American musician, vocalist and composer. The first to visit the Soviet Union after the fall of the Iron Curtain, concerts were held in Leningrad and Moscow.
Biography
William Joel was born in 1949 in the Bronx. When the boy turned one year old, his family moved to Long Island, a suburb of New York. His father worked as a pianist, performed classical music, in addition, he had his own business.
The boy’s mother insisted that he begin to study music from early childhood. Billy learned the basics of the classical piano and organ.
In adolescence, fond of boxing. Participates in more than twenty battles in the amateur league, but ceases to participate in competitions after a nose injury.
He attended school in Hickswell, but did not finish his studies, as he was forced to help his mother make ends meet. Joel could not pass the English exams because he had been playing in the bar all night before, making money. In 1992, at the age of 43, he still passed the exams and received a graduation diploma.
Career
At the beginning of 1965 he began to collaborate with the Echoes group, recording several songs with them as a keyboard player. In 1967, leaves the team, joins the Hassles group. The group recorded two albums and several singles, none of the songs had commercial success.
In 1971 he recorded his first solo album, "Cold Spring Harbor", due to an unsuccessful arrangement, the album fails at the box office. In 1983, the album was rewritten.
In 1973, his second album, "Piano Man", was released. The composition of the same name from this album becomes Joel's calling card, he performed it at each subsequent concert.
In 1974 he released his album "Streetlife Serenade", which had little success.
In 1977, he recorded his most famous album, The Stranger. It is an incredible commercial success, four songs from this album fall into the top lines of the American and European charts.
In 1983 he released the album "An Innocent Man", the most successful composition of the same name was obtained. The song hit the front lines of the British and American charts several times.
In 1986, Billy Joel begins a tour of the Soviet Union. He became the first American rock musician to come with concerts, his performance was a historic event.
In the nineties and two thousandths he continues to tour around the world, records two not very successful albums.
