William Martin Joel (/dʒoʊl/; born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Piano Man" after hissignature 1973song of the same name,[1][2] Joel has had a successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s. From 1971 to 1993, he released 12 studio albums spanning the genres of pop and rock, and in 2001 released a one-off studio album of classical compositions. With over 160 million records sold worldwide, Joel is one of the world'sbest-selling music artists[3] and is the fourth-best-selling solo artist in the United States.[4] His 1985 compilation album,Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II, is one of thebest-selling albums in the U.S.[5]
William Martin Joel was born on May 9, 1949, in theBronx,New York.[11] At age one, he moved with his family toHicksville in the town ofOyster Bay onLong Island. Joel and his cousin Judy, whom his parents adopted,[12] were raised in a nondescript house similar to those in nearbyLevittown.[13]
His mother, Rosalind (1922–2014),[14] was born inBrooklyn toJewish parents, Philip and Rebecca Nyman, who emigrated from England.[15] Billy's father, Howard (born Helmut) Joel (1923–2011), an accomplished amateur classical pianist[16][17] and businessman, was born inNuremberg, Germany[17] to a Jewish family, the only child of merchant and manufacturerKarl Amson Joel, and educated inSwitzerland. In 1928, Karl Joel set up a prosperous mail-order textile company, Joel Macht Fabrik, which within 10 years had become the second largest of its type in Germany. Escaping theNazi regime, Karl, his wife and young son emigrated to Switzerland.[18] Following the passing of laws which prevented Jews from owning property and businesses, in 1938 he was forced to sell his company toJosef Neckermann for a fraction of its true value.[19] As direct entry to the United States was difficult forGerman Jews due to strict quotas imposed by theImmigration Act of 1924, the family reached the country viaCuba, where they arrived in early 1939 and stayed for nearly two years.[17][20] In the United States, Howard became an engineer but always loved music.
Joel's parents met in 1942, whilst taking part in a production ofGilbert and Sullivan's comic operaThe Pirates of Penzance at theCity College of New York.[21][22] He has said that neither of his parents talked much aboutWorld War II. It was not until later that Joel learned more about his father's family. After Rosalind and Howard Joel divorced in 1957, Howard returned to Europe, as he had never liked the United States: he considered the people uneducated and materialistic.[17] Howard settled inVienna, Austria, and later remarried. Joel has a half-brother,Alexander Joel, born to his father in England, who became a classical conductor in Europe and was the chief musical director of theStaatstheater Braunschweig from 2001 to 2014.[23][24]
At age four, Joel began taking piano lessons reluctantly at his mother's insistence, after he started banging on the piano in the family home.[16] He continued with formal tuition until about the age of 16,[17] his teachers including the noted American pianistMorton Estrin[25] and musician Timothy Ford.[26] When learning a new piece, he would sometimes improvise in the style of its composer to avoid reading the music.[27] Joel has said that he is a better organist than a pianist.[28] As a teenager, Joel took upboxing and competed on the amateurGolden Gloves circuit as awelterweight.[29][30] He abandoned the sport after his nose was broken, having won 22 of his 26 fights.[31][32]
Although Joel's parents were Jewish, he did not grow up in the religion. Joel stated: "I was not brought up Jewish in any religious way. Mycircumcision was as Jewish as they got."[33] He attendeda Roman Catholic church with friends. At age 11, Joel was baptized in aChurch of Christ in Hicksville. He now identifies as aJewish atheist.[7][34][35][36][37]
Joel attendedHicksville High School until 1967 but did not graduate with his class. He was playing at a piano bar to help support himself, his mother and sister, and missed a crucial English exam after playing a late-night gig the evening before.[16] Although Joel was a comparatively strong student, at the end of his senior year, he did not have enough credits to graduate. Rather than attend summer school to earn his diploma, Joel decided to begin a music career: "I told them, 'To hell with it. If I'm not going toColumbia University, I'm going toColumbia Records, and you don't need a high school diploma over there'."[38] In 1992, he submitted essays to the school board in lieu of the missed exam. They were accepted, and he was awarded his diploma at Hicksville High's annual graduation ceremony 25 years after leaving.[39]
That one performance changed my life... Up to that moment I'd never considered playing rock as a career... (W)hen I saw four guys who didn't look like they'd come out of the Hollywood star mill, who played their own songs and instruments, and especially because you could see this look inJohn Lennon's face—and he looked like he was always saying: '---- you!'—I said: 'I know these guys, I can relate to these guys, I am these guys. This is what I'm going to do—play in a rock band'.
At age 16, Joel joined the Echoes,[46] a group which specialized inBritish Invasion covers. The Echoes began recording in 1965. Joel played piano on several records released throughKama Sutra Productions and on recordings produced byShadow Morton. He played on ademo version of "Leader of the Pack", which in 1964 became a major hit forthe Shangri-Las,[47] and has said that he was also on the demo ormaster recording of their song "Remember (Walking in the Sand)".[48] The released single included a co-producer credit forArtie Ripp,[49] who later was the first to sign and produce Joel as a solo artist afterMichael Lang, who had given Joel a monetary advance, passed Joel along to Ripp to focus his attentions elsewhere.[50]
In late 1965,[citation needed] the Echoes changed their name briefly to the Emeralds, and then to the Lost Souls.[51] Joel left the band in 1967 to jointhe Hassles, a Long Island group that had signed withUnited Artists Records.[52] Over the next year and a half, they released four singles and two albums (The Hassles andHour of the Wolf). However, all were commercial failures. Joel and drummer Jon Small, who would eventually direct his music videos starting in the late 1970s, left the Hassles in 1969 to form the duoAttila, releasing aneponymous debut album in July 1970. The duo disbanded the following October when Joel began an affair with Small's wife, Elizabeth. The pair later married.[53]
Joel signed a contract with the record company Family Productions,[16][54] with which he recorded his first solo album,Cold Spring Harbor, named forCold Spring Harbor, a hamlet on his nativeLong Island. Artie Ripp, owner of Family Productions, states that he spent US$450,000 developing Joel;[54] nevertheless, the album was mastered at too high a speed and was a technical and commercial disappointment.[55]
The popular songs "She's Got a Way" and "Everybody Loves You Now" were first released on this album, but went largely unnoticed until live versions were included onSongs in the Attic(1981). Columbia released a remastered version ofCold Spring Harbor in 1983, with certain songs shortened or re-orchestrated.[55]
On April 15, 1972,WMMR-FM radio inPhiladelphia featured a live broadcast of Joel performing 12 songs, and a recording of the set was played several times by stationDJ Jonathan Takiff on his late-night weekend show. As a result, "Captain Jack" became the most requested track in the station's history, and after receiving regular airplay, was soon an underground hit on theEast Coast.[57][58] Herb Gordon, aColumbia Records executive, heard Joel's music and brought him to the attention of company presidentClive Davis.[59] Joel signed a recording contract with the label in 1972 and moved to Los Angeles, where he lived for the next three years.[41][23] For six months, Joel worked at The Executive Roompiano bar onWilshire Boulevard as "Bill Martin".[16] While not playing his own material, it was during this period that he composed his signature song "Piano Man", about the bar's patrons.[60][61] Though there was a bar called The Executive Room on Wilshire and Gramercy,[62] numerous witnessess who saw Billy Joel perform in 1973 described the bar as being in the lobby of a large office building on the corner of Wilshire and Western,[63] indicating that the bar likely had a secondary location during that period.
