On July 25, 2024, Billy Joel played his last performance at his home, Madison Square Garden. His 150th show at the historic arena would end a residency that dated back to December 14, 1978. Buoyed by a new single ("Turn The Lights Back On,") Joel was ready to take his show back on the road with a host of guests, including Sting, Rod Stewart, and Stevie Nicks.
In May 2025, Joel was diagnosed with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH), a condition that affects his auditory function, balance, and sight. As of May 23rd, all shows have been cancelled until at least 2026.
On July 16th, two days before the release of HBO's two-part documentary examining his storied career, Billy Joel: And So It Goes, one of the film's directors appeared on ABC's Good Morning America. Director Susan Lacy reports that Joel is "doing physical therapy, he's healing, he's working on getting better."
Billy Joel had to work his way through early-career failure
As a young man in Hicksville, Long Island, Billy Joel was forced to make himself into a man. He donned boxing gloves and trained in pugilism. As a Golden Gloves boxer, Joel chalked up a record of 22-2.
As delicate as playing the piano can be, Joel pounded out songs out of frustration and diminishing hope. Barely 21, with his boxing career over thanks to a broken nose, Joel officially became his own man - a songwriter.
After recording covers with The Hassles on United Artists and cranking out proto-Heavy Metal with Jon Small in Attila, Billy Joel had already gone to extremes. Alone and destitute, Joel tried menial work, including shucking oysters. Eventually, he was back at the piano writing songs for someone else to sing.
Out of those dark days, Joel wrote the songs that comprised his debut, Cold Spring Harbor (1971). Due to a tape-playback error in mastering and later overdubs to correct the mistakes, the best parts of the album must be retrieved from other resources today.
One week after the release of the record, on November 9th, 1971, Joel and his band recorded a short session at Ultrasound Studios in Hempstead, NY, broadcast live on AOR station, WLIR.
"Everybody Loves You Now" is a furious opener highlighting the controlled rasp in his voice and ability to dovetail melodically at moments to release tension (the sincerity of "between you and me and the Staten Island Ferry...so do I.") His first single ever, "She's Got A Way," follows with its McCartney-esque changes and the set concludes with an early rendition of "Captain Jack."
One of the real jewels on Cold Spring Harbor (1971) is the Badfinger-esque "You Can Make Me Free," which demonstrates Joel's love of the Beatles (especially in the background vocals) and his showman/leadership skills taking root. Bizarrely, the 1983 Artie Ripp revision chopped it in half, despite the fact that most radio singles at the time were breaking the four-minute mark.
On February 10, 1972, Joel and his band were recorded for WSIU's "The Session" on the campus of Southern Illinois University. "Long, Long Time" illustrates the James Taylor-isms that will lead to his breakthrough in five years.
While lyrically light ("Such a long, long night/And there isn't an end in sight"), it is adventurous musically with between-verse modulations and a "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant"-styled break that reignites it.
After months of playing anywhere possible, Joel finally caught a break. A live radio concert on WMMR in Philadelphia landed Joel in Sigma Sound Studios on April 15, 1972. With a full hour of music and conversation, Joel was finally able to win over an audience. The station culled "Captain Jack" for airplay, and the phone requests flooded the station for the next year.
Word about this phenomenon made its way to Clive Davis, president of Columbia Records - the future home of all of Joel's music and the star-making machinery that would crown him "Piano Man."