Billy Joel: Long Island's Own Music Man

by Marjorie Dorfman | More from this Blogger

William Martin "Billy" Joel was born on May 9, 1949, in the South Bronx, New York. The son of a Holocaust survivor from Germany, his family moved to Long Island soon after his birth. His parents later divorced and his father, Howard Joel, moved back to Eastern Europe. He has a half brother, Alexander Joel, who is an acclaimed European classical pianist. An intense love of music appears to have run in the family, and from an early age, Billy began piano lessons, drawn especially to classical music. This was fodder for much bullying and teasing in his formative years, and as a young man he took up boxing so that he could defend himself. He stuck with it for a while; boxing successfully on the Golden Gloves circuit for a short time, but abandoning it after his nose was broken in a fight. He attended Hicksville High School and was to have graduated in 1967. Being one English credit short of meeting the English requirement, he dropped out to begin a career in music. He later told an interviewer: "I'm not going to Columbia University, I'm going to Columbia Records!" In 1992, the English credit requirement was waived and he received a diploma at a graduation ceremony twenty-five years after he left school.

His recording career began in 1973 with the first of many hits, "Piano Man." He retired from the world of pop in 1993 becoming one of the very few pop artists to have TOP Ten hits in the 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s. His record sales have exceeded 100 million, and he is a six time Grammy Award winner as well as the sixth best-selling recording artist in the United States. Inducted in the Songwriter's Hall of Fame (1992) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999), Joel has passed from pop star to musical icon status. He continues to tour, occasionally with Elton John, and still writes and records classical music.

What are some of YOUR favorite Billy Joel tunes? Please share.

Learn more about Marjorie Dorfman

Marjorie Dorfman is a freelance writer and former teacher originally from Brooklyn, New York.

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