Coordinates	23°31′22″N46°11′35″N
name	2000 Years: The Millennium Concert
type	Live album
artist	Billy Joel
cover	Billy_Joel_-_2000_Years.jpg
released	May 2, 2000
recorded	December 31, 1999 – January 1, 2000
genre	Rock
length	128:39
label	Sony
producer	Don DeVitto
last album	''Greatest Hits Volume III'' (1997)
this album	''2000 Years: The Millennium Concert'' (2000)
next album	''The Ultimate Collection'' (2001) }}

''2000 Years: The Millennium Concert'' is a two-disc set and the third live album by Billy Joel, released in 2000.

The album was recorded on New Year's Eve 1999 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, during Joel's ''The Night of Two Thousand Years'' Tour. Though some alterations were made before its release: some songs are not the same version featured in the original concert (like "Big Shot"), others were edited in studio (some YouTube videos of "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" show Billy singing offkey, while he sings perfectly on the album). ''2000 Years: The Millennium Concert'' also marked the first time several songs had to be transposed to lower keys to accommodate Joel's deepening voice ("I Go To Extremes", "I've Loved These Days", "Goodnight Saigon" and "Only The Good Die Young" are in the key of B♭ vs. C).

Some versions of the album that were released out of the United States are basically a compilation of moments from the concert with two bonus tracks: "This Is The Time" (live from the concert) and "Just The Way You Are" (live from the concert (Japan release Only)).

Track listing

All songs written by Billy Joel, except where noted.

;Disc one #"Beethoven's Ninth Symphony" (Beethoven) – 1:43 #"Big Shot" – 4:55 #"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" – 5:23 #"Summer, Highland Falls" – 5:29 #"The Ballad of Billy the Kid" – 6:52 #"Don't Ask Me Why" – 4:49 #"New York State of Mind" – 8:29 #"I've Loved These Days" – 4:30 #"My Life" – 5:47 #"Allentown" – 4:48 #"Prelude/Angry Young Man" – 5:23 #"Only the Good Die Young" – 3:49

;Disc two #

"I Go to Extremes" – 5:01 #"Goodnight Saigon" – 7:28 #"We Didn't Start the Fire" – 5:21 #"Big Man on Mulberry Street" – 5:29 #"2000 Years" – 6:02 #"Auld Lang Syne" (Burns/Traditional) – 1:44 #"The River of Dreams" – 5:54 #"Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" – 8:05 #"Dance to the Music" (Stewart) – 3:17 #"Honky Tonk Women" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) – 3:17 #"It's Still Rock & Roll to Me" – 4:08 #"You May Be Right" – 6:07 #"This Night" (Beethoven/Joel) – 4:49

A performance of "Piano Man" is excluded from the album, but it can be found on ''The Complete Hits Collection (1973–1997)''

References

Category:Double live albums Category:Billy Joel live albums Category:2000 live albums Category:English-language live albums

de:2000 Years – The Millennium Concert es:2000 Years: The Millennium Concert

Coordinates	23°31′22″N46°11′35″N
name	Billy Joel
background	solo_singer
birth name	William Martin Joel
alias	Bill Joel,Bill Martin
birth date	May 09, 1949
birth place	The Bronx, New York City,
origin	Hicksville, New York,
instrument	Vocals, piano, guitar, harmonica, keyboard, accordion, organ, melodica, clavinet, percussion, harpsichord
genre	Rock, pop, jazz, classical
occupation	Singer-songwriter, pianist
years active	1964–present
label	Columbia,Family Productions,Famous Music,Sony Classical
associated acts	Echoes,The Hassles,Attila,Elton John,Bruce Springsteen
website
notable instruments	Piano }}

William Martin "Billy" Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man," in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to the RIAA.

Joel had Top 40 hits in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s; achieving 33 Top 40 hits in the United States, all of which he wrote himself. He is also a six-time Grammy Award winner, a 23-time Grammy nominee and has sold over 150 million records worldwide. He was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame (1992), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999), the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (2006) and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame (2009). In 2008, ''Billboard'' magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's 50th anniversary, with Joel at No. 23. With the exception of the 2007 single "All My Life," Joel discontinued recording new material after 1993's ''River of Dreams'' but continues to tour.

Early life

Joel was born in The Bronx and raised in Hicksville, New York. His father, Howard (born Helmuth), was born in Germany, the son of German merchant and manufacturer Karl Amson Joel who, after the advent of the Nazi regime, emigrated to Switzerland and later to the United States. Billy Joel's mother, Rosalind Nyman, was born in England to Philip and Rebecca Nyman. Both Joel's parents were Jewish. They divorced in 1960, and his father moved to Vienna, Austria. Billy has a sister, Judith Joel, and a half-brother, Alexander Joel, who is an acclaimed classical conductor in Europe, currently chief musical director of the Staatstheater Braunschweig.

Joel's father was an accomplished classical pianist. Billy reluctantly began piano lessons at an early age, at his mother's insistence; his teachers included the noted American pianist Morton Estrin and musician/songwriter Timothy Ford. His interest in music, rather than sports, was a source of teasing and bullying in his early years. (He has said in interviews that his piano instructor also taught ballet. Her name was Frances Neiman, and she was a Juilliard trained musician. She gave both classic piano and ballet lessons in the studio attached to the rear of her house, leading neighborhood bullies to mistakenly think he was learning to dance.) As a teenager, Joel took up boxing so that he would be able to defend himself. He boxed successfully on the amateur Golden Gloves circuit for a short time, winning twenty-two bouts, but abandoned the sport shortly after having his nose broken in his twenty-fourth boxing match.

Joel attended Hicksville High School, class of 1967. However, he did not graduate from Hicksville. Due to playing at a piano bar, he was one English credit short of the graduation requirement; he overslept on the day of an important exam, owing to his late-night musician's lifestyle. He left high school without a diploma to begin a career in music. "I told them, 'to hell with it. If I'm not going to Columbia University, I'm going to Columbia Records and you don't need a high school diploma over there'." Columbia did, in fact, become the label that eventually signed him. In 1992, he submitted essays to the school board and was awarded his diploma at Hicksville High's annual graduation ceremony—25 years after he had left.

Music career

Early career

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, which convinced him to leave high school to become a professional musician. He began playing for the Echoes when he was 14 years old.

Joel began playing recording sessions with the Echoes in 1965, when he was 16 years old. Joel played piano on several recordings produced by Shadow Morton, including (as claimed by Joel, but denied by songwriter Ellie Greenwich) the Shangri-Las' ''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.

Later, in 1965, the Echoes changed their name to the Emeralds and then to the Lost Souls. For two years, Joel played sessions and performed with the Lost Souls. In 1967, he left that band to join the Hassles, a Long Island band that had signed a contract with United Artists Records. Over the next year and a half, they released ''The Hassles'' in 1967, ''Hour of the Wolf'' in 1968, and four singles, all of which failed commercially. Following The Hassles' demise in 1969, he formed the duo Attila with Hassles drummer Jon Small. Attila released their eponymous debut album in July 1970, and disbanded the following October. The reason for the group's break-up has been attributed to Joel's affair with Small's wife, Elizabeth, whom Joel eventually married.

''Cold Spring Harbor''

Joel signed his first solo record contract with Artie Ripp's Family Productions, and subsequently recorded his first solo album. ''Cold Spring Harbor'' (a reference to the Long Island town of the same name), was released in 1971. However, Ripp mastered and released the album at the wrong speed, resulting in Joel's voice sounding a semitone too high. In addition, the onerous terms of Ripp's Family Productions contract also guaranteed Joel very little money from the sales of his albums.

Popular cuts such as "She's Got a Way" and "Everybody Loves You Now" were originally released on this album, although they did not gain much attention until released as live performances in 1981 on ''Songs in the Attic''. Since then, they have become favorite concert numbers. ''Cold Spring Harbor'' gained a second chance on the charts in 1984, when Columbia reissued the album after slowing it down to the correct speed. The album reached #158 in the US and #95 in the UK nearly a year later. ''Cold Spring Harbor'' caught the attention of Merrilee Rush ("Angel of the Morning") and she recorded a femme version of "She’s Got a Way (He’s Got a Way)" for Scepter Records in 1971.

Joel gigged locally in New York City in the fall of 1971 and moved out to Los Angeles early in 1972, adopting the stage name ''Bill Martin''. While in California he did a six month gig in The Executive Room piano bar on Wilshire Boulevard. It was there he composed his signature hit "Piano Man" about the various patrons of the lounge. Subsequently he toured with his band members (Rhys Clark on drums, Al Hertzberg on guitar, and Larry Russell on bass) until the end of June 1972 throughout the US and Puerto Rico, opening for headliners such as J. Geils Band, The Beach Boys and Taj Mahal. At the Mar y sol festival in Puerto Rico, he electrified the crowd and got a big boost for his career.

