WILLIAM MARTIN JOEL “BILLY” JOEL 1949-PRESENT

Billy Joel Born May 9 1949 in Bronx, New York Began studying piano at the age of 4 Boxed through his teen years as a welterweight Singer, Songwriter Plays the piano, harmonica, guitar(electric and acoustic), and the accordion Best known for his first hit “Piano Man” 18 Grammy Nominations not including the ones he won Won 6 Grammy Awards among dozens of other awards 16 platinum albums

Billy Joel Dropped out of high school to pursue a performing career and was in his third band by the time he was 16 years old Inspired by seeing The Beatles (British Invasion) on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 First album Cold Spring Harbor released in 1970 was not a commercial success an led him to move to Los Angeles to lay low In Los Angeles , he got a gig working as a lounge pianist at The Executive Room on Wilshire Boulevard under the pseudonym Bill Martin which later led to his song “Piano Man” and the start of his career Many of his early songs related a growing frustration with the music industry and Hollywood, foreshadowing his exit from Los Angeles in 1976 As the years passed, Joel's style began to evolve, showing his range from pop/rock to the bluesy-jazz styling's that are now associated with his name

Music Style Influenced by various different styles growing up Growing up Billy loved jazz, rock and roll, boogie-woogie, soul music Joel has played many different styles of music throughout his career with different bands including psychedelic rock, pop, rock, ragtime, doo-wop, contemporary pop, soft rock and even some punk but he is best known for his pop/rock and his bluesy-jazz styles, His fusion of two distinct eras made him a superstar, in the late 70’s & 80’s Changed bits of his playing style to conform to the popular style of music at the time In his different albums, you can hear his style slightly differ due to his song writing being a lot about personal struggles and what was going on in the world at that time which influenced the type of music he was creating

Songs Piano Man-1973 Billy Joel - Piano Man – YouTube Written in ¾ time signature, meaning 3 quarter notes per bar Has been called Piano Rock, Soft rock, Folk rock Instruments featured are : piano, harmonica, bass, accordion, mandolin, drums and vocals Begins with a jazzy piano solo and then movies into its famous piano and harmonica introduction Verses and chorus feature a descending walking bass line which is common in baroque music and jazz Ends in a turnaround which is a passage at the end of a section that leads into another section, which is often a repeat of some of the song

Songs Root Beer Rag-1974 Root beer rag Style: Ragtime Instrumental Very fast tempo Listen for syncopation and octave changes Syncopation in general terms is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm": a "placement of rhythmic stresses or accents where they wouldn't normally occur."

Songs New York State of Mind-1976 3:15 New York State Of Mind Style: Soft Rock, Jazz Saxophone added Slower Tempo Syncopation Blue notes, notes sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes Song was never a hit or released as a single but has grown to be a fan favorite over time

Songs The Longest Time-1983 2:53 The Longest Time Style: Doo-Wop, A Capella Doo-wop features vocal group harmony with the musical qualities of many vocal parts, nonsense syllables, a simple beat, sometimes little or no instrumentation, and simple music and lyrics

Works Cited Page "Billy Joel." - Biography. 22 Apr. 2013 <http://www.billboard.com/artist/284376/billy-joel/biography>. "Billy Joel." Billy Joel. 22 Apr. 2013 <http://www.classicbands.com/joel.html>. "Billy Joel biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. 22 Apr. 2013 <http://www.biography.com/people/billy-joel-9354859?page=1>. "Billy Joel." Rollingstone.com. 22 Apr. 2013 <http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/billy-joel/biography>. "Billy Joel." Wikipedia. 22 Apr. 2013. Wikimedia Foundation. 22 Apr. 2013 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Joel>. "The Official Billy Joel Site." The Official Billy Joel Site. 22 Apr. 2013 <http://www.billyjoel.com/>.