Piano Men-Part 3

Billy Joel

Today's article is about the Piano Man himself, Billy Joel. Not many artists have had his staying power. He has had hits for much of the last 40 years.

I saw him in concert a few years ago and was impressed with his pianistic abilities. He is no lightweight when it comes to "tickling the ivories". In fact, just explore his earliest albums, like Piano Man, and you will discover some of his best work (The Ballad of Billy the Kid is the first thing that comes to mind).

As usual, instead of reinventing the wheel, I'll let Wikipedia provide a short biography of Mr. Joel:

William Martin "Billy" Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, Piano Man, in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to the RIAA.

Joel had Top 40 hits in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s; achieving 33 Top 40 hits in the United States, all of which he wrote himself. He is also a six-time Grammy Award winner, a 23-time Grammy nominee and has sold over 150 million records worldwide. He was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame (1992), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999), the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (2006) and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame (2009). In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's fiftieth anniversary, with Joel at number twenty-three. With the exception of the 2007 single All My Life, Joel discontinued recording new material after 1993's River of Dreams but continues to tour.

Listen to a music video of Piano Man from the '70s.