In addition Philadelphia radio station WMMR-FM started playing a tape of a new song of Joel's, "Captain Jack", taken from a live concert. It became an underground hit on the East Coast. Herb Gordon, an executive of Columbia Records, heard Joel's music and made his company aware of Joel's talent. Joel signed a recording contract with Columbia in 1972 and moved to Los Angeles. He lived there for three years (and has since declared that those three years were a big mistake), returning to New York City in 1975.

Early Columbia years: 1973–1976

Joel's experiences in Los Angeles connected him with record company executives, who bought out his contract with Ripp under the condition that the Family Productions logo be displayed alongside the Columbia logo for the next ten albums. There was a stipulation that Family Productions would receive a 25-cent royalty for every album Joel sold. The stand-out track for ''Piano Man'' was the title track, which, despite only making it to #25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, stands as Joel's signature song (he ends nearly all of his concerts with it).

The touring band changed as well in 1973. Don Evans replaced Al Hertzberg on guitar, and Patrick McDonald took over the bass position previously held by Larry Russell, and was then replaced in late 1974 by Doug Stegmeyer, who remained with Billy until 1989. Rhys Clark returned as drummer, Tom Whitehorse on banjo and pedal steel and then Johnny Almond on sax and keyboards rounded out the band. Billy's infectious spirit and talent galvanized the band into a tight performing unit, touring the U.S. and Canada extensively and appearing on the popular music shows of the day. Joel's songwriting was now attracting more attention; Helen Reddy recorded "You're My Home" (from ''Piano Man'') in 1974.

Joel remained in Los Angeles to write ''Streetlife Serenade'', his second album on the Columbia label. It was around this time that Jon Troy, an old friend from the New York neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, acted as Joel's manager although he would soon be replaced by Joel's wife Elizabeth. References to both suburbia and the inner city pepper the album.

The stand-out track on the album is "The Entertainer", a #34 hit in the U.S. which picks up thematically where "Piano Man" left off. Joel was upset that "Piano Man" had been significantly edited down to make it more radio-friendly, and in "The Entertainer," he refers to the edit with sarcastic lines such as "If you're gonna have a hit, you gotta make it fit, so they cut it down to 3:05", alluding to shortening of singles for radio play, as compared with the longer versions that appear on albums. Although ''Streetlife Serenade'' is often considered one of Joel's weaker albums (Joel has confirmed his distaste for the album), it nevertheless contains some notable tracks, including the title track, "Los Angelenos" and the instrumental "Root Beer Rag", which was a staple of his live set in the '70s and was resurrected frequently in 2007 and 2008. ''Streetlife Serenade'' also marks the beginning of a more confident vocal style on Joel's part.

In late 1975, he played piano and organ on several tracks on Bo Diddley's ''The 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll'' all-star album.

Disenchanted with the L.A. music scene, Joel returned to New York in 1976. There he recorded ''Turnstiles'', for which he used his own hand-picked musicians in the studio for the first time, and also adopted a more hands-on role. Songs were initially recorded at Caribou Ranch with members of Elton John's band, and produced by famed Chicago producer James William Guercio, but Joel was dissatisfied with the results. The songs were re-recorded in New York, and Joel took over, producing the album himself.

The minor hit "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" echoed the Phil Spector sound, and was covered by Ronnie Spector (in a 2008 radio interview, Joel said he does not perform "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" in his live shows anymore because it is in too high a key and "shreds" his vocal cords.) The album also featured the song "New York State of Mind", a bluesy, jazzy epic that has become one of Joel's signature songs, and which was later covered by fellow Columbia labelmates Barbra Streisand, on her 1977 ''Streisand Superman'' album, and as a duet with Tony Bennett, on his 2001 ''Playing with My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues'' album. Other songs on the album include "Summer, Highland Falls", "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" and "Say Goodbye to Hollywood", which became a Top 40 hit in 1981 in a live version. Songs such as the powerful "Prelude/Angry Young Man" has become a mainstay of his concerts.

''The Stranger'' and ''52nd Street''

For ''The Stranger'', Columbia Records teamed Joel with producer Phil Ramone. The album yielded four Top-25 hits on the ''Billboard'' charts in the US: "Just the Way You Are" (#3), "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" (#17), "Only the Good Die Young" (#24), and "She's Always a Woman" (#17). Album sales exceeded Columbia's previous top-selling album, Simon & Garfunkel's ''Bridge Over Troubled Water'', and was certified multi-platinum. His first-ever Top Ten album, it reached #2 on the charts. Ramone subsequently produced every Billy Joel studio release up to ''Storm Front'', initially released in 1989. This album also featured "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", an album-oriented rock classic, which has become one of his best-known songs.

''The Stranger'' netted Joel Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, for "Just the Way You Are", which was written as a gift to his wife Elizabeth. He received a late night phone call to his hotel room in Paris (he was on tour) in February 1979, letting him know he had won in both categories.

Joel faced high expectations on his next album. ''52nd Street'' was conceived as a day in Manhattan, and was named after the famous street of same name which hosted many of the world's premier jazz venues and performers throughout the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. Fans purchased over seven million copies on the strength of the hits "My Life" (#3), "Big Shot" (#14), and "Honesty" (#24). This helped ''52nd Street'' become Joel's first #1 album. "My Life" eventually became the theme song for a new US television sitcom, ''Bosom Buddies'', which featured actor Tom Hanks in one of his earliest roles. The album won Grammys for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male and Album of the Year. ''52nd Street'' was the first album to be released on compact disc when it went on sale alongside Sony's CD player CDP-101 on October 1, 1982, in Japan.

Despite the publicity photos and album cover showing Joel holding a trumpet, he does not play the instrument on the album, though two tracks on the album do feature some well-known jazz trumpeters. Freddie Hubbard plays two solos on "Zanzibar" and Jon Faddis joins Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker in the horn section for "Half a Mile Away".

In 1979, Joel travelled to Havana, Cuba, to participate in the historic Havana Jam festival that took place between March 2–4, alongside Rita Coolidge, Kris Kristofferson; Stephen Stills, the CBS Jazz All-Stars, the Trio of Doom, Fania All-Stars, Billy Swan, Bonnie Bramlett, Mike Finnegan, Weather Report, plus an array of Cuban artists such as Irakere, Pacho Alonso, Tata Güines and Orquesta Aragón. His performance is captured on Ernesto Juan Castellanos's documentary ''Havana Jam '79''.

Early 1980s

The success of his piano-driven ballads like "Just the Way You Are," "She's Always a Woman" and "Honesty" never sat well with Joel, as many critics were quick to slap the "balladeer" tag on him. With ''Glass Houses'', he attacked the new wave popularity with aplomb and delivered several harder-edged songs custom made for the live shows in arenas and stadiums he was by then playing almost exclusively. The front cover consisted of Joel's real-life modern glass house. The album spent 6 weeks at #1 on the Billboard chart and yielded such hits as "You May Be Right" (used as the theme song, covered by Southside Johnny, for the CBS mid-90s sitcom ''Dave's World'') (#7, May 1980), "Close To The Borderline" (B-side of the "You May Be Right" single), "Don't Ask Me Why" (#19, September 1980), "Sometimes a Fantasy" (#36, November 1980) and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me", which became Joel's first Billboard #1 song (for two weeks) in July 1980. "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" spent 11 weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and was the 7th biggest hit of 1980 according to American Top 40. ''Glass Houses'' won the Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male. It would also win the American Music Award for Favorite Album, Pop/Rock category. The album's closing song, "Through The Long Night", (B-side of the "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me" single) was a lullaby that featured Joel harmonizing with himself in a song he says was inspired by The Beatles' "Yes It Is."

His next release, ''Songs in the Attic'', was composed of live performances of less well-known songs from the beginning of his career. It was recorded during larger US arenas and intimate night club shows in June and July 1980. This release introduced many fans, who discovered Joel when ''The Stranger'' became a smash in 1977, to many of his earlier compositions. The album reached #8 on the ''Billboard'' chart and produced two hit singles: "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (#17), and "She's Got a Way" (#23). It sold over 3 million copies. Though not as successful as some of his previous albums, the album was still considered a success by Joel.

The next wave of Joel's career commenced with the recording of ''The Nylon Curtain''. Considered his most audacious and ambitious album by many critics, and cited by Joel himself to the present day as his favorite of his works, Joel took more than a page or two from the Lennon/McCartney songwriting style on this heavily Beatles-influenced album.

