Billy Joel

One of the greatest American pianists and singers, William Martial Joel, was born in New York May 9, 1949. Aged four, he already started learning to play piano. He gave his first performance in 1965, as a member of The Echoes. In two years Billy joined another band, The Hassles. With only two albums released, this formation collapsed. The next step in Joel’s career was the creation of the Attila duet. The music they played was too complicated for the audience to accept and understand which destined their only album to be a desperate failure. Music misfortunes and troubles in personal life broke Joel’s spirit. He tried to poison himself, but survived with the help of doctors. In 1971, Billy launched his own career. The opening move was an extremely disadvantageous contract with the LA Family Productions. The first release became a real flop due to its poor recording.

The track list of Joel’s promotional tour for his debut album included the new song Captain Jack. This composition made his personality interesting to the managers of Columbia Records. It took the singer many efforts to get rid of obligations imposed by the old contract, but in the end the victory was his. The opening track from Piano Man (1973) was Billy’s first big hit to enter Top 20. The album itself was not a good seller at once. It achieved great commercial success in several years after the rise of Joel’s star and eventually sold over four million copies. The subsequent release was a flop and forced Joel to go back to New York. There, he found himself new musicians. Billy’s next album, Turnstiles did not come up to his expectation despite having some remarkable songs like New York State of Mind, or Say Goodbye To Hollywood. Joel made a breakthrough with the 1977 release of The Stranger, one of the best Columbia Records products in the entire history of the company. This album featured four tracks entering Top 40. It earned Joel his first Grammy. The two following studio works were also good sellers and musically interesting. They presented a new variety of rock-n-roll performed basically with piano and drums without guitars.

In 1981, Billy Joel recorded his first live album, Songs in the Attic. It was a collection of primarily unknown songs penned by the musician at the beginning of his career. This release easily earned the platinum status. During the session for the next studio album, Billy experienced a bike crash and a divorce. Despite all the difficulties, he managed to produce a powerful release The Nylon Curtain, running seventh on Billboard. In 1985, Billy Joel delivered two volumes of his best hits. In two years, he became the first American musician to give a concert in the Soviet Union. The performance was recorded and released as the Концерт (Concert) album. The last studio effort by Joel was River of Dreams (1993), debuting first on Billboard. The singer continued his music career only as a concert performer. One of the reasons for stopping the studio activities was alcohol abuse Billy had been struggling with for years. Nevertheless, he remained The performance was recorded and released as the Концерт (Concert) album. The studio Album River of Dreams appeared in 1993, debuting first on Billboard. One of the reasons for holding up the studio activities was alcohol abuse Billy had been struggling with for years. But his record 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert was released in 2000, and in 2001 the studio album Fantasies & Delusions, including classical compositions, was issued. Record Piano Man: The Very Best Of appeared in 2004, and it included the best compositions if Billy. Compilation of songs performed during concerts at Madison Square Garden, titled 12 Gardens Live was released in 2006. Billy Joel remained a perfect stage performer touring alone and accompanied by Elton John. Billy Joel was inducted to the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.