Although now signed to Columbia, Joel was still obliged to pay Archie Ripp and Michael Lang a share of his royalties from album sales. In 1981, when his contract was renegotiated, the company agreed to cover these payments itself. President ofCBS/Columbia RecordsWalter Yetnikoff also bought the publishing rights to Joel's songs owned by Ripp,[64] which he then gave to the artist as a birthday gift. Yetnikoff noted in the 2010 documentaryThe Last Play at Shea that he had to threaten Ripp to close the deal.[65][66]
A 1973 promotional photo of Joel forPiano Man
Joel's first album with Columbia wasPiano Man (1973). Despite modest sales, the album's title track became his signature song, ending nearly every concert. That same year, Joel's touring band changed. Guitarist Al Hertzberg was replaced by Don Evans, and bassist Larry Russell by Patrick McDonald, himself replaced in late 1974 byDoug Stegmeyer,[citation needed] who stayed with Joel until 1989.[67] Rhys Clark returned as drummer and Tom Whitehorse as banjoist and pedal steel player;Johnny Almond joined as saxophonist and keyboardist. The band toured the U.S. and Canada extensively, appearing on popular music shows. Joel's songwriting began attracting more attention; in 1974,Helen Reddy recorded thePiano Man track "You're My Home".
In 1974, Joel recorded his second Columbia album in Los Angeles,Streetlife Serenade. His manager at the time was Jon Troy, an old friend from New York'sBedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood; Troy was soon replaced by Joel's wife Elizabeth.[68]Streetlife Serenade contains references tosuburbia and theinner city. It is perhaps best known for "The Entertainer", a No. 34 hit in the U.S. Upset that "Piano Man" had been significantly cut for radio play, Joel wrote "The Entertainer" as a sarcastic response: "If you're gonna have a hit, you gotta make it fit, so they cut it down to 3:05." AlthoughStreetlife Serenade was viewed unfavorably by critics,[69][70] it contains the notable songs "Los Angelenos" and "Root Beer Rag", aninstrumental that was a staple of his live set in the 1970s.
In late 1975, Joel played piano and organ on several tracks onBo Diddley'sThe 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll all-star album.
Not long after the release ofStreetlife Serenade, Joel began working on his next album,Turnstiles, atCaribou Ranch studio inColorado. The difficult project began withMichael Stewart as producer, thenJames William Guercio took over before Stewart was brought in again. Using members ofElton John's backing bandDee Murray andNigel Olsson, as well assession musicians, half the songs had been recorded when Joel decided the results were less than satisfactory. Also disenchanted with Los Angeles, where he encountered anti-New York sentiment, he returned to the East Coastmetropolis in 1975, seeking inspiration in thecity's troubles.[71][72] Now with himself as producer, he rerecorded and completed the album, which when released in 1976, was the first to feature hisregular touring band.[73]
During theTurnstiles tour, Joel's wife Elizabeth phonedGeorge Martin in an attempt to recruit him as the producer for Joel's next album, but having seen the artist play live atGlassboro State College inNew Jersey, Martin declined the invitation. Prior to the tour, Joel had expressed to his wife a desire to work withPhil Ramone at some point. She now contacted the legendary producer, who attended Joel's concert at New York'sCarnegie Hall on June 2, 1977 (as didDon DeVito from Columbia Records, who brought with him a recording truck to tape the show). Impressed by what he saw, Ramone went on to produce all seven studio albums Joel recorded from 1977 to 1986.[74][75]
Their first collaboration,The Stranger (1977), was an enormous commercial success and "established Joel as a household name".[76][77] The album yielded four Top-25 hits on theBillboard charts: "Just the Way You Are" (No. 3), "Movin' Out" (No. 17), "Only the Good Die Young" (No. 24) and "She's Always a Woman" (No. 17). Joel's first Top Ten album,The Strangerreached number two on the charts and was certified multi-platinum, bestingSimon & Garfunkel'sBridge over Troubled Water[78] as Columbia's previous bestselling album. "Just the Way You Are" — written for Joel's first wife, Elizabeth Weber[79] — was inspired by a dream[80] and wonGrammy awards forRecord of the Year andSong of the Year.[81] On tour in Paris, Joel learned the news late one night in a hotel room.[46] It also featured "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", analbum-oriented rock classic, which has become one of his best-known songs. It is one of Joel's favorite of his own songs, which has become a firm staple of his live shows,[82] and "Vienna", also one of Joel's personal favorites,[83][84] and one of his most streamed songs on the internet as of 2022.[85]Rolling Stone later rankedThe Stranger the 70th greatest album of all time.[86]
A 1978 promotional photo of Joel for52nd Street
Joel released52nd Street in 1978, naming it after Manhattan's52nd Street, which, at the time of its release, served as the world headquarters ofCBS/Columbia. The album sold over seven million copies, propelled to number one on the charts by the hits "My Life" (No. 3), "Big Shot" (No. 14) and "Honesty" (No. 24). A cover of "My Life" by Gary Bennett became the theme for the television sitcomBosom Buddies.52nd Street also won Grammy awards forBest Pop Vocal Performance, Male and Album of the Year.
