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William Martin Joel was born on May 9, 1949, and would eventually become
the sixth-best-selling artist of all time in America. The
“Piano Man” got his start on his signature instrument at a young age, as
the son of an accomplished classical pianist in Hicksville, New
York. Like so many musicians of his generation, Joel decided to get
serious about music as a career when he saw The Beatles perform on the
Ed Sullivan Show, and indeed, the first group he joined specialized in
playing British Invasion covers. Later on, Joel dropped out of
highschool to begin pursuing music as a full-time career.
In 1971, Joel recorded his first album, Cold Spring Harbor.
Unfortunately, a glitch in the recording process resulted in Joel’s
voice being just a little too high-pitched, and the songs played a
little too fast. While touring in support of his album, Joel worked at a
piano bar called The Executive Room in California for six months. It was
there that he culled the stories of the local patrons to craft his
most famous song and most enduring hit: “Piano Man.”
>From there, Joel signed with Columbia records and his career took off.
With a string of charting albums and high-profile hits, Joel brought his
trademark fusion of blues piano and pop-rock vocals to audiences across
the nation and around the world. Another one of his signature hits, the
rough-trick-meets-rich-girl story “Uptown Girl,” was cause for some
speculation when it was released. Joel was dating supermodel Elle
Macpherson when he initially began writing the song, but by the time he
had finished it, he was dating supermodel Christie Brinkley. Tough life.
Joel claims that the lyrics are, indeed, about his future wife Christie
Brinkley, who would later be featured in many of his songs and music
videos and would even provide the cover art for one of his albums before
the couple’s divorce in 1994.
Joel released his last studio album of pop music, River of Dreams, in
1993. Since then, he has released several albums of classical piano
music and continued touring on the strength of his many internationally
known hits. Always a voice for the downtrodden, the
down-on-their-luck, and the lonely travelers, Joel’s enduring message is
one of hope and strength amidst the vagaries of modern life.
One of Joel’s instrumental numbers, from his early album Streetlife
Serenade, is “Root Beer Rag.” The song is fast-moving, lighthearted
and a bit whimsical, and definitely showcases Joel’s masterful piano
skill. To celebrate the birthday of the Piano Man, why not kick back
with an LP of 42nd Street and a cool root beer frosty?
You may want to slurp it down while watching Billy on a DVD of his
appearance on Inside the Actors Studio:
Season 6, Episode 1 Episode #6.
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