on the amateur Golden Gloves circuit for a short time (winning twenty-two bouts), but abandoned the sport shortly after having his nose broken in his twenty-fourth boxing match.
Joel attended Hicksville High School, and he was supposed to graduate in 1967. However, he was one English credit short of the graduation requirement; he overslept on the day of an important exam due to his late-night musician's lifestyle.[5] Faced with a summer in school to complete this requirement, he decided not to continue. He left high school without a diploma to begin a career in music. Despite the Vietnam War and the draft, Joel performed no military service - because he was the sole provider for his mother and sister, the selective service gave him a draft exemption. In 1992, the English credit requirement was waived by the Hicksville School Board and he received his diploma at Hicksville High's graduation ceremony 25 years after he left the school.
+ Musical career
Upon seeing the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, Joel decided to pursue a full-time musical career, and set about finding a local Long Island band to join. Eventually he found the Echoes, a group that specialized in British Invasion covers. The Echoes became a popular New York attraction, convincing him to quit high school to become a professional musician. He began playing for the Echoes when he was 14 years old.[6]
Joel began playing recording sessions with the Echoes in 1965, when he was 16 years old. Joel played piano on several recordings Shadow Morton produced, including the Shangri-Las' Leader of the Pack, as well as several records released through Kama Sutra Productions. During this time, the Echoes started to play numerous late-night shows.
Later in 1965, the Echoes changed their name to the Emeralds and then to the Lost Souls. For two years, he played sessions and performed with the Lost Souls. In 1967, he left that band to join the Hassles, a local Long Island band that had signed a contract with United Artists Records. Over the next year and a half, they released The Hassles in 1967 and Hour of the Wolf in 1968, and four singles, all of which failed commercially. Following The Hassles' demise in 1969, he formed the duo Attila with Hassles drummer Jon Small. Attila released their eponymous debut album in July 1970 and disbanded the following October.
Most records have the recording company as the named owner of the recording. Billy Joel is one of a number of performers--such as Paul Simon, Johnny Rivers, Pink Floyd (from 1975's Wish You Were Here onward), Queen, Genesis under the members' individual names and/or the pseudonym Gelring Limited, and Neil Diamond--who have their name as the copyright owner on their recordings.
+ Awards and achievements
Despite having never graduated from high school due to a missed exam,[12] Joel has been presented with multiple honorary doctorates:
Doctor of Humane Letters from Fairfield University (1991)
Doctor from Berklee College of Music (1993)
Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University (1997)
Doctor of Music from Southampton College (2000)
Doctor of Fine Arts from Syracuse University (2006)[3]
High School Diploma awarded 25 years after he left by the School Board
Joel was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio in 1999. Billy Joel was the tie breaker in the battle of which city would get the hall. Seven of Joel's fellow artists favored San Francisco, while seven other artists favored Cleveland. Joel was asked to be the tie breaker. He voted in favor of Cleveland. On his tours, Cleveland is one of his favorite cities to play and perform in.
Joel was also named MusiCares Person of the Year for 2002 [4], an award given each year at the same time as the Grammy Awards. At the dinner honoring Joel, various artists performed versions of his songs including Nelly Furtado, Stevie Wonder, Jon Bon Jovi, Diana Krall, Rob Thomas, and Natalie Cole. He was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on Oct. 15, 2006. In 2005, Joel was put in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Joel has banners in the rafters of the Times Union Center, Nassau Coliseum, Madison Square Garden, Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, and Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, and was the first to perform a concert at Yankee Stadium in New York City.
+ Marriages
Joel married his business manager Elizabeth Weber (Elizabeth Small) on September 5, 1973, and they divorced on July 20, 1982.
Joel married Christie Brinkley on March 23, 1985. Their daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, was born January 1, 1986. Alexa was given the middle name of Ray after Ray Charles, one of Joel's musical idols. Joel and Brinkley's marriage ended in divorce on August 25, 1994, although the couple remain quite friendly.
On October 2, 2004, Joel married 26 year-old culinary artist Katie Lee. At the time of the wedding, Joel was 55. Joel's daughter, Alexa Ray, then 18, served as maid of honor. Joel's second wife, Christie Brinkley, attended the union and gave the couple her blessing. Lee works as a restaurant correspondent for the PBS show, George Hirsch: Living it Up!. In 2006, Katie Lee hosted Bravo's Top Chef. She did not return for a 2nd season, but rather went on tour with her husband. She now has a weekly column in Hamptons Magazine, and is a field correspondent for the entertainment television show Extra.
+ MORE INFORMATIONS:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Joel
Music 4 World - Billy Joel (POP) - Biography - William Joseph Martin `Billy` Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter. He released his first hit song, `Piano Man`, in 1973. Accordin
