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Billy Joel

Born William Martin Joel, May 9, 1949 in the Bronx, NY American pianist, singer-songwriter, and composer Music falls into many genres; rock, pop, piano rock, soft rock, and classical. Billy Joel. Accomplishments. Sixth best-selling recording artist in US

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Billy Joel

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  1. Born William Martin Joel, May 9, 1949 in the Bronx, NY American pianist, singer-songwriter, and composer Music falls into many genres; rock, pop, piano rock, soft rock, and classical Billy Joel

  2. Accomplishments • Sixth best-selling recording artist in US • Third best-selling solo artist in the US and 9th most successful solo artist of all time • More than 100 million albums sold worldwide • 2 diamond albums, 2 platinum albums, 9 multi-platinum albums, one gold album, and 4 albums that topped the Billboard 200 chart • 33 Top-40 hits • 5 Grammy Awards and 24 Grammy Nominations • Performed at the 12-12-12 concert, a benefit for hurricane Sandy victims

  3. Performed ‘Face to Face’ concert tours with Sir Elton John for sixteen years Inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame Second most successful male solo artist through late 70’s and 80’s- second to Elvis Accomplishment (cont.)

  4. Early Life • Billy’s father was a pianist, mother sang; both parents performed together in college and continued to perform until his father was drafted into the army in 1943 • Fascinated by piano, and began picking out Mozart by ear by age 4 • Began writing music at age 7, making up parts of songs to trick his mother into thinking he was practicing for piano lessons • Was in the Parkway Green Gang in junior high and became an amateur boxer in high school • Joined a garage band with his neighbor in his early teens as a keyboardist

  5. Early Life (cont.) • Billy’s band played covers of songs at school dances and changed their name several times. • When they changed their name to The Lost Souls, they also began performing original material; Billy was asked to write songs because he read so much • The band signed with Mercury Records but the contract failed and music was never released • Billy left the Lost Souls in 1967 to join the Hassles, with whom he released four singles and two albums, all of which failed. In 1969 he left the band to form a duo with John Small (Hassles drummer) which disbanded the following October after Billy had an affair with John’s wife, Elizabeth (songs ‘She’s Got A Way and ‘She’s Always A Woman’ were written about her) • He had decided to quit, his music career was not going anywhere, but his manager convinced him to wait one more month to find a record deal- which he did. He signed with Artie Ripp’s Family Productions and his first solo album, Cold Spring Harbor, was released in 1971.

  6. Clips • Vienna- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZdiXvDU4P0 • For The Longest Time- barbershop style!- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-4lSWom9bY • Invention in C Minor; classical piano solo- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMnwyAiy3W8 • Still Rock and Roll To Me- mixes funk (saxophone solo) as well as punk (very simple guitar and drum backing) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58xOeLcDK8U

  7. Fun Facts • He is notorious for being extremely sensitive to criticism and defensive of his songs • He hates not having privacy and strongly prefers that his personal life remain private • He had a book deal with HarperCollins in 2011 but dropped it because they were pushing him to talk only about the ‘sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll’ of his past • Is also a co-founder of Long Island Boat Company and owns a retro-style motorcycle shop.

  8. Ray Charles John Lennon, the Beatles James Brown Beethoven Influence and Inspiration

  9. Has not released an album since 1993 Had a double hip replacement in 2011 from doing stunts during concerts Lives in Sag Harbor village with his girlfriend and two pugs Stopped touring with Elton John in 2010, and most recent concert was the Sandy relief show in 2012 Where is he now?

  10. References • "Billy Joel on Not Working and Not Giving Up Drinking." Interview by Andrew Goldman. NYTimes.com. N.p., 24 May 2013. Web. 9 July 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/magazine/billy-joel-on-not-working-and-not-giving-up-drinking.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&>. • Bordowitz, Hank. Billy Joel: The Life and Times of an Angry Young Man. Broadway, NY: Billboard, 2005. Print. • "Billy Joel." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 08 Feb. 2013. Web. 20 July 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Joel>.

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