In 1978, Joel gave his first of what would go on to be at least 150 shows at New York City'sMadison Square Garden. In 2025, Joel described playing at the arena as being a "dream come true".[87] He currently dominates the record for most concerts performed at Madison Square Garden.[88]
The success of his piano-driven ballads like "Just the Way You Are", "She's Always a Woman" and "Honesty" led some critics to label Joel a "balladeer" and "soft rocker". He thought these labels were unfair and insulting, and withGlass Houses, Joel tried to record an album that proved that he could rock harder than his critics gave him credit for, occasionally imitating and referring to the style ofnew wave rock music that was starting to become popular.[citation needed] Joel stated that the album cover, which pictured him wearing a leather jacket and about to throw a rock at a window of hisLong Island home, was intended as a riposte to his image as a "mellow balladeer".[94]
Glass Houses spent six weeks at the top of theBillboard album chart,[95] yielding the hits "You May Be Right" (No. 7, May 1980), "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me", (No. 1, July 1980), "Don't Ask Me Why" (No. 19, September 1980) and "Sometimes a Fantasy" (No. 36, November 1980).[citation needed] The latter song gave its name to a 15-minute promotional film featuring both music and dialog, which as Joel's first venture of this kind, he wrote and directed himself.[96] "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" was his first number one on theBillboard Hot 100,[97] where it spent 11 weeks in the top 10 and became the ninth biggest-selling single of the year.[98] His five sold-out shows atMadison Square Garden in 1980 earned him the venue'sGold Ticket Award for selling more than 100,000 tickets.[99][100]
Glass Houses won the 1981 Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male.[101] It also won theAmerican Music Award for Favorite Album, Pop/Rock category. The album's closing song, "Through the Long Night" (B-side of the "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me" single), was a lullaby that featured Joel harmonizing with himself in a song he says was inspired bythe Beatles' "Yes It Is".[citation needed] In a recordedmaster class at theUniversity of Pennsylvania, Joel recalled that he had written to the Beatles asking them how to get started in the music industry. In response, he received a pamphlet about Beatles merchandise. This later led to the idea of Joel conducting Q&A sessions around the world answering questions that people had about the music industry.[102]
Joel's next release,Songs in the Attic, was composed of live performances of lesser-known songs from the beginning of his career. It was recorded at larger US arenas and in intimate nightclub shows in June and July 1980. This release introduced many fans, who discovered Joel whenThe Stranger became a smash in 1977, to many of his earlier compositions.[103] The album reached No. 8 on theBillboard chart and produced two hit singles: "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (No. 17), and "She's Got a Way" (No. 23). It sold over three million copies. Although not as successful as some of his previous albums, it was still considered a success by Joel.[56]
The next wave of Joel's career commenced with the recording ofThe Nylon Curtain. With it, Joel became more ambitious with his songwriting, which included highly topical songs like "Allentown" and "Goodnight Saigon". Joel has stated that he wanted the album to communicate his feelings aboutthe American Dream and how changes in American politics during theReagan administration meant that "all of a sudden you weren't going to be able to inherit [the kind of life] your old man had."[104] He also tried to be more ambitious in his use of the recording studio. Joel said that he wanted to "create a sonic masterpiece" onThe Nylon Curtain. So he spent more time in the studio, crafting the sound of the album, than he had on any previous album.[104] Production ofThe Nylon Curtain began in the fall of 1981, but was delayed for several months after Joel was involved in a serious motorcycle accident on April 15, 1982. The bone in his left thumb was crushed and his other wrist dislocated in the incident, when he hit and was flipped over a car which had run a red light at an intersection on Long Island.[105][106]
The Nylon Curtain went to No. 7 on the charts, partially due to heavy airplay on MTV for the videos to the singles "Allentown" and "Pressure", both directed byRussell Mulcahy.
Joel's next album moved away from the serious themes ofThe Nylon Curtain and struck a much lighter tone.An Innocent Man was Joel's tribute toR&B anddoo wop music of the 1950s and 1960s and resulted in Joel's secondBillboard number-one hit, "Tell Her About It", which was the first single off the album in the summer of 1983. The album itself reached No. 4 on the charts and No. 2 in UK. It also boasted six top-30 singles, the most of any album in Joel's catalog. The album was well received by critics, withStephen Thomas Erlewine, senior editor for AllMusic, describing Joel as being "in top form as a craftsman throughout the record, effortlessly spinning out infectious, memorable melodies in a variety of styles."[111]
At the time that the album was released,WCBS-FM began playing "Uptown Girl" both in regular rotation and on theDoo Wop Live.[112][full citation needed] The song became a worldwide hit when released as a single. Originally entitled "Uptown Girls", it was inspired by a chance encounter withChristie Brinkley,Whitney Houston, andElle Macpherson, who were on a modelling assignment in theCaribbean when they approached Joel whilst he was playing the piano in the bar of their hotel (where he was a holiday guest).[113][114] The accompanying music video featured Brinkley as a high-society girl who pulls herRolls-Royce into the gas station where Joel's character is working. At the end of the video, Joel's "grease monkey" character drives off with his "uptown girl" on the back of a motorcycle.[115] When Brinkley went to visit Joel after being asked to star in the video, the first thing Joel said to her upon opening his door was "I don't dance". Brinkley had to walk him through the basic steps he does in the video. Their work together on this video shoot sparked a relationship between the two which led to their marriage in 1985.[citation needed]
In December,the title song was released as a single and it peaked at No. 10 in the U.S. and No. 8 in the UK, early in 1984. That March, "The Longest Time" was released as a single, peaking at No. 14 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. That summer, "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" was released and it hit No. 27 while "Keeping the Faith" peaked at No. 18 in January 1985.[citation needed] In the video for "Keeping the Faith", Brinkley appears as a passenger in aconvertibleChevrolet.[116]An Innocent Man was also nominated for the Album of the Year Grammy, but lost toMichael Jackson'sThriller.