Work began on ''The Nylon Curtain'' in the fall of 1981. Joel was sidelined when he was involved in a serious motorcycle accident on Long Island on April 15, 1982, which delayed the completion of the album a few weeks. Joel embarked on a brief tour in support of the album, during which his first video special, ''Live from Long Island,'' was recorded at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on December 30, 1982.

''The Nylon Curtain'' went to #7 on the charts, partially due to heavy airplay on MTV for the videos to the singles "Allentown" and "Pressure". "Allentown" spent six weeks at a peak position of #17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, making it one of the most-played radio songs of 1982, pushing it into 1983's year-end Top 70, and making it the most successful song from ''The Nylon Curtain'' album, besting "Pressure". which peaked at #20 (where it resided for three weeks) and "Goodnight Saigon" which reached #56 on U.S. charts.

Christie Brinkley, ''An Innocent Man'', and ''The Bridge''

The song "Uptown Girl" was one of the first songs written when Joel returned from vacation. Many believe that "Uptown Girl" was about supermodel Christie Brinkley, whom he started dating during the song's creation (the music video also included Brinkley). However, Michael Heatley and Frank Hopkinson in their book, ''The Girl In The Song'', speculate that it was actually about model Elle Macpherson, his future missus Christie, and a then-unknown model/singer named Whitney Houston, who were staying at the same hotel as he. On November 16, 2010, during an interview on the Howard Stern Show on Sirius Radio, Billy Joel stated that the song was originally called "Uptown Girls" and that he had started to write the melody of the song around the same time he was dating Macpherson. Joel said when he started to write the lyrics, the song was only about Brinkley, "...rather than it be about all these different girls, she (Brinkley) became the "Uptown Girl" and I started writing about one person...so they (Heatley/Hopkinson) got the story wrong." The song became a worldwide hit upon its release, #3 in the U.S. and Joel's sole #1 in the United Kingdom.

The resulting album, ''An Innocent Man'', was compiled as a tribute to the rock and roll music of the 1950s and 1960s, and also resulted in Joel's second ''Billboard'' #1 hit, "Tell Her About It", which was the first single off the album in the summer of 1983. The album itself reached #4 on the charts and #2 in UK. It also boasted 6 top-30 singles, the most of any album in Joel's catalog. At the time the album came out that summer, WCBS-FM began playing "The Longest Time" both in regular rotation and on the ''Doo Wop Shop.'' Many fans wanted this to be the next single released in the fall, but that October, "Uptown Girl" would be released, peaking at #3 and ranking at #20 on Billboard's 1983 Hot 100 year-end chart. Also, the James Brown-inspired song "Easy Money" would be featured in the 1983 Rodney Dangerfield film of the same name.

In December the title song, "An Innocent Man", would be released as a single and would peak at #10 in the U.S. and #8 in the UK, early in 1984. That March, "The Longest Time" would finally be released as a single, peaking at #14 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. That summer, "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" would be released and hit #27 while "Keeping the Faith" would peak at #18 in January 1985. In the video for "Keeping the Faith", Christie Brinkley also plays the "redhead girl in a Chevrolet". ''An Innocent Man'' was also nominated for the Album of the Year Grammy, but lost to Michael Jackson's ''Thriller''.

Joel would participate in the USA For Africa ''We Are The World'' project in 1985, capping off a series of successful singles for Joel.

Following the success of ''An Innocent Man'', Joel had been approached to release an album of his most successful singles. This was not the first time this topic had come up, but Joel had initially considered "Greatest Hits" albums as marking the end of one's career. This time, he agreed, and ''Greatest Hits Vol. 1 and 2'' was released as a 4-sided album and 2-CD set, with the songs in sequence of when they were released. The new songs "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" and "The Night Is Still Young" were recorded and released as singles to support the album; both reached the top 40, peaking at #9 and #34, respectively. ''Greatest Hits'' was highly successful and has since been certified double diamond by the RIAA for over 10.5 million copies (21 million units) sold. To date it is the sixth best selling album in American music history according to the RIAA.

Coinciding with the ''Greatest Hits'' album release, Joel released a 2-volume ''Video Album'' that was a compilation of the promotional videos he had recorded from 1977 to the present time. Along with videos for the new singles off the ''Greatest Hits'' album, Joel also recorded a video for his first hit, "Piano Man", for this project.

Though it broke into the Top Ten, ''The Bridge'' was not a success in relation to some of Joel's other albums, but it yielded the hits "A Matter of Trust" and "Modern Woman" from the film ''Ruthless People'', a dark comedy from the directors of ''Airplane!'' (both #10). In a departure from his "piano man" persona, Joel is shown in its video playing a Les Paul-autographed Gibson guitar. The ballad "This is the Time" also charted, peaking at #18, and has been a favorite on the prom circuit ever since. The reason "Modern Woman" has been left off many of Joel's compilation sets (the exception appears to be ''My Lives'') is that he has since said in interviews he does not care for the song.

On November 18, 1986, an extended version of the song "Big Man On Mulberry Street" was used on a Season 3 episode of ''Moonlighting''. The episode itself was also titled "Big Man on Mulberry Street." In a dream sequence, Maddie Hayes envisions David Addison with his ex-wife. An extra horn solo was added to the song. ''The Bridge'' was also Joel's last album to carry the Family Productions logo, finally severing his ties with Artie Ripp. Joel has also stated in many interviews, most recently in a 2008 interview in ''Performing Songwriter'' magazine, that he does not think ''The Bridge'' is a good album.

Shortly after The Bridge tour ended in late 1987, Joel completed voice work on Disney's ''Oliver & Company,'' released in 1988, a loose adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel ''Oliver Twist.'' Joel brought both his acting and musical talents to the film as Dodger. For the film, Joel recorded a song titled "Why Should I Worry?" Critics were generally positive toward the film, and pointed to Joel's acting contribution as one of its highlights, despite it being his first acting job. In interviews, Joel explained that he took the job due to his love of Disney cartoons as a child.

The Russia trip

In October 1986, Joel and his handlers started planning a trip to the Soviet Union. He would be one of the first American rock acts to play there since the Berlin Wall went up, a fact not lost on history buff Joel. There would be live performances at indoor arenas in Moscow, Leningrad and Tbilisi. Joel and his family (including young daughter Alexa) and his full touring band made the trip in August 1987. The entourage was filmed for television and video to eventually offset the cost of the trip, and the concerts were simulcast on radio around the world.

Most of that audience took a long while to warm up to Joel's energetic show, something that never had happened in other countries he had performed in. According to Joel, each time the fans were hit with the bright lights, anybody who seemed to be enjoying themselves froze. In addition, people who were "overreacting" were removed by security.

The album ''КОНЦЕРТ'' (Russian for "Concert") was released in October 1987. Singer Peter Hewlitt was brought in to hit the high notes on his most vocally challenging songs, like "An Innocent Man." Joel also did versions of The Beatles' classic "Back in the U.S.S.R." and Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are a-Changin'". It has been estimated that Joel lost more than $1 million of his own money on the trip and concerts, but he has said the goodwill he was shown there was well worth it.

''Storm Front'' and ''River of Dreams''

The release of the album ''Storm Front'' coincided with major changes in Joel's career and inaugurated a period of serious upheaval in his business affairs. In August 1989, just before the album was released, Joel fired his manager (and former brother-in-law) Frank Weber after an audit revealed major discrepancies in Weber's accounting. Joel subsequently sued Weber for $90 million, claiming fraud and breach of fiduciary duty and in January 1990 he was awarded $2 million in a partial judgement against Weber; in April, the court dismissed a $30 million countersuit filed by Weber.

The first single for the album "We Didn't Start the Fire", was released in September 1989 and it became Joel's third and most recent US #1 hit, spending two weeks at the top; it was also Billboard's second-last #1 single of the 1980s. ''Storm Front'' was released in October, and it eventually became Joel's first #1 album since ''Glass Houses'', nine years earlier. ''Storm Front'' was Joel's first album since ''Turnstiles'' to be recorded without Phil Ramone as producer. For this album, he wanted a new sound, and worked with Mick Jones of Foreigner fame. Joel also revamped his backing band, firing everyone, save drummer Liberty DeVitto, guitarist David Brown, and saxophone player Mark Rivera, and bringing in new faces, including talented multi-instrumentalist Crystal Taliefero. ''Storm Front'''s second single, "I Go to Extremes" made it to #6 in early 1990. The album was also notable for its song "Leningrad", written after Joel met a clown in the Soviet city of that name during his tour in 1987, and "The Downeaster Alexa", written to underscore the plight of fishermen on Long Island who are barely able to make ends meet. Another well-known single from the album is the ballad "And So It Goes" (#37 in late 1990). The song was originally written in 1983, around the time Joel was writing songs for ''An Innocent Man''; but "And So It Goes" did not fit that album's retro theme, so it was held back until ''Storm Front''. Joel said in a 1996 Masterclass session in Pittsburgh that ''Storm Front'' was a turbulent album and that "And So It Goes," as the last song on the album, portrayed the calm and tranquility that often follows a violent thunderstorm.

