Billy Joel

[OnTourCam]

Just wondering how many Elvis fans on this board like billy Joel I got Into him late never seen him live before but been playing his albums non stop thinking of going to Madison square garden gig.
His Long Island gig from 1982 is nothing short of amazing such cool camera angles and interesting to know audience lights were up during the gig.
He was fired up that night needs to be released complete with remastered sound and video.

[Delboy]

On the back of ‘An Innocent Man’ in 1983 the BBC broadcast one of his shows live. Rarely heard of in the day. He is playing the UK next summer and I will make it if I can.

[Troubleman]

I was lucky enough to see him and Elton John together when they did their 'Piano men' tour in Ottawa, Canada. They started together, then Elton by himself, then Billy, and finishing together singing 'Piano man'. The highlight for me was Billy singing 'We didn't start the fire' standing up with the microphone. I felt that Billy looked more at ease with the audience the Elton. Elton didn't talk much, but Billy was quite funny. I still have the ticket.

[mrbthebarber]

I purchased INNOCENT MAN Lp from a boot sale for 50p, MINT condition & have to say it's both a brilliant LP artisitically & sonically, beautifully recorded & with probably the longest fade out of songs I've ever know. Best 50p I've spent in years

[OnTourCam]

That Wembley arena gig they broadcasted I have been trying to locate this.
Your right to broadcast a concert live is un heard of just shows u how massive billy was and still is.
I don't think he got to meet Elvis did he ?

[elvis4life]

https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/billy-joel/billy-joel-alexis-roderick-expecting-baby-no-2-soon-1.14523104

Billy Joel, Alexis Roderick expecting baby No. 2 soon, spokeswoman says

Updated October 18, 2017 6:20 PM
By Glenn Gamboa glenn.gamboa@newsday.com 

Billy Joel and Alexis Roderick attend the 36th Kennedy Center Honors gala in 2013 in Washington, D.C. The couple, who are expecting their second child, are already parents to daughter Della Rose, 2. Photo Credit: Getty Images / Kris Connor

Billy Joel and his wife, Alexis Roderick, could be welcoming their second child into the world in a matter of days.

A spokeswoman for Joel confirmed Wednesday that Roderick, 36, is currently nine months pregnant, but declined to give any other details. The couple, who married in 2015 and have 2-year-old daughter Della Rose, have guarded their privacy since they began dating in 2009.

However, Joel, 68, has happily discussed how Della Rose has changed his life and how he wants to spend as much time with her as he can. “I’ve got a new baby now and I’m trying to husband my time more for having a personal life,” he told Newsday in April. “So I’m looking at less work . . . It feels like I’m entitled. I’ve been working my whole life. It’s time to slow down.”

In September, Joel told Harry Connick Jr. how Della may have a future in music because she can already carry a tune. And she is already a fixture backstage at Madison Square Garden, where Joel has a monthly residency, running around the various dressing rooms with her folks.

However, Joel also plans to continue touring. He has already announced European shows next summer, as well as a New Year’s Eve show in Florida.

Joel will appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Thursday night, where he is expected to perform a song, as well as talk about his love of Brooklyn, where the late-night talk show is taping this week.

[MRM]

That Wembley arena gig they broadcasted I have been trying to locate this.
Your right to broadcast a concert live is un heard of just shows u how massive billy was and still is.
I don't think he got to meet Elvis did he ?

It's on YouTube synced with the FM stereo broadcast:

[MRM]

And I've a huge Joel fan. Among the first current artists I became interested in in the early 1980s (after inheriting a love of Elvis from my mom). I've seen him almost every time he's come through my town since 1990, including the first tour with Elton John in 1993 or 1994.

[keninlincs]

I saw Billy a couple of time in the UK ,excellent entertainer.

[minkahed]

I've been a fan since I was a kid and stole my first tape, "Glass Houses" in 1982 !!!

I once saw Billy at a gas station on Long Island, it wuz to krazy and busy for me to cross the street, but he was about 50 feet away and waved.

I've seen him live about 5x, fantastic performer in his prime, 1990's, "Storm Front" was definitely a highlight in his career, but, age and alcohol abuse did catch up with him.

[ForeverElvis]

First took notice of him with movin out in 1977 from the stranger album. Bought my first Joel album with 52nd street in 1978-1979, but solidified me as a fan in 1983 with the innocent man album. First saw him in 1993 on the river of dreams tour, then with elton John in 2001 then solo again in 2008. He is one of the great American songwriters of the last century


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Walter Hale 4]

Feelin' Alright: Piano man Billy Joel's remarkable transformation | 60 Minutes Australia


As brash and bold as most New Yorkers are, few can pull off the swagger quite like Billy Joel. Even fewer can match him for talent. It might be difficult to believe, but the Piano Man has been belting out hits and performing sold-out concerts for five decades now, making him an undisputed rock ’n’ roll legend. However, as Liz Hayes discovers, these days there’s something different about Billy. No one needs to worry – he’s still in the mood for a melody, and he’s definitely still got us feelin’ alright.
But Billy Joel has also had a rather remarkable transformation.





Bonus : Extra Minutes which was not on the original broadcast last sunday -

[John Coctostan]

A big Presley fan, by all accounts.

