Billy Joel
By: Victor • Essay • 566 Words • November 16, 2009 • 1,553 Views
Essay title: Billy Joel
Billy Joel, an excellent pianist, became an exrodinary success due to his sensational and upbeat tempo. “They’re sharing a drink they call loneliness, but it’s better than drinking alone.” A simple but yet meaningful quote uttered by a great man, music geniuse and much more. The man who said this was Billy Joel; the quote was first heard in one of his most famouse songs “Piano Man”
Born on the ninth
of May 1949 in Bronx, New York he shortly moved to Levittown in Long Island New York, and grew up in a small suburban houseing development.(sing365.com 3) By the age of fourteen Billy’s parents were divorced and he had to struggle to help his now single-working parent of a mother.(pg 718 1) But his real intreste in music was sparked when his grand father introduced him to classical music at the young age of four. And has developed a keen intrigueing career
to it since. Some of his inspirations that prvoked him to take his intreste to the next level were Ray Charles, The Betales, Otis Redding and The Rolling Stones.(Rolling Stones 4) At age fourteen he joined his first band “The Echos” not because he wanted to set out and begin his carrer in music early but because he realized it was a full proof plan to meet the ladies. At age sixteen Billy left The Echos and joined a well known band in Long Island called “The Hassels” recording his frist two albums with United Artistes.(billyjoel.com 2)
In 1972 he broke off from the glamours of his band life and decided it was time to pursue his real dream of going solo. He began to record his first album “Cold Spring Harbor.” While working on this a local radio station in located got a hold of a song of his “Captian Jack” and was playing it on the radio.(sing365.com 3) Shortly after this the song became what is known as an underground hit on the East Coast. In 1973 Billy Joel signed with Columbia Records and recorded his first Top 20