A Well Known Musician

Billy Joel is a well known musician who has sold millions of albums throughout the world. Billy Joel has also won multiple grammys and several other awards. He has worked with many other artists and is affectionately known as â€Å"The Piano Man.† Over the years, Billy Joel has broken many records including performing his 65th at Madison Square Garden. Today, he continues to succeed in his music career as he has over his many years as a musician. Billy Joel was born on May 9, 1949, as William Martin Joel in Bronx, New York. He grew up in Levittown, New York, and had two siblings a sister named Judith, and a half-brother Alexander Joel. His father was a classical pianist, and his mother encouraged him to play the piano. He started his career at a very early stage in his life, when he began taking piano lessons at the age of four. His lessons continued until he was sixteen years old. He was in three bands before the age of sixteen. He decided to start his music career after watching a famous band named â€Å"The Beatles† on the popular â€Å"Ed Sullivan Show. † In 1971 he came out with his first album after dropping out of high school to pursue his career in music. The solo album was called â€Å"Cold Spring Harbor.† Billy Joel then decided to move to Los Angeles and got a job soon after as a lounge pianist. After he performed in L.A. in his early years he chose to move back to Long Island. He still continues to pursue his music career around the world and currently lives in Long Island. Billy Joel married his first wife Elizabeth Weber Small in 1973. They had been partners for years before they married. In 1982 they separated from each other and both moved on. He then married famous supermodel named Christie Brinkley. They then had a daughter named Alexa Ray who was born on December 29, 1985. He then split from Christie Brinkley in 1993 eight years after they had their daughter Alexa Ray. Billy Joel met and married television food star and journalist Katie Lee. The two divorced after being married for six years. Billy Joel then went on to meet his current wife Alexis Roderick. They then married in 2015, and went on to have a baby named Della Rose who was born on August 12, 2015. Billy Joel sold over 150 million successful albums and has won multiple awards. Throughout his career his singles hit the top charts almost every time. Through the 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's his singles hit the top 40 thirty-three times. He received a Grammy Legend Award in 1990 and a Billboard Century Award in 1994 for his outstanding music. The Johnny Mercer Award was awarded to Joel in 2001 for being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992. He was also awarded Musicares Person of the Year in 2002. Billy Joel received three Cable Excellence Awards for his American cable television programming. Joel was nominated for 10 Tony Awards and won one for Best Orchestrations. Later in Billy Joel's career he suffered from an alcohol addiction and was continuously in rehab. He then recovered going on to make more music throughout the early 2000's. Joel then released â€Å"All My Life† in 2007. The single was his first in thirteen years with original lyrics. Billy Joel performed multiple times at Madison Square Garden and broke records, selling out his concerts constantly. He made $46 million in sales as of October, 2015. Billy Joel is one of the best selling artists of all time, topping the charts numbers of time throughout the years. He has won several awards and sold out many shows at popular venues such as Madison Square Garden. Billy Joel has continued to perform and tour throughout the world today as the same wonderful musician he was years ago.