The Piano Man

 


     Who says that anyone can play the piano? I took lessons, practiced some, and can only play one song from memory. Now let’s take a closer look at a 72-year-old who is still playing the piano to stadium-size audiences. Yes, I am talking about the original piano man, Billy Joel. He hails from New Jersey and still sings with all the swag of his past. Not only that, but he is selling out stadium concerts by merely sitting on stage behind a white, grand piano. His recent concert in Las Vegas began and ended with a solo spotlight shining on Billy playing the keys. He mixed it up with rock, jazz, and some blues. Then he gradually added some musicians playing electric guitar, a bass, and a lot of fancy lights. Welcome to this amazing concert that I attended in the new Las Vegas Allegiant Stadium built for football games with the local Raiders team. It is transformed into a concert venue with chairs on the football field and a large stage surrounded by white screens that project huge images. This transformation is complete when the show begins and the spotlight shines on Billy playing the piano softly alone on stage. The show evolves as the screens behind him display a giant Billy change pictures as he sings songs. By the end of the 3 and a half-hour long show, the stage was full of musicians, dancers, and energy that reached me in the top bleachers.

Billy Joel grew up on Long Island and probably never pictured himself in a Las Vegas residency in a new Casino opening next year. He is the New Yorker from the wrong side of town who made it big outside of the Big Apple. When Billy sang his hit song “New York”, he was surrounded by aerial views of the city on the towering screens behind him. He talked quite a bit in between songs sharing the stories behind his songs. He thanked his mother for insisting that he take piano lessons. His father was a classical pianist who was born in Germany. Billy dropped out of High School to pursue a music career. I can just hear his mom’s reaction. However, he did make his mom proud by signing a record deal at age 22. Billy finally receive his diploma from Hicksville High School, NY 25 years later at their graduation ceremony. I did not make up the name of his school. Billy decided to finish writing his required final essays in 1992 and submitted them to the School Board. He skipped his final exams because he was playing in a local jazz club to support his family. Billy was also a teen amateur boxer who quit after 24 competitions when he broke his nose. By the way, he won 22 of his boxing bouts.

The rest is history with a long list of 13 studio albums with four of them reaching number one. He has sold over 150 million albums worldwide and has written 121 songs. He is one of the best-selling music artists in history. He is currently married to his fourth wife, has three children, and has a lot of life stories to write songs about. Mr. Joel survived personal struggles with depression, alcohol abuse and has risen to musical acclaim that most can only dream about. He was inducted into the Music Hall of Fame, received five Grammys, and has a star in the Hollywood Hall of Fame. He is the only artist to have played in both the Yankee and Shea Stadiums and is on the Rolling Stones list of 500 Top Albums of all time. ‘Piano Man’ is on the list of the ‘Top Songs of All Time.’ I think his parents would have been proud to know that he won Kennedy Center Honors. By the time he concluded his five-song encore, Billy had the crowd eating out of his hand. We went from chair dancing to clapping and singing to our feet having a party with thousands of strangers. The giant screens showed shots of the audience dancing wildly all over the stadium. 

If and when Billy gets his Vegas Residency, I will be camping out all night to buy tickets. This singer who from his humble beginnings in the Bronx has now sold over 160 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Billy speaks from his heart and has brought comfort, inspiration, and joy to the world. You are truly the consummate ‘Piano Man’. Thank you, Billy Joel. 

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