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2005 Billy Joel tour dates
Sat 01/07/06 Sunrise, FL BankAtlantic Center
Tue 01/10/06 Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Veterans Mem. Arena
Thu 01/12/06 Tampa, FL St. Pete Times Forum
Thu 01/19/06 Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden (Fleet Center)
Mon 01/23/06 Billy Joel New York tickets, NY Madison Square Garden
Thu 01/26/06 New York, NY MSG - new york city - newyork
Mon 01/30/06 Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden (Fleet Center)
Thu 02/02/06 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Thu 02/09/06 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Tue 02/14/06 Philadelphia, PA Billy Joel Wachovia Center tickets
Tue 03/07/06 Billy Joel Philadelphia tickets, PA Wachovia Center
Mon 03/13/06 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center
Sat 03/25/06 Syracuse, NY Carrier Dome
Tue 03/28/06 Hartford, CT Hartford Civic Center
Mon 04/03/06 Phoenix, AZ America West Arena
Wed 04/05/06 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
Sat 04/08/06 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
other cities may be Miami, Philly, LA, L.A. Billy Joel LA tickets.
Although Billy Joel never was a critic's favorite, the pianist emerged as
one of the most popular singer/songwriters of the latter half of the '70s.
Joel's music consistently demonstrates an affection for Beatlesque hooks and
a flair for Tin Pan Alley and Broadway melodies. His fusion of two distinct
eras made him a superstar in the late '70s and '80s, as he racked an
impressive string of multi-platinum albums and hit singles.
Billy Joel was raised in the Long Island suburb of Hicksville, where he
learned to play piano as a child. As he approached his adolescence, Joel
started to rebel, joining teenage street gangs and boxing as welterweight.
He fought a total of 22 fights as a teenager and during one of the fights,
he broke his nose. For the early years of his adolescence, he divided his
time between studying piano and fighting. Upon seeing the Beatles on the Ed
Sullivan Show in 1964, Joel decided to pursue a full-time musical career and
set about finding a local Long Island band to join. Eventually, he found the
Echoes, a group that specialized in British Invasion covers. The Echoes
became a popular New York attraction, convincing him to quit high school to
become a professional musician. Billy Jol tickets are available now from
eagletickets.com
While still a member of the Echoes, Joel began playing recording sessions in
1965, when he was just 16 years old. Joel played piano on several recordings
George "Shadow" Morton produced -- including the Shangri-La's' "Leader of
the Pack" -- as well as several records released through Kama Sutra
Productions. During this time, the Echoes started to play numerous late
night shows. Soon, his musical commitments occupied all of his time and Joel
dropped out of high school, just a few months shy of his graduation.
Later in 1965, the Echoes changed their name twice -- once to the Emeralds
and finally to the Lost Souls. For two years, he played sessions and
performed with the Lost Souls. In 1967, he left the band to join the
Hassles, a local Long Island rock & roll band that had signed a contract
with United Artists Records. Over the next year and a half, the Hassles
released two albums and four singles, all of which failed commercially. In
1969, the Hassles broke up. Joel and the band's drummer, Jon Small, formed
an organ and drums duo called Attila. In Attila, Joel played his organ
through a variety of effects pedals, creating a heavy psychedelic hard-rock
album completely without guitars. On the cover of the band's eponymous
album, both Joel and Small were dressed as barbarians; in an interview on
the back of the album, Joel claimed to forget the name of his previous band
and stated that he only "sweated" two things -- perfecting his sound and the
war in Southeast Asia. Epic released Attila early in 1970 and it was an
immediate bomb and the duo broke up. While the group was still together,
Joel began a romance with Small's wife, Elizabeth; she would eventually
leave the drummer to marry the pianist.
After Attila's embarrassing failure, Joel wrote rock criticism for a
magazine called Changes and played on commercial jingles, including a Chubby
Checker spot for Bachman Pretzels. However, Joel entered a severe bout of
depression, culminating with him drinking a bottle of furniture polish in an
attempt to end his life. Following his failed suicide attempt, Joel checked
himself into Meadowbrook Hospital, where he received psychiatric treatment
for depression.
Billy Joel returned to playing music in 1971, signing a deal with Family
Productions. Under the terms of the contract, Joel signed to the label's
parent company, Ripp, for life; the pianist was unaware of the clause at the
time, but it would come back to haunt him -- Ripp received royalties from
every album Joel sold until the late '80s. Joel refashioned himself as a
sensitive singer/songwriter for his debut album, Cold Spring Harbor, which
was released in November of 1971. Due to an error in the mastering of the
album, Cold Spring Harbor was released a couple of tape speeds too fast; the
album remained in that bastardized form until 1984. Following the release of
the album, Joel went on a small live tour, during which he would frequently
delve into standup comedy. The tour received good reviews but Joel remained
unhappy with the quality of his performance and, especially, the quality of
the album. Furthermore, he lost a manager during this time and Family
Productions were experiencing legal and financial difficulties, which
prevented him from recording an immediate follow-up.
Early in 1972, he moved out to Los Angeles with his girlfriend Elizabeth.