In the summer of 1992, Joel filed another $90 million lawsuit against his former lawyer Allen Grubman, alleging a wide range of offenses including fraud, breach of fiduciary responsibility, malpractice and breach of contract but the case was eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

Joel started work on ''River of Dreams'' in 1992 and finished the album in early 1993. Its cover art was a colorful painting by Christie Brinkley that was a series of scenes from each of the songs on the album. The eponymous first single was the last top 10 hit Joel has penned to date, reaching #3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 & ranking at #21 on ''Billboard'''s 1993 year-end Hot 100 chart. In addition to the title track, the album includes the hits "All About Soul" (with Color Me Badd on backing vocals) and "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)", written for his daughter, Alexa. A radio remix version of "All About Soul" can be found on ''The Essential Billy Joel'' (2001), and a demo version appears on ''My Lives'' (2005). The song "The Great Wall of China" was written about his ex-manager Frank Weber and was a regular in the setlist for Joel's 2006 tour. "2000 Years" was prominent in the millennium concert at Madison Square Garden, December 31, 1999, and "Famous Last Words" closed the book on Joel's pop songwriting for more than a decade.

1994–2007

On August 25, 1994, Joel and second wife Christie Brinkley divorced. On December 31, 1999, Joel performed at New York's Madison Square Garden. At the time, Joel said that it would be his last concert. The concert (dubbed The Night of the 2000 Years) ran for close to four hours and was later released as ''2000 Years: The Millennium Concert''.

1997's "To Make You Feel My Love" and "Hey Girl" both charted from Joel's ''Greatest Hits Volume III'' album. Joel wrote and recorded the song "Shameless" that was later covered by Garth Brooks and reached number 1 on Billboard's country charts. Joel performed with Brooks during his Central Park concert in 1997 with an estimated 980,000 people in attendance, the largest audience to attend a U.S. concert.

In 2001, Joel released ''Fantasies & Delusions'', a collection of classical piano pieces. All were composed by Joel and performed by Richard Joo. Joel often uses bits of these songs as interludes in live performances, and some of them are part of the score for the hit show ''Movin' Out''. The album topped the classical charts at #1. Joel performed "New York State of Mind" live on September 21, 2001, as part of the America: A Tribute to Heroes benefit concert, and on October 20, 2001, along with "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)", at the Concert for New York City in Madison Square Garden. That night, he also performed "Your Song" with Elton John.

In 2005, Columbia released a box set, ''My Lives'', which is largely a compilation of demos, b-sides, live/alternate versions and even a few Top 40 hits. The compilation also includes the Umixit software, in which people can remix "Zanzibar", "Only the Good Die Young", "Keepin' The Faith", and live versions of "I Go to Extremes" and "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" with their PC. Also, a DVD of a show from the ''River of Dreams'' tour is included.

On January 7, 2006, Joel began a tour across the United States. Having not written, or at least released, any new songs in 13 years, he featured a sampling of songs from throughout his career, including major hits as well as obscure tunes like "Zanzibar" and "All for Leyna". His tour included an unprecedented 12 sold-out concerts over several months at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The singer's stint of 12 shows at Madison Square Garden broke a previous record set by New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen, who played 10 sold-out shows at the same arena. The record earned Joel the first retired number (12) in the arena owned by a non-athlete. This honor has also been given to Joel at the Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia) (formerly the Wachovia Center) in Philadelphia where a banner in the colors of the Philadelphia Flyers is hung honoring Joel's 46 Philadelphia sold-out shows. He also had a banner raised in his honor for being the highest grossing act in the history of the Times Union Center (formerly the Knickerbocker Arena and Pepsi Arena) in Albany, New York. This honor was given to him as part of the April 17, 2007, show he did there. On June 13, 2006, Columbia released ''12 Gardens Live'', a double album containing 32 live recordings from a collection of the 12 different shows at Madison Square Garden during Joel's 2006 tour.

Joel visited the United Kingdom and Ireland for the first time in many years as part of the European leg of his 2006 tour. On July 31, 2006, he performed a free concert in Rome, with the Colosseum as the backdrop. Organizers estimated 500,000 people turned out for the concert, which was opened by Bryan Adams.

Joel toured South Africa, Australia, Japan, and Hawaii in late 2006, and subsequently toured the Southeastern United States in February and March 2007 before hitting the Midwest in the spring of 2007. On January 3 of that year, news was leaked to the ''New York Post'' that Billy had recorded a new song with lyrics—this being the first new song with lyrics he'd written in almost 14 years. The song, titled "All My Life", was Joel's newest single (with second track "You're My Home", live from Madison Square Garden 2006 tour) and was released into stores on February 27, 2007. On February 4, Joel sang the national anthem for Super Bowl XLI, becoming the first to sing the national anthem twice at a Super Bowl. and on April 17, 2007, Joel was honored in Albany, New York, for his ninth concert at the Times Union Center. He is now holding the highest box office attendance of any artist to play at the arena. A banner was raised in his honor marking this achievement.

On December 1, 2007, Joel premiered his new song "Christmas in Fallujah." The song was performed by Cass Dillon, a new Long Island based musician, as Joel felt it should be sung by someone in a soldier's age range. The track was dedicated to servicemen based in Iraq. Joel wrote it in September 2007 after reading numerous letters sent to him from American soldiers in Iraq. "Christmas in Fallujah" is only the second pop/rock song released by Joel since 1993's ''River of Dreams''. Proceeds from the song benefitted the Homes For Our Troops foundation.

2008–present

On January 26, 2008, Joel performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra celebrating the 151st anniversary of the Academy of Music. Joel premiered his new classical piece titled, "Waltz No. 2 (Steinway Hall)". He also played many of his less well-known pieces with full orchestral backing, including the rarely performed ''Nylon Curtain'' songs "Scandinavian Skies" and "Where's the Orchestra?".

On March 10, 2008, Joel inducted his friend John Mellencamp into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. During his induction speech, Joel said:

Joel's staying power as a touring act continues to the present day. He sold out 10 concerts at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut from May to July 2008. Mohegan Sun honored him with a banner displaying his name and the number 10 to hang in the arena. On June 19, 2008, he played a concert at the grand re-opening of Caesars Windsor (formerly Casino Windsor) in Windsor, Ontario, Canada to an invite-only crowd for Casino VIPs. His mood was light, and joke-filled, even introducing himself as "Billy Joel's dad" and stating "you guys overpaid to see a fat bald guy." He also admitted that Canadian folk-pop musician Gordon Lightfoot was the musical inspiration for "She's Always A Woman".

On July 16, 2008, and July 18, 2008, Joel played the final concerts at Shea Stadium before its demolition. His guests included Tony Bennett, Don Henley, John Mayer, John Mellencamp, Steven Tyler, Roger Daltrey, Garth Brooks, and Paul McCartney. McCartney ended the show with a reference to his own performance there with the Beatles in 1965, the first major stadium concert of the rock and roll industry. The concerts were featured in the 2010 documentary film ''Last Play at Shea''. The film was released on DVD on February 8, 2011. The CD from the show was released on March 8, 2011.

On December 11, 2008, Joel recorded his own rendition of "Christmas in Fallujah" during a concert at Acer Arena in Sydney and released it as a live single in Australia only. It is the only official release of Joel performing "Christmas in Fallujah", as Cass Dillon sang on the 2007 studio recording and the handful of times the song was played live in 2007. Joel sang the song throughout his December 2008 tour of Australia.

On May 19, 2009, Joel's former drummer, Liberty DeVitto, filed a lawsuit in NYC claiming Joel and Sony Music owed DeVitto over 10 years of royalty payments. DeVitto has never been given songwriting credit on any of Joel's songs, but he claims that he helped write some of them. In April 2010, it was announced that Joel and DeVitto amicably resolved the lawsuit.