[drjohncarpenter]

A big Presley fan, by all accounts.

Boy oh boy, Billy certainly appreciates fifties Elvis and I am sure young Elvis had some sort of impact on Billy's musical direction. But he has always been very vocal on his love for Beatles' music. That music was definitely an all-important musical influence, his guiding star, so to speak. And there are numerous Billy Joel songs in which the Beatles' influence is apparent. A massive Elvis fan? No, not in the real world.

"Among his earliest influences, Joel cites Beethoven, Chopin and Debussy, along with the great American composers, Copeland, Gershwin and Ellington. His more contemporary influences include Dave Brubeck, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix"

And:

"Billy Joel's musical influences vary across genres and styles. During an interview with Andrew Gold of The New York Times, Joel stated that he "Idolized both of them [Paul McCartney and John Lennon] equally." Apart from deriving his rock 'n' roll style from The Beatles, Joel also took inspiration from the psychedelic rock artist Jimi Hendrix and swing artist Frank Sinatra.

Additionally, Joel took influence from Mozart and Beethoven. Unlike the pop and rock songs of his day, Joel's music consisted of a lot more modulations and suspensions. In the same interview, Joel stated that he can "relate to Beethoven" in the sense that, like Beethoven, he wrote instrumental compositions before adding lyrics. In 2001, Joel released Fantasies and Delusions, an album that consists only of instrumental, classical compositions."

Elvis is not even mentioned neither are polka dot shirts. A massive Elvis fan? Not in the real world.

And so it goes...

"by all accounts . . . " except for Joel himself.

[John Coctostan]

"by all accounts . . . " except for Joel himself.

Well, with the exception of penning a song about our guy:



......and covering two Presley hits:

[Walter Hale 4]

"by all accounts . . . " except for Joel himself.

Well, with the exception of penning a song about our guy:



......and covering two Presley hits:

Thanks John, but i'm not sure Billy JOEL has ever cited Elvis as an influence certainly not the way he talks about THE BEATLES. And I been an avid fan since i became aware of Joel , when he came to australia in 1978 and promoted his 52ND Street album on our national music show COUNTDOWN. Countless interviews Billy has done but NO ELVIS mention.

[Walter Hale 4]

Found this write-up over on rockcelebrities.net -

Billy Joel Says The Beatles Were More Authentic Than Elvis Presley...

https://rockcelebrities.net/billy-joel-says-the-beatles-were-more-authentic-than-elvis-presley/

[Walter Hale 4]

The Ballad of Billy the Kid....from Piano Man album (1973)

[John Coctostan]

Thanks John, but i'm not sure Billy JOEL has ever cited Elvis as an influence certainly not the way he talks about THE BEATLES. And I been an avid fan since i became aware of Joel , when he came to australia in 1978 and promoted his 52ND Street album on our national music show COUNTDOWN. Countless interviews Billy has done but NO ELVIS mention.

Hey Walt......I'm by no means claiming Presley meant more to Billy than the Beatles, that would be foolish, I was just pointing out that he was indeed a fan, by his own admission.....I mean he didn't cover two Presley songs and write another about him, because Elvis never meant sh*t to him?

Have you ever been in a working situation together (with his Dad)?
"He’s been in recording sessions. He was there for “My Life,” and he said, “You’re making the piano sound out of tune.” And I said, “That’s the idea, pop.” You can’t explain Elvis Presley to my father." - Billy Joel, 1980 (Rolling Stone)

“When I was a kid, my generation didn’t take to my parents’ music. They liked classical but also Sinatra and probably Perry Como and those kinds of singers. We kind of left them in the past and moved on to the new stuff, the Elvis generation....." - Billy Joel, ET Canada 2021

Billy Joel, Super Fan.......not quite!

[John Coctostan]

Influenced by early rock and roll and rhythm and blues artists, including groups such as The Beatles, The Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley, Joel favored tightly structured pop melodies and down-to-earth songwriting. - Jeff Tamarkin, Oxford University Press, 2015

And you can't tell me that "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" isn't, in part, a homage to Elvis?!

Billy Joel, quite the fan. - John Coctostan, 2022

[Walter Hale 4]

Influenced by early rock and roll and rhythm and blues artists, including groups such as The Beatles, The Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley, Joel favored tightly structured pop melodies and down-to-earth songwriting. - Jeff Tamarkin, Oxford University Press, 2015

And you can't tell me that "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" isn't, in part, a homage to Elvis?!

Billy Joel, quite the fan. - John Coctostan, 2022

For sure. Plus the fact that he penned Elvis Presley Boulevard that came out in the early 80's as a B-side 45 alone , suggests EP was an influence. It's very odd however, that he never talked about it and similarly Buddy Holly was another influence that Joel was inspired on (ie "Sometimes a Fantasy" song).

[drjohncarpenter]

Ouch.

[John Coctostan]

Ouch.

Hope you only felt a little prick!

[drjohncarpenter]

Ouch.

Hope you only felt a little prick!

Yes, a very tiny prick indeed.

[John Coctostan]

Yes, a very tiny prick indeed.

So I've heard.......just don't let it hold you back.