Joel adopted the name Bill Martin and spent half a year played lounge piano
at the Executive Room. Toward the end of the year, he began touring, playing
various nightclubs across the country. At the beginning of 1973, Joel
married Elizabeth Weber and she enrolled at UCLA's Graduate School of
Management. Around the same time, a radio station began playing a live
version of "Captain Jack" that was recorded at a Philadelphia radio
broadcast. Soon, record companies were eagerly seeking to sign the pianist,
and he eventually signed with Columbia Records. In order for Joel to sign
with Columbia, the major label had to agree to pay Ripp Productions 25 cents
for each album sold, plus display the Family and Remus logos on each record
Joel released.
By the end of 1973, Billy Joel's first album for Columbia Records, Piano
Man, had been released. The record slowly worked its way up the charts,
peaking at number 27 in the spring of 1974. The title track -- culled from
experiences he had while singing at the Executive Room -- became a Top 40
hit single. At the end of the summer, Joel assembled a touring band and
undertook a national tour, opening for acts like the J. Geils Band and the
Doobie Brothers. By the end of 1974, he had released his second album,
Streetlife Serenade, which reached number 35 early in 1975. After its
success, Joel signed a contract with James William Guercio and Larry
Fitzgerald's management company, Caribou, and moved from California to their
hometown of New York. Through songs like "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" and "New
York State of Mind," Joel celebrated the move his 1976 album Turnstiles. The
sessions for Turnstiles were long and filled with tension, culminating with
Joel firing the album's original producer, Guercio, and producing the album
himself. Once he fired Guercio, Joel also left Caribou, and hired his wife
as his new manager.
Turnstiles stalled on the charts, only reaching number 122. Billy Joel's
next album would prove to be the make-or-break point for his career and the
resulting album, The Stranger, catapulted him into super-stardom. The
Stranger was released in the fall of 1977 -- by the end of the year, it
peaked at number two and had gone platinum and, within the course of a year,
it would spawn the Top 40 singles "Just the Way You Are" -- which would win
Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 1979 Grammys -- "Movin' Out
(Anthony's Song)," "She's Always a Woman," and "Only the Good Die Young."
Over the next two decades, the album would sell over seven million copies.
Joel followed The Stranger with 52nd Street, which was released in the fall
of 1978. 52nd Street spent eight weeks at number one in the U.S., selling
over two millions copies within the first month of its release. The album
spawned the hit singles "My Life," "Big Shot," and "Honesty," and won the
Grammy award for Album of the Year in 1980. Although he had become a genuine
star, critics had not looked kindly to Billy Joel's music and the pianist
became a vocal opponent of rock criticism in the late '70s; he was known to
have denounced Village Voice pundit Robert Christgau on stage and then, as a
form of protest, had torn up Christgau's reviews.
In the spring of 1980, Joel released Glass Houses, theoretically a
harder-edged album that was a response to the punk and new wave movement. By
the summer of 1980, Glass Houses had reached number one in America, where it
stayed for six weeks; the album spawned the Top 40 singles "You May Be
Right" (number seven) "It's Still Rock'N'Roll to Me" (number one), "Don't
Ask Me Why" (number 19), and "Sometimes a Fantasy" (number 36) and won the
Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male in 1981. In the fall of 1981,
Joel released Songs in the Attic, a live album that concentrated on material
written and recorded before he became a star in 1977. The album's "Say
Goodbye to Hollywood" and "She's Got a Way" became Top 40 hits.
Songs in the Attic bought Joel some time as he was completing an album he
had designed as his bid to be taken seriously as a composer. Before the
album was finished, he suffered a serious motorcycle accident in the spring
of 1982. He broke his wrist in the accident -- it would take major surgery
to repair the wound. In July of 1982, Joel divorced his wife Elizabeth. His
new album, The Nylon Curtain, was finally released in the fall. A concept
album about baby boomers and their experiences, the album was a commercial
disappointment, only selling a million copies, but it did earn him some of
his better reviews, as well as spawning the Top 20 hits "Pressure" and
"Allentown." Joel quickly followed the album in 1983 with the oldies
pastiche An Innocent Man.
An Innocent Man restored Joel to his multi-platinum status, eventually
selling over five million copies and spawning the hit singles "Uptown Girl"
(number three)," "Tell Her About It" (number one), "An Innocent Man" (number
10), and "Keeping the Faith" (number eighteen). Several of the songs on the
album were about model Christie Brinkley, who was engaged to Joel by the
time the album was released. During 1983 and 1984, Joel became one of the
first '70s stars to embrace MTV and music videos, shooting a number of clips
for the album which were aired frequently on the network. The videos usually
starred Brinkley, as well as Joel. Brinkley and Joel were married in the
spring of 1985.
Billy Joel released a double album compilation, Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 & 2
in the summer of 1985. Two new songs -- the Top Ten "You're Only Human
(Second Wind)" and the Top 40 "The Night Is Still Young" -- were added to
the hits collection; the album itself peaked at number six and would
eventually sell over four million copies. In the summer of 1986, Joel
returned with the Top Ten single "Modern Woman," which was taken from the
soundtrack of Ruthless People. "Modern Woman" was also a teaser from his new
album, The Bridge, which was released in August. The Bridge was another
success for Joel, peaking at number seven, selling over two million copies,
and spawning the Top 40 hits "A Matter of Trust" (number 10) and "This Is
the Time" (number 18), as well as "Big Man on Mulberry Street," which was
used as the basis for an episode of the popular Bruce Willis/Cybill Shepherd
television series Moonlighting.
