See Bill Joel at a Venue Near You!
Billy attended Hicksville High School, but stopped just one credit short of graduating after oversleeping on the day of his final exam. He chose to leave high school instead of face Summer School. Billy would receive his diploma 25 years later, after the school board waived his final credit requirement.
1964 Billy saw the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan show. It was a pivotal moment that made young Billy decide to pursue a career in music full-time. A 14-year old Billy eventually ended up in a band called the Echoes, which specialized in British Invasion cover songs. The Echoes became well known in New York. So much so that Billy quit school completely. The echoes began recording in 1965. He played piano on several other groups releases, including the Shangri-Las "Leader of the Pack." Later that year, the Echoes changed their name to the Emeralds and then to the Lost Souls.
In 1967, Billy left the Lost Souls for the band the Hassles. This band had a contract with United Artists records. The Hassles recorded two albums and four singles, all of which failed to go anywhere. Eventually, the Hassles broke up. Billy joined up with their drummer to form the duo, Attila. Attila recorded one album in 1970 and broke up the following year.
Billy put out his first solo record in 1971, called "Cold Spring Harbor." The album was mixed and mastered at the wrong speed and was released by mistake. The recording made Billy's voice sound a higher than it actually was. In 1972, a Philadelphia radio station began playing a tape of Billy's new song "Captain Jack." The song became a cult hit on the East Coast. It garnered the attention of a Columbia records executive named Herb Gordon, who in turn passed it on to his bosses. Billy signed a contract with Columbia and moved to Los Angeles later that year. He has stated since then, that his 3 years in LA were the biggest mistake of his life. He returned to New York in 1975.
While in LA, Billy spent time at a piano bar to pay the bills. This experience became the inspiration behind "The Piano Man." Joel put out several albums on Columbia, including "Piano Man", "Streetlife Serenade", "Turnstiles", "The Stranger", "52nd Street", and "Glass Houses." 1981 saw the release of "Songs in the Attic", which re-released many of Billy's earlier recordings, including many songs that were on the mistakenly released "Cold Spring Harbor" album. Beginning with "The Stranger", Billy began a progression of hits and that have now become a part of the American pop songbook. Songs such as "Just the Way You Are" and "Only the Good Die Young" have made Billy an artist for a lifetime.
In 1982, Billy released "The Nylon Curtain", an album considered to have been heavily influenced by Billy's boyhood idols, The Beatles. It was during a break from the tour for the album that Billy met his eventually second wife and inspiration for one his greatest hits, supermodel Christie Brinkley. Billy wrote "Uptown Girl" for Christie and she would go on to star in the video for the song. His album " An Innocent Man" was more of a 1950's and 60's stylized record, with doowop-like vocals. The album scored Billy his second #1 hit song, "Tell Her About It."
After "An Innocent Man", Billy released a two volume greatest hits compilation, as well as the original album "The Bridge." Billy then was asked to be one a handful of artist to perform in the former Soviet Union, playing two shows in Moscow and Leningrad in 1987. Billy released a live album from the concerts the following year.
In 1989, Billy released "Storm Front", which included the smash hit single "We Didn't Start The Fire." His next album, "River of Dreams" was released in 1993. Since that time, Billy has released a series of albums of different bodies of work, including classical pieces, demos and b-sides. He has performed on successful tours with Elton John and at a Millennium concert on New Years Eve 1999. His music has been turned in a Broadway musical, with choreography by Tony winner Twyla Tharp. Although he has released no new work in over 14 years, Billy continues to tour worldwide.