1. WILLIAM MARTIN JOEL “BILLY” JOEL
1949-PRESENT

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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."

7. 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

8. 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

9. Works Cited Page
"Billy Joel." - Biography. 22 Apr <
"Billy Joel." Billy Joel. 22 Apr <
"Billy Joel biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. 22 Apr <
"Billy Joel." Rollingstone.com. 22 Apr <
"Billy Joel." Wikipedia. 22 Apr Wikimedia Foundation. 22 Apr <
"The Official Billy Joel Site." The Official Billy Joel Site. 22 Apr <