Billy Joel’s creative career can be divided into two periods. For the first 22 years he actively recorded albums, and after that he stopped studio work and began to tour a lot to bring his music to listeners in all corners of the world.
Album River of dreams was his last studio recording. The singer never regretted his decision, because he believes that the best songs of Billy Joel have already been created.
Biography
Billy Joel is an American singer and songwriter. He is also a virtuoso pianist, which is why many fans call him “Piano man”, that is, “piano man”. The musician was born on May 9, 1949 in the state of New York, where he spent his childhood. His father was a classical pianist. Billy Joel’s stepbrother, Alexander, also became a musician. From 2001 to 2014, he was the chief conductor of the opera house in one of the cities of Germany.
The boy began playing the piano at an early age at the insistence of his mother. But at that time he dreamed more about an organist career.
As a teenager, he also went in for sports, becoming the winner of 22 competitions. Joel quit the sport after one day his nose was broken.
The young man dropped out of school because he was forced to play the piano in the bar to help his mother make ends meet, as his father left the family.
Billy becomes a rock star
In his youth, Billy Joel liked bands like The Beatles and The Drifters. They had a strong influence on his own musical style. Beautiful melodies and texts devoted to the problems of everyday life are the hallmarks of his work. Seeing Beatles on Ed Sullivan's television show, Billy Joel was so delighted with this performance that he decided to write music in a similar style.
In the 60s, he participated in several groups that did not achieve serious success. In 1972, the musician signed a contract with a record company to create his first solo album.
But real success came to him only a few years after that.
Best album
Even harsh critics admit that The stranger is undeniably one of the most interesting albums of the twentieth century.
After listening to the disc, any music lover admits that Billy Joel is a real superstar. To the creation of this masterpiece a great contribution was made by producer Phil Ramone. Billy first collaborated with him, and they immediately worked perfectly together. The singer says: "Before, I did not know that the producer is capable of this! He makes the artist believe in his own strength." The album instantly took off on the first lines of charts all over the world.
The songs of Billy Joel Just the way you are and Only the good die young in 1977-1978 sounded everywhere. After that, the artist recorded many great albums, but none of them became as popular as Stranger.
Brilliant idea
The huge success of this album changed the life of Billy Joel. But neither the singer nor the producer wanted to constantly record the same type of discs. Billy Joel said this: "We were going to do something completely different, creating a new record. Phil Ramone suggested that we invite jazz musicians to record. It was a great find." The new disc is called 52`nd street.
On his cover, the musician was depicted with a trumpet, which is a hint of the jazz style of this disc.
The album was not as successful as its predecessor, but Billy Joel's "Honesty" was one of the most frequently broadcast radio hits of the twentieth century. And the song My life took on a new life two years later, when it was used as the main musical theme of the series "Side Friends" with the participation of Tom Hanks. These songs are usually included in collections with titles like "Billy Joel. The Best."
From jazz to rock
The next record of Billy Joel was sustained in the style of rock music. The listener guesses the mood of the whole album from the very first sounds. The composition that opens it begins with the sound of breaking glass, followed by a powerful guitar introduction. The album was released in the late 70s. At that time, punk and disco were the most popular genres of music. Many rock stars were then forgotten. But fans of rock and roll remained true to their passion.
So, singer Bob Seeger then sang the song Old time rock-n-roll, permeated with a sense of nostalgia. Billy Joel in the album Glass houses also touched on this topic. It's still rock n roll to me is about that. Unlike Bob Seeger, the hero of this article is not alien to new trends in music. He sings: “The New Wave style is another phase of rock and roll. Such music also drives you crazy with its dance rhythms. It's rock and roll too. ”
Having stopped working in the studio, Billy devoted himself completely to concert activity.
In the 80s, he visited the Soviet Union. A documentary was shot about these tours.