2011 Re-Releases

2011 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Joel's first album, ''Cold Spring Harbor.'' According to Billy Joel's website, in commemoration of this anniversary, "Columbia/Legacy Recordings will celebrate the occasion with a definitive reissue project of newly restored and expanded Legacy editions of the complete Billy Joel catalog, newly curated collections of rarities from the vaults, previously unavailable studio tracks and live performances, home video releases and more." The website's press release also mentions that the album ''Piano Man'' will be re-released in a Legacy edition in 2011. During these shows, the two have played their own songs, each other's songs and performed duets. They grossed over US $46 million in just 24 dates in their sold out 2003 tour. Joel and John resumed the Face to Face tour in March 2009 and it ended again, at least for the time being, in March 2010. In February 2010, Joel denied rumors in the trade press that he canceled a summer 2010 leg of the tour, claiming there were never any dates booked and that he intended to take the year off. Joel told ''Rolling Stone'' magazine: "We’ll probably pick it up again. It’s always fun playing with him."

Other ventures

In 1996, Joel merged his long-held love of boating with his desire for a second career. He formed, with Long Island boating businessman Peter Needham, the Long Island Boat Company.

In November 2010, Joel opened a shop on Oyster Bay, Long Island to manufacture custom-made, retro-styled motorcycles and accessories.

In 2011, Joel announced that he was releasing an autobiography that he had written with Fred Schruers, titled ''The Book of Joel: A Memoir''. The book was originally going to be released in June 2011, but in March 2011 Joel decided against publishing the book and officially cancelled his deal with HarperCollins. ''Rolling Stone'' noted, "HarperCollins acquired the book project for $3 million in 2008. [However,] Joel is expected to return his advance on that sum to the publisher." According to ''Billboard'', "the HarperCollins book was billed as an 'emotional ride' that would detail the music legend's failed marriage to Christie Brinkley, as well as his battles with substance abuse." In explaining his decision to cancel the book's release, Joel stated, "It took working on writing a book to make me realize that I'm not all that interested in talking about the past, and that the best expression of my life and its ups and downs has been and remains my music."

Personal life

Marriages, relationships, and family

Joel married his business manager, Elizabeth Weber Small, on September 5, 1973. She was the former wife of his music partner, Jon Small, in the short-lived duo Attila. They divorced on July 20, 1982.

Joel mentioned in a television interview on the UK's Channel Five that he had dated Elle Macpherson in the 1980s prior to his marriage to Christie Brinkley. Joel has also said that the songs "This Night" and "And So It Goes" were written about his relationship with Macpherson.

Joel married Christie Brinkley on March 23, 1985. Their daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, was born December 29, 1985. Alexa was given the middle name of Ray after Ray Charles, one of Joel's musical idols. Joel and Brinkley divorced on August 25, 1994, although the couple remain friendly.

On October 2, 2004, Joel married 23-year-old Katie Lee. At the time of the wedding, Joel was 55. Joel's daughter, Alexa Ray, then 18, served as maid-of-honor. Joel's second wife, Christie Brinkley, attended the union and gave the couple her blessing. Lee works as a restaurant correspondent for the PBS show, ''George Hirsch: Living it Up!''. In 2006, Katie Lee hosted Bravo's ''Top Chef''. She did not return for a second season, instead going on tour with her husband. She then began writing a weekly column in ''Hamptons'' magazine, and became a field correspondent for the entertainment television show ''Extra''. On June 17, 2009, both confirmed that they have split after five years of marriage.

Depression

Joel battled depression for many years. In 1970, a career downturn and personal problems aggravated his condition. He left a suicide note (which inspired the lyrics to "Tomorrow Is Today") and attempted to commit suicide by drinking furniture polish, saying later, "I drank furniture polish. It looked tastier than bleach." His drummer, Jon Small, rushed him to the hospital. Joel checked into Meadowbrook Hospital, where he was put on suicide watch and received treatment for depression. Joel later recorded "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" as a message to help prevent teen suicide.

Substance abuse treatment

In 2002, Joel entered Silver Hill Hospital, a substance abuse and psychiatric center in New Canaan, Connecticut. In March 2005, he checked into the Betty Ford Center, where he spent 30 days for the treatment of alcohol-related problems.

Politics

Although Joel has donated money to Democratic candidates running for office, he has never publicly endorsed any candidate or made clear his political affiliation—although he did play a benefit with Bruce Springsteen to raise money for Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2008. He has also played at benefit concerts (like the first Live Aid concert in 1985) that have helped raise funds for political causes. However, Joel has said about musicians endorsing political candidates, "People who pay for your tickets, I don't think they want to hear who you're going to vote for and how you think they should vote."

Religion

Joel was born to non-observant Jewish parents and considers himself a cultural Jew.

Discography

Band

:''Further information: Billy Joel Band''

Awards and achievements

Despite having never graduated from high school because of a missed exam, Joel has been presented with multiple honorary doctorates:

Doctor of Humane Letters from Fairfield University (1991)

Doctor of Music from Berklee College of Music (1993)

Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University (1997)

Doctor of Music from Southampton College (2000)

Doctor of Fine Arts from Syracuse University (2006)

Doctor of Musical Arts from the Manhattan School of Music (2008)

His High School Diploma was finally awarded 25 years after he left High School by the School Board.

Joel was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio in 1999. Joel was on the site selection committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame board. Seven members of the committee voted for San Francisco and seven voted for Cleveland, Ohio, this was a tied vote so Billy Joel was the tie breaking vote, which gave Cleveland the hall in 1986.

Joel was also named MusiCares Person of the Year for 2002, an award given each year at the same time as the Grammy Awards. At the dinner honoring Joel, various artists performed versions of his songs including Nelly Furtado, Stevie Wonder, Jon Bon Jovi, Diana Krall, Rob Thomas and Natalie Cole. He was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006. In 2005, Joel received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Joel has banners in the rafters of the Times Union Center, Nassau Coliseum, Madison Square Garden, Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT, Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, and Hartford Civic Center in Hartford. (Joel is erroneously cited as the first artist to perform a concert at Yankee Stadium in New York City; The Isley Brothers first performed there in 1969, and the Latin supergroup, The Fania All-Stars played and recorded live albums at the stadium during the 1970s.)

He has also sponsored the Billy Joel Visiting Composer Series at Syracuse University.

Joel is the only performing artist to have played both Yankee and Shea Stadiums, as well as Giants Stadium, Madison Square Garden, and Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Other media contributions

''Don Kirshner's Rock Concert'' (1974) (Television) (Performed "Piano Man", "Somewhere Along the Line", and "Captain Jack")

''The Midnight Special'' (1975) (Television) (Sang "Travelin' Prayer" and "The Ballad of Billy the Kid")

''The Mike Douglas Show'' (1976) (Television)

''Billy Joel Tonight'' (1976) (Time Life Video) (VHS) (Palmer Auditorium, Connecticut College, New London, CT)

''Saturday Night Live'' (February 18, 1978) (NBC) (hosted by Chevy Chase) (Sang "Just The Way You Are" and "Only The Good Die Young") (Billy passed up going to his 10 year high school reunion to appear on the show)

''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (1978) (London, England) (Television)

''Musikladen'' (1978) (German television concert)

''20/20'' (1980) (Television)

''Saturday Night Live'' (November 14, 1981) (NBC) (hosted by Bernadette Peters) (Sang "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" and "She's Got A Way" live via satellite hook-up from his Mid-town Manhattan recording studio)

''Live from Long Island'' (1982) (CBS/Fox) (VHS) (Originally aired on HBO as ''Billy Joel: A Television First''. Recorded live at Nassau Coliseum)

''MTV Night School with Billy Joel'' (1983) (Television) (Billy takes questions from music students and plays some songs, much like his later "master classes.")

''MTV Special: Innocent Man Tour'' (1983) (Television) ("Behind-the-scenes" look at Joel's ''Innocent Man'' tour)

''From a Piano Man to an Innocent Man'' (1984) (BBC Television Broadcast)

''Today'' (June 1984) Introduces music video for "The Longest Time."

''Farm Aid'' (September 1985) (Television)

Contributed piano on Twisted Sister's song "Be Chrool to Your Scuel" on their 1985 album ''Come Out and Play''

''Video Album, Vol. 1'' (1986) (CBS/Fox) (VHS)

''Video Album, Vol. 2'' (1986) (CBS/Fox) (VHS)

''Late Night with David Letterman'' (September 1986)

''MLB World Series Game 2'' (October 19, 1986) (Television) (Performed the National Anthem)

''Live From Leningrad USSR'' (1987) (CBS) (VHS) (Originally aired on HBO)

''Oliver & Company'' (1988) (Provided both the voice and singing voice for the character Dodger in the Disney full-length animated feature.)