Joel (second row, second from left) with other musicians for the recording of "We Are the World", January 1985
Joel participated in the USA for Africa "We Are the World" project in 1985. FollowingAn Innocent Man, Joel was asked about releasing an album of his most successful singles. This was not the first time this topic had come up, but Joel had initially consideredgreatest hits albums as marking the end of one's career. This time he agreed, andGreatest Hits Vol. 1 and 2 was released as a four-sided album and two-CD set, with the songs in the order in which they were released. The new songs "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" and "The Night Is Still Young" were recorded and released as singles to support the album; both reached the top 40, peaking at No. 9 and No. 34, respectively.Greatest Hits was highly successful and it has since been certifieddouble diamond by theRIAA, with over 11.5 million copies (23 million units) sold. It is one of thebest-selling albums in American music history, according to the RIAA.
Coinciding with theGreatest Hits album release, Joel released a two-volumeVideo Album that was a compilation of the promotional videos he had recorded from 1977 to that time. Along with videos for the new singles off theGreatest Hits album, Joel also recorded a video for his first hit, "Piano Man", for this project.
Joel's next album,The Bridge (1986), did not achieve the level of success of his previous albums, but it yielded the hits "A Matter of Trust" and "Modern Woman" (both No. 10) from the filmRuthless People, a dark comedy from the directors ofAirplane!. The ballad "This is the Time" also charted, peaking at No. 18. On November 18, 1986, an extended version of "Big Man on Mulberry Street" was used on a Season 3 episode ofMoonlighting.The Bridge was Joel's last album to carry the Family Productions logo, after which he severed his ties with Artie Ripp. Joel was unsatisfied with most of the songs onThe Bridge, but his record company denied a request for time to produce better material.[117] In a 2008 interview, he described it as "not a good album'.[118]
In October 1986, Joel and his team started planning a trip to theSoviet Union.[119] This was realized the following July, when he arrived in the country with his wife, daughter Alexa, and full touring band. Following an improvised performance inTbilisi, Joel gave six concerts at indoor arenas in Moscow andLeningrad, to a combined audience possibly in excess of 100,000 people.[120][121] The entourage was filmed for television and video to offset the cost of the trip, and the concerts were simulcast on radio around the world. Joel's Russian tour was the first live rock radio broadcast in Soviet history.[122] The tour was later cited frequently as one of the first fully staged pop rock shows to come to the Soviet Union, although in reality other artists had previously toured in the country, including Elton John,James Taylor, andBonnie Raitt.[123]
Most of that audience took a long while to warm up to Joel's energetic show, something that had never happened in other countries he had performed in. According to Joel, each time the fans were hit with the bright lights, anybody who seemed to be enjoying themselves froze. In addition, people who were "overreacting" were removed by security.[124] During this concert, Joel, enraged by the bright lights, flipped his electric piano and snapped a microphone stand while continuing to sing.[125][126] Joel later apologized for the incident.[126]
The concerts in Russia came after an intensive series of European shows and after doing interviews during the day, Joel found himself playing at venues where thePA system was "second rate at best".[120] Released against his wishes in October 1987,Kohuept (Russian for "Concert"), a livedouble album recorded during the tour, included cover versions ofBob Dylan's "The Times They Are a-Changin" and "Back in the U.S.S.R." by the Beatles. The latter was released as a single but failed to make the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, and the album was Joel's first sinceCold Spring Harbor not to achieve gold disc status.[127][128] Singer Pete Hewlett was brought in to hit the high notes on his most vocally challenging songs, like "An Innocent Man". It has been estimated that Joel lost more than US$1 million of his own money on the trip and concerts, but he has said the goodwill he was shown there was well worth it.[citation needed]
The animated filmOliver & Company (1988) features Joel in a rarevoice acting role as Dodger, a sarcasticJack Russell based onDickens'sArtful Dodger. The character's design is based on Joel's image at the time, including his trademark Wayfarer sunglasses. Joel also sang his character's song "Why Should I Worry?".
The recording ofStorm Front, which commenced in 1988, coincided with major changes in Joel's career and inaugurated a period of serious upheaval in his business affairs. In August 1989, just before the album was released, Joel dismissed his manager (and former brother-in-law) Frank Weber after an audit revealed major discrepancies in Weber's accounting. Joel subsequently sued Weber for US$90 million, claiming fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, and in January 1990, Joel was awarded US$2 million in a partial judgment against Weber; in April, the court dismissed a US$30 million countersuit filed by Weber.[129]
The first single for the album, "We Didn't Start the Fire", was released in September 1989 and it became Joel's third—and most recent—US number-one hit, spending two weeks at the top.Storm Front was released in October, and it eventually became Joel's first number-one album sinceGlass Houses, nine years earlier.Storm Front was Joel's first album sinceTurnstiles to be recorded without Phil Ramone as producer. For this album, he wanted a new sound, and worked withMick Jones ofForeigner. Joel is also credited as one of the keyboard players on Jones's 1988 self-titled solo album, and is featured in the official video for Jones's single "Just Wanna Hold"; Joel can be seen playing the piano while his then-wife Christie Brinkley joins him and kisses him. Joel also revamped his backing band, dismissing everyone but drummerLiberty DeVitto, guitarist David Brown, and saxophone playerMark Rivera, and bringing in new faces, including multi-instrumentalistCrystal Taliefero.
Storm Front's second single, "I Go to Extremes" reached No. 6 in early 1990. The album was also notable for its song "Leningrad", written after Joel met a clown in the Soviet city of that name during his tour in 1987, and "The Downeaster Alexa", written to underscore the plight of fishermen on Long Island who are barely able to make ends meet. Another well-known single from the album is the ballad "And So It Goes" (No. 37 in late 1990). The song was originally written in 1983, around the time Joel was writing songs forAn Innocent Man; but "And So It Goes" did not fit that album's retro theme, so it was held back untilStorm Front. Joel said in a 1996 master class session in Pittsburgh thatStorm Front was a turbulent album and that "And So It Goes", as the last song on the album, portrayed the calm and tranquility that often follows a violent thunderstorm.
