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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZJOEL, Billy(b 9 May '49, Long Island, NY) Singer, songwriter, pianist. Piano lessons as a child; formed first group Echoes at 14 (later renamed Lost Souls), left to join Hassles '68: unsuccessful LPs Hassles and Hour Of The Wolf on UA with John Dizek, vocals; Howard Blauvelt, bass; Jonathan Small, drums; Richard McKenner, guitar; hard-rock spin-off Attila '70 made by Joel and Small under that name incl. amusingly pompous 'Amplifier Fire -- Part I: Godzilla Part II: March Of The Huns'. Signed to Family label '71: sombre LP of own compositions Cold Spring Harbor '72 was marred by speeding up of tape at mastering process (later remixed, reissued on Columbia '84); legal problems extricating himself from label/managerial contracts saw him playing bars as 'Bill Martin', where he was spotted by Columbia/CBS; Piano Man '74 described the experience: LP, title single made top 30 '74. Streetlife Serenade '74 incl. no. 34 hit 'The Entertainer'; he was compared to Elton John, coy lyrics married to catchy tunes, but could and did dig deeper (e.g. on 'Say Goodbye To Hollywood' on Turnstiles '76). The Stranger '77 incl. four US hit singles: title song, one of his best, was not one of them; mawkish love song 'Just The Way You Are' was US no. 2/UK 19, won two Grammys '79 (hit later for soul star Barry White). Another banal yet boppy number 'My Life' helped 52nd Street '78 to become no. 1 LP; Glass Houses '80 was also no. 1 (incl. 'You May Be Right', no. 7 USA, and 'It's Still Rock'n'Roll To Me', his first no. 1 single), but neither topped Stranger: although only no. 2 LP it became biggest-selling Columbia LP until then, eclipsing Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water. No. 8 LP Songs In The Attic '81 featured pre-Stranger songs recorded in concert; no. 7 The Nylon Curtain '82 saw him portray Vietnam Vet and unemployed steelworker in 'Allentown' and 'Goodnight Saigon'; An Innocent Man '83 made no. 4, with five top 30 singles UK and USA, incl. 'Tell Her About It' (no. 1 USA): it paid homage to groups/styles that infl. him, incl. Drifters, James Brown, Otis Redding, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Four Seasons. Pastiche of latter's 'Uptown Girl' was no. 3 USA/1 UK; video featured soon-to-be wife, model Chrissie Brinkley. Two-disc Greatest Hits '85 incl. 'You're Only Human (Second Wind)', dedicated to would-be youthful suicides, of whom he nearly was one '60s: he devotes much time to a charity in the field. Carried on with LP The Bridge '86; played in Leningrad and Moscow mid-'87, concerts taped as two-disc Kohuept ('In Concert'; one disc on CD). Storm Front '89 on CBS was another batch of literate, coherent pop: it is churlish to want more, but his eclecticism may be of the kind that has no centre. River Of Dreams '93 was no. 3 USA/UK. |