''Sesame Street'' (1988) (Sang "Just the Way You Are" to Oscar the Grouch, and "The Alphabet Song" with the kids)

''1989 NFL Super Bowl XXIII'' (Sang National Anthem, Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida)

''Late Night with David Letterman'' (August 17, 1989) (NBC) Performs with musical guest Mick Jones

''Saturday Night Live'' (October 21, 1989) (NBC) (hosted by Kathleen Turner) (Sang "We Didn't Start The Fire" and "The Downeaster Alexa") (acts in a sketch called "Die Squaren Ost Berliner" which was a German take-off of "Hollywood Squares" as a character named Josef Besselmeier)

''Eye of the Storm'' (1990) (VHS) (Sony) (Compilation of five music videos from the ''Storm Front'' album)

''Live at Yankee Stadium'' (1990) (Sony) (DVD/VHS)

''A Matter of Trust'' (1991) (CBS) (VHS) (Documentary of the 1986 Russian tour)

''Late Show with David Letterman'' (August 30, 1993) First musical guest on the show, performing "No Man's Land"

''Saturday Night Live'' (October 23, 1993) (NBC) (hosted by John Malkovich) (Sang "The River Of Dreams" and "All About Soul")

''Shades of Grey'' (1993) (Sony) (PBS documentary on the making of ''River of Dreams''. Released on VHS)

''Live from the River of Dreams'' (Sony) (1994) (Originally aired on 3Sat (German television); released on DVD in the ''My Lives'' box set in 2005) Live from Frankfurt, Germany.

During the 1994 Grammy Award Show, the director cut short Frank Sinatra's acceptance speech for receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. Joel extended his performance of "The River of Dreams" by stopping the song partway through, looking at the celebrity audience with a grin while pretending to check his watch and saying, "valuable advertising time going by...dollars...dollars...dollars..." which was met with laughter from the audience. He then resumed playing the song.

''Greatest Hits, Vol. III'' (Sony) (1997) (DVD/VHS)

''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' (1997) (Television)

''Behind the Music'' (1997) (Television)

''VH1 Storytellers'' (1997) (Television)

''VH1 Video Time Line'' (1998) (Television)

''60 Minutes'' (April 26, 1998) Interviewed by Steve Kroft.

''Inside the Actor's Studio'' (1999) (Bravo Network)

''Mad About You'': "Murray at the Dog Show" (1999) (NBC Television) (Appeared as himself; wrote the music for the song "Lullabye For You" which was featured in the episode. Paul Reiser wrote the lyrics.)

''ABC 2000'' (1999/2000) (Television, VHS) (International broadcast; portions of Joel's New Year's Eve concert were aired live)

''Piano Grand! A Smithsonian Celebration'' (2000) (Joel served as host and performer; aired on PBS; released on DVD)

''MLB World Series- Subway Series Game 1'' (2000) (Television) (Performed the National Anthem)

''America: A Tribute To Heroes'' (2001) (Television, Radio, DVD)

''Charlie Rose'' (2001) (PBS television/DVD)

''The Concert for New York City'' (2001) (Television, VHS/DVD)

''A&E; Special: In His Own Words'' (2001) (A&E; Network) (Master class recorded at the University of Pennsylvania)

''The Essential Video Collection'' (2001) (Sony) (DVD/VHS) (Music Video compilation)

''Movin' Out'' (2002), is a musical based on twenty-four Billy Joel songs which was a smash hit on Broadway from 2002 to 2005 (last Broadway show was on December 11, 2005). Joel was composer, lyricist, and orchestrator and won a Tony Award for Best Orchestrations. The musical is really a dance performance choreographed by famed choreographer Twyla Tharp, with Joel's songs sung by Michael Cavanaugh.

''The 2003 Tony Awards'' (Television) (Performed "New York State of Mind")

''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (2005) (Television) (Performed "Miami 2017" and "Only the Good Die Young")

''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' (2005) (NBC) (Performed "Everybody Loves You Now" and "Vienna")

''The Today Show'' (2005) (NBC) (Performed "Keepin' the Faith" and "She's Right on Time")

''The Today Show'' (2006) (NBC) (Performed "The Good Life" with Tony Bennett live)

''The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch'' (2006) (CNBC)

''American Chopper'' (2006) ("The Billy Joel Bike") (Television, DVD)

''Tokyo, Japan'' (2006) (Television, DVD) (Concert was taped and produced by The Fuji Television Network)

''NFL Super Bowl XLI'' (2007) (Joel is the first to sing the National Anthem in two Super Bowls.)

''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' (March 24, 2008) (Appeared with wife, Katie, and performed "Only the Good Die Young")

''The South Bank Show'' (July 13, 2008) (Joel discussed his career)

''The Howard Stern Show'' (November 16, 2010) (Sirius XM) (Interview and musical performance)

See also

List of best-selling music artists

References

External links

Billy Joel – Official Website

Billy Joel at Rolling Stone.com

History of Live Performances by Billy Joel

Interview at TonyAwards.com

Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Grammy Award winners Category:MusiCares Person of the Year Honorees Category:English-language singers Category:American Ashkenazi Jews Category:American pop rock singers Category:American crooners Category:American rock singer-songwriters Category:American pop pianists Category:American rock pianists Category:American people of German-Jewish descent Category:American people of British-Jewish descent Category:American atheists Category:Jewish atheists Category:New York Democrats Category:Musicians from New York Category:People from Long Island Category:People from the Bronx Category:1949 births Category:Living people

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Coordinates	23°31′22″N46°11′35″N
name	Mel Brooks
birth name	Melvin Kaminsky
birth date	June 28, 1926
birth place	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
medium	FilmTelevisionMusical theatre
nationality	American
influences	George M. CohanJack BennyBob HopeHarry RitzFred AstaireGene Kelly
influenced	Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Andy Samberg
active	1949–present
genre	Farce, parody
subject	Comedy
spouse	Florence Baum (1953-62, divorced), 3 childrenAnne Bancroft (1964-2005, her death), 1 child (Max Brooks)
Notable work	''The Producers''''Blazing Saddles''''Young Frankenstein'',''Spaceballs''
Emmyawards	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program1967 ''The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner and Howard Morris Special''Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy Series 1997, 1998, 1999 ''Mad About You'' |olivierawards Best New Musical 2005 ''The Producers'' |tonyawards Best Musical 2001 ''The Producers'' Best Book of a Musical 2001 ''The Producers'' Best Original Score 2001 ''The Producers'' |grammyawards Best Spoken Comedy Album 1999 ''2000 Year Old Man'' Best Long Form Music Video 2002 ''Recording 'The Producers': A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks'' Best Musical Show Album 2002 ''The Producers'' |awardtitle1 Saturn Award |award1 Saturn Award for Best Direction1975 ''Young Frankenstein'' Mel Brooks has won an Oscar, three Emmys, three grammys, three tonys, and has received four Golden Globe nominations. }}

}} Mel Brooks (born Melvin Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. Brooks is a member of the short list of entertainers with the distinction of having won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award. Three of his films ranked in the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 comedy films of all-time: ''Blazing Saddles'' at number 6, ''The Producers'' at number 11, and ''Young Frankenstein'' at number 13.

Early life

Brooks was born Melvin Kaminsky in Brooklyn, New York, a son of Maximilian Kaminsky and his wife Kate (née Brookman). His father's family were German Jews from the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (the modern Polish port of Gdansk); his mother's family were Ukrainian Jews from Kiev. His father died of kidney disease when Brooks was only two years old.

Brooks was a small, sickly boy who was often bullied and picked on by his classmates. Taking on the comically aggressive job of Tummler (master entertainer) in various Catskills resorts, he gradually gained in confidence. Following high school, he attended the Army Specialized Training Program conducted at the Virginia Military Institute (although not actually as a VMI cadet) and served in the United States Army as a corporal during World War II, taking part in the Battle of the Bulge.

Career

Early career

Brooks started as a stand-up comic performing in summers at the Catskill Mountains, telling jokes and doing movie-star impressions. He found more rewarding work behind the scenes, becoming a comedy writer for television. He joined the hit comedy series ''Your Show of Shows'' with Sid Caesar and Carl Reiner. Reiner, as creator of ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', based Morey Amsterdam's character Buddy Sorell on Brooks.

Starting in 1960, Brooks teamed with Reiner as a comedy duo on the Steve Allen Show. Their performances led to release a series of comedy albums that included a routine that eventually expanded into the 2000 Year Old Man series that yielded five albums and a 1975 animated TV special.