In September 1992, Joel filed a US$90 million lawsuit against his former lawyer Allen Grubman, alleging a wide range of offenses including fraud, breach of fiduciary responsibility, malpractice and breach of contract.[130][131] The case was settled out of court in the fall of 1993 for US$3 million paid to Joel by third partySony America, to protect its subsidiarySony Music's interests, as it had several other artists also using Grubman's law firm.[132][133]
In 1992, Joel inducted the R&B duoSam & Dave into theRock & Roll Hall of Fame.[134] That year, Joel also started work onRiver of Dreams, finishing the album in early 1993. Its cover art was a colorful painting byChristie Brinkley that was a series of scenes from each of the songs on the album. Theeponymous first single was the last top 10 hit Joel has penned to date, reaching No. 3 onBillboard's Hot 100 and ranking at No. 21 on the 1993 year-end chart. In addition to the title track, the album includes the hits "All About Soul" (withColor Me Badd on backing vocals) and "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)", written for his daughter,Alexa. A radio remix version of "All About Soul" can be found onThe Essential Billy Joel (2001), and a demo version appears onMy Lives (2005).
The song "The Great Wall of China" was written about his ex-manager Frank Weber and was a regular in the setlist for Joel's 2006 tour. "2000 Years" was prominent in the millennium concert atMadison Square Garden, December 31, 1999, and "Famous Last Words" closed the book on Joel's pop songwriting for more than a decade.
Beginning in 1994, Joel toured extensively withElton John on a series of "Face to Face" tours, making them the longest running and most successful concert tandem in pop music history.[135] During these shows, the two played their own songs, sang each other's songs, and performed duets. They grossed over US$46 million in just 24 dates in their sold out[136] 2003 tour. Joel and John resumed their Face to Face tour in March 2009[136] and it continued until March 2010, where it ended inAlbany, New York, at theTimes Union Center. In February 2010, Joel denied rumors in the trade press that he canceled a summer 2010 leg of the tour, claiming there were never any dates booked and that he intended to take the year off.[137] Joel toldRolling Stone: "We'll probably pick it up again. It's always fun playing with him."[138]
Joel performing in June 1994
Joel and Christie Brinkley announced on April 13, 1994, that they had separated, and their divorce was finalized in August 1994. The two remained friends.[139]
On October 4, 1997, two classical piano pieces composed by Joel, "The Soliloquy" and "Reverie", were first heard in public. Both played by Yuliya Gorenman at theSeiji Ozawa Hall inLenox, Massachusetts, a recording of her performance of "Reverie" was broadcast nine days later onWNYC-FM andWSHU-FM.[141][142]
On December 31, 1999, Joel performed at New York'sMadison Square Garden. At the time, Joel said that it would be his last tour and possibly his last concert. Two of his performances from that night, "We Didn't Start the Fire" and "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" were filmed and featured that night as part of ABC's special New Year's Y2K coverage. The concert (dubbed The Night of the 2000 Years) ran for close to four hours and was later released as2000 Years: The Millennium Concert.[143]
In 2003, Joel inductedThe Righteous Brothers into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, noting that his song "Until the Night" from the album52nd Street was a tribute to the duo.
In 2005, Columbia released a box set,My Lives, which is largely a compilation of demos, b-sides, live/alternative versions, and even a few Top 40 hits. The compilation also includes the software that permits people to remix "Zanzibar" and a live version of "I Go to Extremes" with their PC. A DVD of a show from theRiver of Dreams tour is included.
On January 7, 2006, Joel began a tour across the U.S. Having not released any new songs in 13 years, he featured a sampling of songs from throughout his career, including major hits as well as deep cuts like "Zanzibar" and "All for Leyna".[144] Between January 23 and April 24, his 12 performances at Madison Square Garden broke the venue's record for the most consecutive sold-out concerts by an artist during the same tour (the previous best was 10 shows, set byBruce Springsteen in 2000). This achievement earned Joel the firstretired number (12) in the arena's history to be given to a non-athlete.[145][146] The same honor has been bestowed on Joel atXfinity Mobile Arena (formerly the Wells Fargo Center) inPhiladelphia, where a banner in the colors of thePhiladelphia Flyers is hung honoring Joel's 48 sold-out Philadelphia shows. On June 13, 2006, Columbia released12 Gardens Live, a double album containing 32 live recordings from a collection of the 12 different shows at Madison Square Garden during Joel's 2006 tour.
Joel visited the United Kingdom and Ireland for the first time in many years as part of the European leg of his 2006 tour. On July 31, 2006, Joel performed a free concert inRome, with theColosseum as the backdrop.[147]
Joel toured South Africa, Australia, Japan and Hawaii in late 2006, and subsequently toured the Southeastern U.S. in February and March 2007 before hitting the Midwest in the spring of 2007. A new song, titled "All My Life", was Joel's newest single (with second track "You're My Home", live from Madison Square Garden 2006 tour) and was released in stores on February 27, 2007.[148] On February 4, Joel sang the national anthem forSuper Bowl XLI, becoming the second to sing the national anthem twice at aSuper Bowl, afterAaron Neville.
On December 1, 2007, Joel premiered his new song "Christmas in Fallujah".[149] The song was performed byCass Dillon, a new Long Island based musician, as Joel felt it should be sung by someone in a soldier's age range (though he himself has played the song occasionally in concert.) The track was dedicated to servicemen based in Iraq. Joel wrote it in September 2007 after reading numerous letters sent to him from American soldiers in Iraq. "Christmas in Fallujah" is only the second pop/rock song released by Joel since 1993'sRiver of Dreams. Proceeds from the song benefited the Homes For Our Troops foundation.[150]
A banner atXfinity Mobile Arena inPhiladelphia, commemorating Joel's 48 consecutive sold-out concerts at the Philadelphia venue as of 2008
On January 26, 2008, Joel performed with thePhiladelphia Orchestra at the city'sAcademy of Music 151st anniversary concert. The event premiered an orchestral version of his classical piano piece "Waltz No. 2 (Steinway Hall)" fromFantasies & Delusions, arranged byBrad Ellis and the composer. Accompied throughout by the orchestra, Joel's 44-minute set included some of his lesser-known songs, such as "Scandinavian Skies" and "Where's the Orchestra?" fromThe Nylon Curtain, as well as "Uptown Girl", which he had largely dropped from his live repertoire.[151][152] The concert and associated ball were part of the academy's fund-raising efforts to establish a "Billy Joel Fund for Music Education", to which the singer donated his fee for the evening.[153]
On March 10, 2008, Joel inducted his friendJohn Mellencamp into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Joel sold out 10 concerts at theMohegan Sun Casino inUncasville, Connecticut from May to July 2008. The casino honored him with a banner displaying his name and the number 10 to hang in the arena.[citation needed] On June 19, 2008, Joel played a concert at the grand re-opening ofCaesars Windsor (formerly Casino Windsor) inWindsor, Ontario, Canada, to an invite-only crowd for Casino VIPs. His mood was light and joke-filled, even introducing himself as "Billy Joel's dad" and stating "you guys overpaid to see a fat bald guy". He also admitted that Canadian folk-pop musicianGordon Lightfoot was the musical inspiration for "She's Always A Woman".[154]
On December 11, 2008, Joel recorded his own rendition of "Christmas in Fallujah" during a concert atAcer Arena in Sydney and released it as a live single in Australia only. It is the only official release of Joel performing "Christmas in Fallujah", as Cass Dillon sang on the 2007 studio recording and the handful of times the song was played live in 2007.,Joel sang the song throughout his December 2008 tour of Australia.
