In The 1970s Billy Joel

William Martin Joel (Billy Joel) was born in 1949 in  New York and in his long career has notched up 150 million records sold and been nominated for nearly two dozen Grammy awards and won six. He is probably in every Hall of Fame there is too.

At fourteen he was in a group called the Echoes and in the 1970s he signed up with Artie Ripp's Family productions  and released his first solo album called Cold Spring Harbor. round the same time of 197 he would sing under another name Bill martin for gigs around in LA.

Back under his own name he recalled an album called Piano Man in 1972 and the single of the same name went in the U.S. top thirty in 1973. In the UK it did not get in the top 100!

The song went gold and the very first single to have a real impact in the UK went gold too. The single was not until 1977 with Just The Way You Are which was also a hit for Barry White in the 1970s.

The song came from the album The Stranger and won two Grammy Awards. The song was about Elizabeth  Weber his manager and wife. Billy, never really like the song, but was persuaded to put it on the album.

The UK follow up from the same album was Movin" Out Today (Anthony's Song) but did not make it in the UK top thirty. The next single Only The Good Die Young failed to make the top thirty.

She's Always A Woman was yet another single release in the UK for 1977 and made No. 29. This was also a song about his wife who was negotiating to get him out of serious financial problems.

 

1978 saw Billy only have one single hit in the UK with My Life from the album 52nd Street. Members of the band Chicago were backing Joel on this track.

  

Believe it or not that was the last top thirty hit for Billy in the 70s. Although in the 80s he would have several top ten hits and a No.1 too.

Billy Joel interviewed in 1978.