Brooks adapted the 2000 Year Old Man character to create the 2500 Year Old Brewmaster for Ballantine Beer in the 1960s. Interviewed by Dick Cavett in a series of ads, the Brewmaster (in a German accent, as opposed to the 2000 Year Old Man's Jewish voice) said he was inside the original Trojan horse and "could've used a six-pack of fresh air."

Brooks later moved into film, working as an actor, director, writer, and producer. Brooks's first film was ''The Critic'' (1963), an animated satire of arty, esoteric cinema, conceived by Brooks and directed by Ernest Pintoff. Brooks supplied running commentary as the baffled moviegoer trying to make sense of the obscure visuals. The short film won an Academy Award. With Buck Henry, Brooks created the successful TV series ''Get Smart'', starring Don Adams as a bumbling secret agent. This series added to Brooks's reputation as a clever satirist.

Brooks's first feature film, ''The Producers'', was a dark comedy about two theatrical partners who deliberately contrive the worst possible Broadway show. The film was so brazen in its satire (its big production number was "Springtime for Hitler") that the major studios would not touch it, nor would many exhibitors. Brooks finally found an independent distributor, which released it like an art film, as a specialized attraction. The film received an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The film became a smash underground hit, first on the nationwide college circuit, then in revivals and on home video. Brooks later turned it into a musical, which became hugely successful on Broadway, receiving an unprecedented twelve Tony awards.

His two most financially successful films were released in 1974: ''Blazing Saddles'' (co-written with Richard Pryor, Andrew Bergman, Norman Steinberg and Alan Uger), and ''Young Frankenstein'' (co-written with Gene Wilder). He followed these up with an audacious idea: the first feature-length silent comedy in four decades. ''Silent Movie'' (co-written with Ron Clark, 1976) featured Brooks in his first leading role, with Dom DeLuise and Marty Feldman as his sidekicks; it also featured, ironically, Marcel Marceau, in a cameo appearance as himself, who uttered the film's single word of audible dialogue. The following year he released his Hitchcock parody ''High Anxiety'' (also written with Clark), which was the first movie produced by Brooks himself.

Brooks developed a repertory company of sorts for his film work: performers with three or more of Brooks' films (''The Producers, The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, History of the World: Part I, Spaceballs, Life Stinks, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and Dracula: Dead and Loving It'') to their credit include Gene Wilder, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, Ron Carey, Dick Van Patten and Andréas Voutsinas. Dom DeLuise appeared in six of Brooks's 11 original films, the only person with more appearances being Brooks himself.

In 1975, at the height of his movie career, Brooks tried TV again with ''When Things Were Rotten'', a Robin Hood parody that lasted only 13 episodes. Nearly twenty years later, in response to the 1991 hit film ''Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'', Brooks mounted another Robin Hood parody with ''Robin Hood: Men in Tights''. Brooks's film resurrected several pieces of dialog from his TV series, as well as from earlier Brooks films.

Later career

By 1980, Siskel and Ebert called Brooks and Woody Allen "the two most successful comedy directors in the world today ... America's two funniest filmmakers." That year, Brooks produced the dramatic film ''The Elephant Man'' (directed by David Lynch). Knowing that anyone seeing a poster reading "Mel Brooks presents ''The Elephant Man''" would expect a comedy, he set up the company Brooksfilms. Brooksfilms has since produced a number of non-comedy films, including David Cronenberg's ''The Fly'', ''Frances'', and ''84 Charing Cross Road'', starring Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft, as well as comedies, including Richard Benjamin's ''My Favorite Year'', which was partially based on his real life. Brooks sought to purchase the rights to ''84 Charing Cross Road'' for his wife, Anne Bancroft, for many years. He successfully obtained the rights to the movie and presented them to her as an anniversary gift.

The 1980s saw Brooks produce and direct only two films, the first being ''History of the World Part I'' in 1981, a tongue-in-cheek look at human culture from the Dawn of Man to the French Revolution. As part of the film's soundtrack, Brooks, then aged 55, recorded a rap entitled ''"It's Good to Be the King"'', a parody of Louis XVI and the French Revolution; it was released as a single, and became a surprise US dance hit. His second movie release of the decade came in 1987 in the form of ''Spaceballs'', a parody of science fiction, mainly ''Star Wars''. Both films featured him in multiple roles. He also starred in the 1983 remake of ''To Be or Not to Be'', which spawned a highly controversial single that featured as part of the film's soundtrack album (although not in the film itself) - ''"To Be Or Not To Be (The Hitler Rap)"''. The song - satirising German society in the 1940s with Brooks playing Hitler - was an unlikely hit, peaking at #12 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1984 and #3 on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report) that same year.

One of his most recent successes has been a transfer of his film ''The Producers'' to the Broadway stage. Brooks also had a vocal role in the 2005 animated film ''Robots''. He then worked on an animated series sequel to ''Spaceballs'' called ''Spaceballs: The TV Series'', which premiered on September 21, 2008 on G4 TV.

Brooks is one of the few artists who have received an Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy. He was awarded his first Grammy award for Best Spoken Comedy Album in 1999 for his recording of ''The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000'' with Carl Reiner. His two other Grammys came in 2002 for Best Musical Show Album, for the soundtrack to ''The Producers'', and for Best Long Form Music Video for the DVD "Recording the Producers - A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks". He won his first of four Emmy awards in 1967 for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Variety for a Sid Caesar special. He went on to win three consecutive Emmys in 1997, 1998, and 1999 for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role of Uncle Phil on ''Mad About You''. He won his three Tony awards in 2001 for his work on the musical, ''The Producers''. He won Tonys for Best Musical, Best Original Musical Score, and Best Book of a Musical. Additionally, he won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for ''Young Frankenstein''. In a 2005 poll to find ''The Comedian's Comedian'', he was voted #50 of the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. Three of Brooks's films are on the American Film Institute's list of funniest American films: ''Blazing Saddles'' (#6), ''The Producers'' (#11), and ''Young Frankenstein'' (#13).

Brooks and his wife Anne Bancroft acted together in ''Silent Movie'' and ''To Be or Not to Be'', and Bancroft also had a bit part in the 1995 film ''Dracula: Dead and Loving It''. Years later, the Brookses appeared as themselves in the fourth season finale of ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', spoofing the finale of ''The Producers''. It is reported that Bancroft encouraged Brooks (after an idea suggested by David Geffen) to take ''The Producers'' to Broadway where it became an enormous success, as the show broke the Tony record with 12 wins, a record that had previously been held for 37 years by ''Hello, Dolly!'' at 10 wins. Such success has translated to a big-screen version of the Broadway adaptation/remake with actors Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane reprising their stage roles, in addition to new cast members Uma Thurman and Will Ferrell. As of early April 2006, Brooks had begun composing the score to a Broadway musical adaptation of ''Young Frankenstein'', which he says is "perhaps the best movie [he] ever made." The world premiere was performed at Seattle's most historic theatre (originally built as a movie palace), The Paramount Theatre, between August 7, 2007, and September 1, 2007 after which it opened on Broadway at the former Foxwoods Theatre (then the Hilton Theatre), New York, on October 11, 2007. It has since earned mixed reviews from the critics.

In interviews broadcast on WABC radio, Brooks has discussed with NYC radio personality Mark Simone the possibilities of turning other works from his creative oeuvre (such as the movie ''Blazing Saddles'') into future musical productions. Specifically, in a conversation airing March 1, 2008, he and Simone speculated on what show tunes might be incorporated into a theatrical adaptation of the ''Get Smart'' property.

On December 5, 2009 Brooks was one of five recipients of 2009 Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

On April 23, 2010 Brooks was awarded the 2,406th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Personal life

Brooks was married to Florence Baum from 1953 to 1962. Their marriage ended in divorce. Mel and Florence had three children, Stephanie, Nicky, and Eddie.

Brooks was married to the actress Anne Bancroft from 1964 until her death from uterine cancer on June 6, 2005. They met on rehearsal for the Perry Como Variety Show in 1961 and married three years later, August 5, at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau. Their son, Max Brooks, was born in 1972. In 2010, Brooks credited Bancroft as being the guiding force behind his involvement in developing ''The Producers'' and ''Young Frankenstein'' for the musical theater, citing an early meeting as "From that day, until her death on June 5, 2005, we were glued together."