Joel in 2009
On May 19, 2009, Joel's former drummer,Liberty DeVitto, filed a lawsuit inNew York City claiming he was owed over 10 years of royalty payments by Joel and Sony Music. DeVitto had never been given songwriting or arranging credit on any of Joel's songs, but he claimed that he helped arrange some of them, including "Only the Good Die Young".[155] In April 2010, it was announced that Joel and DeVitto amicably resolved the lawsuit.[156]
To mark the 40th anniversary of the release of Joel's debut album,Cold Spring Harbor, it was announced on his official website that Columbia/Legacy Recordings planned "to celebrate the occasion with a definitive reissue project of newly restored and expanded Legacy editions of Joel's complete catalog, newly curated collections of rarities from the vaults, previously unavailable studio tracks and live performances, home video releases and more", although this project was never fully realized.[157]Piano Man was re-released in a two-disc Legacy edition in November 2011, with Joel's 1972 live radio concert at WMMR-FM in Philadelphia comprising the second disc.[157][158]
In 2012, Joel signed an exclusive worldwide publishing agreement withUniversal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) and its subsidiary Rondor Music International, who together replacedEMI Music Publishing in managing his catalog outside the US. Additionally, the agreement marked the first time since Joel regained control of his publishing rights in the 1980s that he began to use an administrator to handle his catalog within the U.S. The agreement's focus is on increasing the use of Joel's music in movies, television programs and commercials.[159]
In May 2013, it was announced that Joel would hold his first ever indoor Irish concert at theO2 in Dublin on November 1. He subsequently announced his return to the UK for the first time in seven years to perform in October and November. Joel played inManchester andBirmingham as well as London'sHammersmith Apollo.[160][161] In October, Joel held a surprise concert on Long Island at The Paramount (Huntington, New York) to benefit Long Island Cares. The venue holds a capacity of 1,555 and sold out in five minutes. Joel headlined a solo arena concert in New York City for the first time since 2006 when he performed at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on December 31, 2013.
In December 2013, Joel would be named as Madison Square Garden's first ever music "franchise."[88] With this honor, Joel would also join the New York Knicks, New York Rangers andNew York Liberty in being recognized as an original Madison Square Garden franchise.[88][162]
2014–2025: Madison Square Garden residency, "Turn the Lights Back On", and recent health updates
In January 2015, Joel broke the previous record he set in 2006 for most consecutive shows at Madison Square Garden after performing his 13th consecutive show, which also resulted in a new banner being raised to the Madison Square Garden rafters.[88] Throughout 2015, Joel performed 21 concerts in addition to his monthly Madison Square Garden residency. His August 4, 2015, engagement atNassau Coliseum was the final concert prior to the arena undergoing a US$261 million renovation.[165] Joel returned to Nassau Coliseum on April 5, 2017, to play the first concert at the newly renovated venue.[166] Later that month, he played the first concert atAtlanta's newSunTrust Park, the suburban home of theAtlanta Braves.[167] On June 24, Joel returned to Hicksville High School 50 years after his would-be graduating class received their diplomas,[168] to deliver the honorary commencement address. It was also the 25th anniversary of receiving his own diploma from the same high school.
