Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joelis an American pianist, singer-songwriter and 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. His compilation album Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2 is one of the best-selling albums in the US...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionRock Singer
Date of Birth9 May 1949
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
If you're a very unfulfilled person you might have a tendency to turn to crime.
We might be laughing a bit too loud, but that never hurt no one
If you search for truthfulness, you might as well be blind.
you may be right, I may be crazy, but it just might be a lunatic you're looking for
They showed you a statue and told you to prayThey built you a temple and locked you awayBut they never told you the price that you payFor things that you might have done.
We might be laughing a bit too loudBut that never hurt no one.
If I'm gonna be losing it, I might as well be doing it right
You Catholic girls start much too late But sooner or later it comes down to fate I might as well be the one.
There are certain artists who have taken it upon themselves to save the world, and I find that gets tiresome. I think the artist's first obligation is to the art, not to the issues . . . I think if I have something to say the best way to do that is just to tell a damn good story.
I always wanted to try to be a teacher even before I was in the music business. I liked history, and good teachers made an impact on me.
Most people you'd tell "I'm gonna be a musician," they'd say, "you're crazy, you're gonna starve, you're gonna be poor, a drug addict, go to jail, you'll never make it, there's too much competition, it's a terrible business," etc. But my chorus teacher in high school said, "you've got what it takes to be a really good professional musician, you should consider it." That was an epiphany for me. So I thought, well, maybe I can help somebody, too.
I didn't graduate high school, so I never got a teacher's education, I'm mostly self-read, self-taught. I always loved music, so I would probably either be in a band with another group of people, or an arranger, a producer, a musicologist, a music history guy, something to do with music. Either that, or I would probably be in jail. Or dead.
I look at some of the songs I wrote years ago and I can't believe I wrote such crap.
I've always said about 50% of what happens at a concert has to do with the audience. If you play for a dead audience you're gonna stink. If we play for a great crowd we're much better. You want 'em to make noise. It's kinda like sex, if they don't make noise, you ain't doin' it right.