Work

Writer/director

''The Producers'' (1968) (Academy Award, best original screenplay)

''The Twelve Chairs'' (1970) (also actor)

''Blazing Saddles'' (1974) (also actor)

''Young Frankenstein'' (1974)

''Silent Movie'' (1976) (also actor)

''High Anxiety'' (1977) (also actor/producer)

''History of the World, Part I'' (1981) (also actor/producer)

''Spaceballs'' (1987) (also actor/producer)

''Life Stinks'' (1991) (also actor/producer)

''Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993) (also actor/producer)

''Dracula: Dead and Loving It'' (1995) (also actor/producer)

Theatre

''Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1952'' (1952) (sketches for a revue)

''Shinbone Alley'' (1957) (co-book-writer)

''All-American'' (1962) (book-writer)

''The Producers'' (2001) (composer, lyricist, co-book-writer, producer; Tony Award for Best Musical, Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, Tony Award for Best Original Score, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical)

''Young Frankenstein'' (2007) (composer, lyricist, co-book-writer, producer)

Other credits

''Your Show of Shows'' (TV) (1950–1954) (writer)

''New Faces of 1952'' (Broadway) (1952) (writer) and "New Faces", the 1954 film version (writer)

''The Critic'' (created and narrated, won Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film) (1963)

''Get Smart'' (TV) (1965–1970) (co-creator, writer)

''The Electric Company'' (TV) (1971–1977) (voice of recurring little cartoon man who asks: "Who's the dummy writing this show?!")

''Hollywood Squares'' (1972) (Guest star)

''When Things Were Rotten'' (1975) (co-created, writer)

''The Muppet Movie'' (1979) (Special Guest Star-Mad Scientist Professor Max Krassman)

''The Elephant Man'' (1980) (uncredited executive producer)

''To Be or Not to Be'' (1983) (actor, producer)

''The Fly'' (1986) (uncredited producer)

''The Fly II'' (1989) (uncredited producer)

''The Nutt House'' (1989) (co-creator)

''The Tracey Ullman Show (1990) (actor-Buzz Schlanger)

''Look Who's Talking Too'' (1990) (voice of Mr. Toilet Man)

''Frasier'' (1993) (voice of Tom)

''The Little Rascals'' (1994) (actor-Mr. Welling)

''Silence of the Hams'' (1994) (actor-Checkout Guest)

''The Simpsons'' (1995, "Homer vs. Patty and Selma") (voice-himself)

''Mad About You'' (TV) (1996–1999) (actor-Uncle Phil)

''The Prince of Egypt'' (1998) (uncredited, additional voices)

''Svitati'' (AKA ''Screw Loose'') (1999) (actor-Jake Gordon)

''It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie'' (2002) (voice of Joe Snow)

''The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius: Season 2'' (2003) (voice of Santa Claus)

''Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks'' (2003–2007) (voice of Wiley the Sheep)

''Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 4'' (2004) (actor)

''Robots'' (2005) (voice of Bigweld)

''The Producers'' (2005) (writer, producer, cameo as himself)

''Spaceballs: The Animated Series'' (2008) (writer, producer, voice)

''Get Smart'' (2008) (Consultant)

''The 2000 Year Old Man: The Complete History'' (2009) DVD

''The Wizard of Oz'' (2012) (actor-The Wizard of Oz)

Rotten Tomatoes ratings

92% 89% 94% 89% 74% 62% 20% 48%

Film !! All Critics !! Top Critics !! Audience
''The Producers (1968 film)	The Producers''	93%	90%
''The Twelve Chairs (1970 film)	The Twelve Chairs''	|	N/A	62%
''Blazing Saddles''	|	80%	89%
''Young Frankenstein''	|	N/A	91%
''Silent Movie''	|	N/A	65%
''High Anxiety''	|	N/A	66%
''History of the World, Part I''	|	N/A	33%	80%
''Life Stinks''	|	N/A	44%
''Robin Hood: Men in Tights''	|	N/A	20%	52%
! Average !! 66% !! 56% !! 72%

Collaborations

!	The Producers (1968 film)>The Producers''	The Twelve Chairs (1970 film)>Twelve Chairs''	! ''Blazing Saddles''	! ''Young Frankenstein''	! ''Silent Movie''	! ''High Anxiety''	! ''History of the World, Part I''	! ''Spaceballs''	! ''Life Stinks''	! ''Robin Hood: Men in Tights''	! ''Dracula: Dead and Loving It''
Carol Arthur
Anne Bancroft
Mark Blankfield
Sid Caesar
Charlie Callas
Megan Cavanagh
Dom DeLuise
Liam Dunn
Marty Feldman
Sandy Helberg
John Hurt
Madeline Kahn
Harvey Korman
Cloris Leachman
Barry Levinson
Rudy De Luca
Kenneth Mars
Howard Morris
Dick Van Patten
Robert Ridgely
Andréas_Voutsinas
Albert Whitlock
Gene Wilder
Amy Yasbeck

See also

List of persons who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards

References

Further reading

Jeff Rovin. ''Cat Angels'', Harper Paperbacks, ISBN 0-06-100972-5

Parish, James Robert. ''It's Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks'' (2007) Wiley ISBN 0-471-75267-3

External links

Mel Brooks - Box Office Data Movie Director at The Numbers

Mel Brooks - Box Office Data Movie Star at The Numbers

"The Films of Mel Brooks", video compilation of film clips, 5 minutes

Interview with Brooks on NPR's ''Fresh Air'' (March 16, 2005)

TonyAwards.com Interview with Mel Brooks at Tony Awards site

Interview with Mel Brooks biographer James Robert Parish

Photographs and literature

Category:1926 births Category:Abraham Lincoln High School (Brooklyn, New York) alumni Category:American comedians Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:American musical theatre composers Category:American satirists Category:American theatre managers and producers Category:American voice actors Category:Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English-language film directors Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Jewish actors Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:American people of German-Jewish descent Category:Jewish American writers Category:Jewish comedians Category:Jewish American composers and songwriters Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Living people Category:People from Brooklyn Category:People from Fire Island, New York Category:Saturn Award winners Category:Tony Award winners Category:United States Army soldiers

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Coordinates	23°31′22″N46°11′35″N
name	Travis Cottrell
background	solo_singer
born
origin	Boone, North Carolina, USA
genre	CCM, Praise & worship
years active	1992–present
website	traviscottrell.com
notable instruments	}}

Travis Cottrell is an American contemporary Christian music (CCM) artist, songwriter, and worship leader.

Biography

Cottrell was raised in Boone, North Carolina. In 1990, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee to study at Belmont University. After graduating in 1992 with a degree in music, Cottrell dedicated time to songwriting. That same year, he wrote Larnelle Harris' song "It's Only Thunder". He then worked with Kathie Hill on a musical titled ''Waiters: A Youth Musical About Waiting on the Lord''. Cottrell then continued writing and working as an editor at a music publishing company.

In 1994, the church Cottrell attended to - Two Rivers Baptist Church - lost its minister of worship and, at the church's request, Cottrell spent the next year and a half as worship leader for the church. Cottrell has said: "The opportunity of leading worship at Two Rivers Baptist Church that Dr. Jerry Sutton gave me was a blessing." Since then, Cottrell has also collaborated with his vocals to several praise and worship albums, led by Don Moen. He has also led worship at Beth Moore's conferences titled ''Living Proof Live'' since 1998.

Since 2002, he has also released several solo albums of praise and worship, earning several nominations for Dove Awards. He has also continued to write songs and provide background vocals for other artists like Amy Grant, Alan Jackson, and Garth Brooks. In 2010, Travis moved to Jackson, TN, to be the music minister at Englewood Baptist Church.

Discography

Solo albums

''The Deep'' (2001)

''Unashamed Love'' (2003)

''Alive Forever'' (2005)

''Found'' (2006)

''Ring the Bells'' (2008)

''Jesus Saves Live'' (2010)

Collaborations and vocals

Don Moen - ''Mighty Cross'' (1994)

Don Moen - ''Emmanuel Has Come'' (1996)

Beth Moore - ''Living Proof Live 2'' (2000)

Don Moen - ''God in Us'' (2001)

Don Moen - ''Thank You Lord'' (2004)

MercyMe - ''Coming Up to Breathe'' (2006)

Various - ''iWorship/Connect: Live Your Worship'' (2009)

Various - ''iWorship Hymns: The Essential Collection'' (2009)

Max Lucado - ''Fearless Worship'' (2009)

Awards and recognition

In 2010, Cottrell received four Dove Awards nominations for his album ''Jesus Saves Live'':

"Jesus Saves"

Year			! Nominated work	! Award	! Result
rowspan=4>2010	rowspan=4	|	Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year	<
rowspan=3>''Jesus Saves Live''	Inspirational Album of the Year
	Praise & Worship Album of the Year
	Choral Collection of the Year

References

External links

Official website

Official MySpace page

Category:Living people Category:Christian religion-related songwriters