In the spring of 1987, Billy Joel embarked on a major tour of the USSR,
during which he had an onstage temper-tantrum and shoved a piano off the
stage. His Leningrad concert was recorded and released in the fall of 1987
as the double-live album Kohuept, which means concert in Russian. Joel was
quiet for much of 1988, only appearing as the voice of Dodger in the Walt
Disney animated feature Oliver and Company.
Billy Joel fired his long-time manager and former brother-in-law Frank Weber
in August of 1989, after an audit revealed that there were major
discrepancies in Weber's accounting. Following Weber's dismissal, Joel sued
Weber for 90 million dollars, claiming fraud and breach of fiduciary duty.
Immediately after filing suit, Joel was hospitalized with kidney stones. All
of this turmoil didn't prevent the release of his twelfth studio album,
Storm Front, in the fall of 1989. It was preceded by the single "We Didn't
Start the Fire," whose lyrics were just a string of historical facts. The
single became a huge hit, reaching number one and inspiring history students
across America. Storm Front marked a significant change for Billy Joel -- he
fired his band, keeping only Liberty DeVito, and ceased his relationship
with producer Phil Ramone, hiring Mick Jones of Foreigner to produce the
album. Storm Front was another hit for Joel, reaching number one in the U.S.
and selling over three million albums.
During 1990, Joel undertook a major U.S. tour, that ran well into 1991. In
January, the court awarded Joel two million dollars in a partial judgement
against Frank Weber, and in April, the court dismissed a 30 million dollar
countersuit. At the end of the year, the National Academy of Recording Arts
and Sciences honored Billy Joel with a Grammy Living Legend award; that same
year, Quincy Jones, Johnny Cash, and Aretha Franklin were also given the
honor.
Following the Storm Front world tour, Billy Joel spent the next few years
quietly. In 1991, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Fairfield
University in Connecticut; a few years In the summer of 1992, Joel filed 90
million dollar lawsuit, charging his former lawyer Allen Grubman of fraud,
breach of contract, and malpractice; in October of 1993, the two parties
settled their differences out of court. Joel returned in the summer of 1993
with River of Dreams, which entered the charts at number one and spawned the
Top Ten title track. Following the River of Dreams tour, Joel divorced
Christie Brinkley. In 1996, he gave a series of lectures at a variety of
American colleges. He performed at the 1999 New Year's Eve Party in Times
Square, and 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert, a live album of this
concert, was released early the following year. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine,
All Music Guide...
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Billy Joel info The consumate piano-man was born William Martin
Joel was born on May 9th, 1949 in The Bronx, New York), better known as
Billy Joel, is a globally-recognized pianist, singer and songwriter. He
produced pop music hits from 1973 (beginning with the single "Piano Man") to
his retirement from the genre in 1993. Joel could be considered, with Elton
John, as being the father of piano rock. He has sold well over 100 million
albums worldwide and is the 6th best selling artist in the United States.
Joel's induction into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame (Class of 1992), and the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Class of 1999) has further solidified his status
as one of America's leading music icons. He has continued to tour
occasionally (usually with Elton John) in addition to writing and recording
classical music.
Billy Joel discography
52nd Street
Stranger
Bridge
Bridge/Storm Front/Nylon Curtain
Cold Spring Harbor
Glass Houses
Innocent Man
River of Dreams
Storm Front
Turnstiles [Enhanced Version]
Greatest Hits Volume III
5-CD Aussie Tour Souvenir
KOHUEPT (Live in Leningrad)
New Years Concert 1987
Piano Man
Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (Disc 1)
Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 & 2 (1973-1985)
The Nylon Curtain
Songs in the Attic
An Innocent Man / The Stranger
Piano Man/Streetlife Serenade
Streetlife Serenade
Other Billy Joel tour info
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Owner of more hit singles than there are strip malls in his native
Long Island, N.Y., Billy Joel has fashioned the quintessential pop
career from unparalleled songcraft, a penchant for genre-bouncing from
one album to the next, and over-the-top stage performances. A child of
1950s R&B and 1960s British Invasion, Joel has always maintained an
extraordinary knack for coming up with songs that sound just as good
(if not better) on the AM radio of your uncle's '73 Pinto as they do
on the living room hi-fi. This devotion to the pop aesthetic over the
course of twelve studio albums and innumerable radio hits -- beginning
with the autobiographical "Piano Man" in 1973 on through "The River of
Dreams" twenty years later -- has won Joel a fan base ranging from
twenty-somethings raised on his late '70s/early '80s classics ("My
Life," "Only The Good Die Young," and "Pressure" among them) to the
parents of those same twenty-somethings who hear a bit of the Beatles,
Dylan, and Smokey Robinson in those same classics. Although Joel
removed himself from the pop fold following River of Dreams,
his mighty back catalog continues to sell in hefty chunks.
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