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Billy Joel

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Billy Joel was born on 9 May 1949 in the Bronx and grew up in Hicksville on Long Island. His mother sent him to piano lessons. He left high school for music, played in bands such as The Hassles and the duo Attila and performed in piano bars. In 1971 he made his solo debut with Cold Spring Harbor.

Music and breakthrough

After a popular radio appearance in Philadelphia he was signed to Columbia, where Piano Man appeared in 1973. The title song gave him his nickname. The real breakthrough came with The Stranger (1977), with Just the Way You Are, Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) and Only the Good Die Young. 52nd Street (1978) became his first number 1 album. On Glass Houses (1980) he presented himself more as a rock artist, and It's Still Rock and Roll to Me became his first number 1 single. An Innocent Man (1983) was a tribute to the rhythm and blues and doo-wop of his youth, with Uptown Girl and The Longest Time. In 1989 he scored with We Didn't Start the Fire.

Influence

Joel wrote all his albums himself and combined pop and rock with the piano tradition and a strong sense of storytelling. In 1987 he was one of the first Western artists to make a rock tour of the Soviet Union. After River of Dreams (1993) he largely stopped making pop albums; in 2001 Fantasies & Delusions appeared, with classical piano pieces of his own. In 1999 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Piano Man (1973). Notice the waltzing three-four time, the harmonica between the verses and how Joel, like a narrator, introduces the regulars of a bar one by one.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

See also

Categories: Artists