Billy Joel

Biography

Born and raised in New York, Billy Joel began his music career at the age of 16, after being inspired by the 1964 appearance of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan.

His first solo record was released in 1971 and by the end of the decade Joel had won two Grammy awards for “the Stranger.”Joel followed that success with his first #1 album, “52nd Street,” which spawned the hit theme to television’s Bosom Buddies starring Tom Hanks. Unhappy with being labeled a balladeer, Joel went for a decidedly harder edge in the early 80s, scoring his first #1 on the Billboard charts with “It’s Still Rock & Roll to Me.” He is also known for his marriage to supermodel Christie Brinkley, who starred alongside Joel in the video for “Uptown Girl.” Joel closed out the decade with the #1 album “Storm Front,” and the #1 single “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”