On October 7–8, 2016,Colorado College inColorado Springs hosted the first academic conference on Joel. Entitled "'It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me': The Music and Lyrics of Billy Joel", the event was open to the public, and the singer participated by giving an hour-long phone interview for the benefit of the 300 attendees.[169]
Joel at Madison Square Garden in June 2019
In 2019, Joel announced a concert atCamden Yards, home of theBaltimore Orioles, marking the first-ever concert at the baseball stadium.[170] Joel was forced to postpone his concerts between March 2020 and August 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
Joel andStevie Nicks jointly announced plans to perform a series of concerts across the United States in 2023, tentatively beginning withSoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles on March 10.[171]
On June 1, 2023, Joel announced that his residency at Madison Square Garden would end in July 2024 with his 104th performance in the series, marking his 150th lifetime performance at the venue.[172] On January 22, 2024, Joel announced his first new pop single in years (and only his second pop song in more than two decades), "Turn the Lights Back On", which was released on February 1.[173][174]
On June 4, 2025, the first installment ofBilly Joel: And So It Goes, a two-part HBO documentary about Joel, premiered at the opening night of the 24thTribeca Film Festival, New York.[178] It aired on HBO andHBO Max on July 18, with the second part being shown a week later.[179][180][181] Shortly afterwards, a 155-trackplaylist, comprising 115 songs plus audio clips from the documentary, was released onstreaming services.[182][183] This included previously unreleased live and demo recordings, such as Joel's first live performance of "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant".[184]
In 1996, Joel merged his long-held love of boating with his desire for a second career. He and Long Island boating businessman Peter Needham formed the Long Island Boat Company.[185][186]
In November 2010, Joel opened 20th Century Cycles, a vintage motorcycle customization business and museum inOyster Bay, Long Island.[187][188]
In 2011, Joel announced that he was releasing an autobiography that he had written with Fred Schruers, titledThe Book of Joel: A Memoir. The book was originally going to be released in June 2011, but, in March 2011, Joel decided against publishing the book and officially canceled his deal withHarperCollins.Rolling Stone noted, "HarperCollins acquired the book project for US$3 million in 2008. Joel is expected to return his advance on that sum to the publisher."[189] According toBillboard, "the HarperCollins book was billed as an 'emotional ride' that would detail the music legend's failed marriage toChristie Brinkley, as well as his battles with substance abuse."[190] In explaining his decision to cancel the book's release, Joel said, "It took working on writing a book to make me realize that I'm not all that interested in talking about the past, and that the best expression of my life and its ups and downs has been and remains my music."[191] In 2014, Schruers published a biography, simply titledBilly Joel, based on his extensive personal interviews with Joel.[192]
Joel's first wife was Elizabeth Weber Small. When their relationship began, she was married to Jon Small, his music partner in the short-lived duoAttila, with whom she had a son. When the affair was revealed, Weber severed her relationships with both men. Weber and Joel later reconciled and married in 1973, and she then became his manager. They divorced on July 20, 1982.[193]
Joel married a second time, to modelChristie Brinkley, in March 1985.[194] Their daughter,Alexa Ray Joel, was born December 29, 1985.[194][195] Alexa was given the middle name of Ray afterRay Charles, one of Joel's musical idols.[196] Joel and Brinkley divorced on August 26, 1994.[197] They remain friends, and Joel is the godfather of Brinkley's two youngest children, Jack andSailor Brinkley Cook.[198][199]
On October 2, 2004, Joel married chefKatie Lee, his third wife.[200] At the time of the wedding, Lee was 23 and Joel was 55. Joel's daughter, Alexa Ray, then 18, served as themaid of honor. Joel's second wife, Christie Brinkley, attended the union and gave the couple her blessing. On June 17, 2009, they announced theirseparation.[201]
On July 4, 2015, Joel married a fourth time, to Alexis Roderick, an equestrian and formerMorgan Stanley executive, at his Oyster Bay estate onLong Island. He was 66 and she was 33.Governor of New YorkAndrew Cuomo conducted the ceremony.[202] The couple has been together since 2009.[203] On August 12, 2015, the couple had a daughter, Della Rose Joel.[204] Their second daughter, Remy Anne Joel, was born on October 22, 2017.[205] His two younger daughters attend school in Florida, where the family now lives.[206][207]
Following the birth of their daughter Alexa, in 1986 Joel and his wife Christie Brinkley moved to a house inAmagansett, New York,[208][209] for which it was reported that he paid US$2.9 million.[210] In 2002, he sold the property to comedianJerry Seinfeld for US$32.5 million (then the most expensive house purchase in the history ofNew York State).[211]
In 2002, Joel bought an estate inCentre Island, New York in the town ofOyster Bay for US$22 million. He also owns a house inSag Harbor.[212] In 2023, Joel put his Oyster Bay estate on the market for $49 million.[213] The listing was pulled as the main house was undergoing renovations. The mansion, with its guest houses, pool, beach, and helipad on 26 acres, was again offered for sale in September 2024, asking $49.9 million.
In 2015, Joel purchased a home inManalapan, Florida. The waterfront residence went on the market in November 2015 for $19.5 million[214] but it was taken off the market and re-listed in 2017 with an asking price of $18.5 million.[215] The property was further reduced to $16.9 million in 2018.[214] In January 2020, the 13,200-square-foot property sold for US$10.3 million.[216]
Having worked on anoyster dredger as a teenager, Joel has a longstanding interest in nautical matters. In 2009, it was reported that he owned a small flotilla of vessels, overseen by a full-time captain. Several of the craft were based on rough designs by Joel, including a 57 ft (17.4 m) boat with a top speed of 50 mph (80.5 km/h) which he had built to commute from Oyster Bay toManhattan.[217]
In 1970, a career decline and personal tragedies led Joel to adeep depressive period. It was revealed in the 2025 documentaryBilly Joel: And So It Goes that he attempted suicide twice.[218] After Joel's affair with Elizabeth Weber Small resulted in the breakup of Attila, and his estrangement from his best friend Jon Small, Joel was evicted from Small's house.[219] "I had no place to live. I was sleeping in laundromats and I was depressed, I think to the point of almost being psychotic," said Joel.[219] Joel's sister, Judy Molinari, who was a medical assistant at the time, had previously given him sleeping pills to help him sleep.[218] Joel's first suicide attempt occurred when he planned to take an overdose of all the pills. This resulted in Joel falling into a coma for several days. When he awoke, Joel was disappointed that his attempt failed, and swore he would "do it right" the second time around.[219] Joel then left asuicide note and attempted to kill himself a second time by drinking furniture polish. Joel later said, "I drank furniture polish. It looked tastier thanbleach."[220] Jon Small rushed him to the hospital. Joel checked intoMeadowbrook Hospital, where he was put onsuicide watch and received treatment for depression.[221] Joel would later pen the song "Tomorrow Is Today", which he describes as a suicide note.[56]
In 2025, Joel was diagnosed withnormal pressure hydrocephalus,[175] leading to problems with his hearing, vision, and balance. The diagnosis led to Joel cancelling all his upcoming planned concerts.[226] In July 2025, he stated in interviewsPeople and onBill Maher's podcast that he was improving, with his condition being treatable.[177][176]
Joel has admitted to having a history ofalcoholism, though he eventually became sober and has stated that some details regarding his alcohol addiction, such as the claim that Joel reached the point where he received DUI arrests, were exaggerated.[177][227]
Although Joel has donated money toDemocratic candidates,[228] he has never publicly affiliated himself with the Democratic Party. Joel rarely publicly endorses political candidates; however, he did play a benefit with his friendBruce Springsteen to raise money forBarack Obama'spresidential campaign in 2008.[229] Joel has performed at benefit concerts that have helped raise funds for political causes. However, about celebrities endorsing political candidates, Joel has said, "People who pay for your tickets, I don't think they want to hear who you're going to vote for and how you think they should vote."[230]
In January 1992, Joel announced that he would donate some of the proceeds from "The Downeaster Alexa" to defend 11East Hampton fishermen accused of sellingstriped bass illegally.[234] On July 28, he then joined a related protest by fishermen who claimed regulations were threatening their way of life, saying that he had taken the decision to risk arrest reluctantly but would "hate to see these people disappear."[235]Along with 29 other fishermen and local officials, he was charged by the stateDepartment of Environmental Conservation (DEC) with fishing out of season and using the banned method ofhaul seining.[236][237] Although the arguments put forward by the defense[238] were rejected by the judge hearing the case, in March 1993 he found that DEC had cited the wrong law when filing it and therefore dismissed the charges against all defendants.[239]
Joel graduated well after his high school peers because of a missed English exam.[240] His high school diploma was finally awarded by the school board 25 years later.[39] Joel has been presented with multiple honorary doctorates:[241]
In 1986, Joel was on the site selection committee for theRock and Roll Hall of Fame board. Seven members of the committee voted for the Hall to be located in San Francisco, and seven voted forCleveland, Ohio; this tie was broken when Joel voted for Cleveland. Joel was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland in 1999 by one of his chief musical influences,Ray Charles, with whom Joel also collaborated on his song "Baby Grand" (1986).
On December 12, 2011, Joel became the first non-classical musician honored with a portrait inSteinway Hall.[254]
On December 29, 2013, in Washington, D.C., Joel receivedKennedy Center Honors, the nation's highest honor for influencing American culture through the arts.[255]
On July 18, 2018, GovernorAndrew Cuomo proclaimed the date to be Billy Joel Day in New York state to mark his 100th performance at Madison Square Garden.[258]
On October 19, 2023, a section of Audrey Avenue near Joel's motorcycle museum in his hometown of Oyster Bay was given the ceremonial name "Billy Joel Way" in honor of the musician.[259][260]
On April 14, 2024, Joel was featured on CBS in commemoration of his 100th performance at Madison Square Garden.[261] The network broadcast an encore presentation of the concert special five nights later, on April 19.[262]
In 2024, Joel was honored in "Group C Premiere: Billy Joel Night," onThe Masked Singer Season 11. The contestants that night sang songs by Joel.
^abPaumgarten, Nick (October 27, 2014)."Thirty-Three-Hit Wonder".The New Yorker. Vol. 90, no. 33. pp. 54ff.Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. RetrievedJuly 19, 2018. (Online article dated October 20).
^"Billy Joel".Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. RetrievedJanuary 19, 2017.
^abcde"Billy Joel".Here's The Thing.WNYC. July 30, 2012. Archived fromthe original(transcript) on August 4, 2012. RetrievedAugust 3, 2012.I grew up on the Island, in the Levittown section of Hicksville. We had a Levitt house, Cape Cod, on the quarter acre. ... My father was a classically trained pianist. He grew up in Nuremberg, Germany, and he also went to school in Switzerland. His father was quite well off. They had a mail-order textile business, Joel Macht Fabrik ...
^Tamarkin, Jeff (2001)."Joel, Billy". InSadie, Stanley (ed.).The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol. 13 (Second ed.). New York: Macmillan. pp. 134–135.ISBN1561592390.
^"Number One Awards – Pop Singles". Talent in Action Year End Charts.Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 51. Los Angeles. December 20, 1980. p. TA-10 – via Google Books.
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^ab"Brinkley, Joel Parents of 'Uptown Girl'" .Los Angeles Times, December 30, 1985. p. 2. "The6+1⁄2-pound girl, as yet unnamed, was born in a Manhattan hospital at about 11:45 pm Sunday, said the spokeswoman, Geraldine McInerney." "They were married last March aboard a yacht in New York Harbor."
^"Joel and his 'uptown girl' have a girl".The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 31, 1985. p. A3. "Model Christie Brinkley has given her husband – singer-songwriter Billy Joel – something new to sing about, a6+1⁄2-pound daughter, a spokesman for the family said Monday."
^Callimachi, Rukmini (October 10, 2024)."Billy Joel Is Selling the Mansion He First Saw While Dredging Oysters".The New York Times. RetrievedOctober 12, 2024.As fans of the working-class nostalgia embedded in his songs filled up Madison Square Garden again and again, Mr. Joel headed to the arena by helicopter — a 13-minute ride from tail up to tail down — from his helipad.
^Kubasik, Ben; Mulcahy, Susan; Scaduto, Anthony (April 29, 1986)."Inside New York – A Place in the Sun".Newsday. Vol. 46, no. 236. New York. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
^Knapp, Lisa Hoogerwerf (July 2009)."Rock the Boat: Billy Joel".Yachts International. Vol. 13, no. 3. Fort Lauderdale, FL. pp. 48–50.ISSN1095-1091 – via Internet Archive.
^Oreskes, Benjamin (June 24, 2025). "With Hours Left in the Primary, the Stars Come Out for Mamdani". The New York Times. Retrieved June 24, 2025. Other high-profile figures who have backed Mr. Mamdani include the singer Maggie Rogers, the actress and activist Laverne Cox, the comedian John Early and the leftist podcaster Stavros Halkias [. . .] Several notable older New Yorkers have backed Mr. Cuomo, including the former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, the singer Billy Joel and the fashion designers Michael Kors and Tory Burch.
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^Cassidy, Billy; Sheridan, Dick (July 29, 1992)."Billy Joel reeled in".Daily News (International ed.). New York. p. 2C – via Newspapers.com.
^Freedman, Mitchell (February 25, 1993)."Lawyers Offer Raft Of 'Bass' Defenses". Long Island Special.Newsday. Vol. 53, no. 175 (Suffolk / North Shore ed.). Melville, NY. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
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^Blowen, Michael (April 16, 1991)."Downtown doctor". Names and Faces.The Boston Globe. p. 66 – via Newspapers.com.
^Higgins, Bill (February 28, 2002). "The Ballad of Billy Joel".Daily Variety. Vol. 274, no. 65. Los Angeles. p. 14.ISSN0011-5509.
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^Solnik, Claude (December 1, 2024)."Signs of respect".Newsday. Vol. 85, no. 90 (Long Island ed.). Melville, NY. p. E4.ISSN0278-5587 – via Newspapers.com.
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