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Billy Joel, an American singer, pianist, and songwriter is in the media spotlight after releasing a song named, Piano Man. Joel released the breakthrough album titled, Streetlife Serenade and Turnstiles, he was able to print his name in the singing history.

From the album,  The Stranger, he released songs like Just the Way You Are, Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song), Only the Good Die Young, and She’s Always a Woman. His album,  52nd Street became one of the top lists in the Billboard 200 chart.

Early Life of Billy Joel

Billy Joel was born on May 9, 1949, in New York, New York, United States. As of now, Joel is 74 years old and his horoscope is Taurus. Joel cuts his birthday cake on the 9th of May. His real name is William Martin Joel. Howard Joel (father) and Rosalind Nyman (mother) are his parents.

His father was a pianist and businessman, they got divorced in 1957. He has two siblings, Alexander Joel, and Judith Joel. His brother, Alex works as a British pianist while Judith is his cousin whom his parents adopted. 

Billy’s paternal grandparents are Karl Amson Joel and Meta Fleischmann while Philip Nyman and Rebecca Gershon are his maternal grandparents. Joel holds American citizenship and belongs to the Ashkenazi Jewish ethnicity. Billy follows the Christianity religion.

Billy Joel’s Education

Joel studied at Hicksville High School until 1967. After 25 years, he received a diploma from his high school after submitting essays for school boards. In 1991, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Fairfield University. The Berklee College of Music and Hofstra University gave him a degree of Doctor of Music (1993) and a Doctor of Humane Letters (1997) respectively.

He received a Doctor of Music from Southampton College in 2000. He earned a Doctor of Fine Arts from Syracuse University in 2006. In 2008, he got a Doctor of Musical Arts from the Manhattan School of Music and received a Doctor of Music from Stony Brook University in 2015.

Billy Joel’s Wife

His fourth wife is Alexis Roderick, an Equestrian. Billy and Alexis met at a restaurant which is located in Huntington in 2009. After dating each other for 6 years, they walked down the aisle at Joel’s Oyster Bay estate on Long Island on July 4, 2015. They invited their close ones for a Fourth of July party but they surprised them with a wedding.

First and Second Marriage of Billy Joel

His first wife is Elizabeth Weber. They met each other with the help of Jon Small in 1970. They walked down the aisle in September 1973 in the presence of their close ones. Weber and Billy stayed as a married couple until 1982. After that, he tied the wedding knot to an American model, Christie Brinkley.

In early 1983, they met in St. Bart’s while they were vacationing on the Caribbean island. After two years of relationship, they exchanged their wedding vows on a yacht in New York Harbour in March 1985. They divorced because Brinkley wanted to go to West Coast but couldn’t go due to Joel’s tight tour schedule in the spring of 1994.

Billy Joel’s Third Wife & Other Relationships

He married Katie Lee, an American actor. Lee was vacationing with her friend in New York City, she met Billy for the first time in the rooftop bar of The Peninsula Hotel in November 2003. They only dated each other for a year and married on October 2, 2004. They divorced in 2009 because they were far away from each other in 2009.

He was in a relationship with Deborah Dampiere, an American star in 2009. In 2009, he also dated an actress, Alex Donnelley. He and Alec met each other at the backstage of his Washington D.C. concert. He dated Dina Meyer who is an actress by profession in 2001.

From 2000 to 2002, he was in a relationship with a TV personality, Trish Bergen. They met when she covered a breaking news story at the hospital. Billy dated Carolyn Beegan, a painter from 1994 to 2000. He had an affair with Harriet Baldwin-Carter from 1982 to 1983. He also dated Elle Macpherson for a year.

Billy Joel, Father of Three

He is a father of three daughters. He became a father for the first time with Brinkley and welcomed Alexa Ray on December 29, 1985. His daughter Alexa is also a singer. Alexa suffered from depression, and for her appearance, she was bullied as well in 2009. Due to this, she might eat 8 pills at once.

Billy and his third wife gave birth to Della Rose and Remy Anne. Della was born on August 12, 2015, and Remy was born on October 22, 2017.

Billy Joel’s Net Worth & Other Assets

Billy’s net worth is $225 million which he gains from his professional career. He earns an annual salary of $5,490k  per year. He earned a salary of $45 million between June 2017 and June 2018. Billy earned $2-3 million per show and $150 million from his MSG residency. He has bikes like Triumph Tiger and Moto Guzzi V7.

His car collection includes Jaguar Mark II, Citroen 2CV, Harley-Davidson XL CR, Audi Fox, and VW Beetle. He bought a Middlesea mansion for $22.5 million in 2002 which covers 26 acres of land. He recently put it on sale for $49 million. Billy spent $12 million for two mansions that have an area of 4 acres in 2014. In January 2020, he sold it at $10.3 million.

Billy Joel’s Weight Loss: Back Surgery

Billy lost his body weight after post-surgery of his back in 2021. Due to his crazy performances, he was subjected to back surgery and as a result, he lost his appetite and lost 50 pounds of his weight. He revealed his weight loss cause in an interview with The Howard Stern Show:

“I had back surgery earlier this year and the pain afterwards was so bad I lost my appetite. I embraced that.”

Billy Joel’s End Engagement at Madison Square Garden

Joel end his Madison Square Garden residency in July 2024. Billy has also performed his 150th-lifetime performance. He started his residency in the garden in January 2014 and used to play every month. He ended his show by saying:

“It’s hard to believe we’ve been able to do this for 10 years. I’m now 74. I’ll be 75 next year. It seems like a nice number. I’m kind of flabbergasted that it lasted as long as it did. My team tells me that we could continue to sell tickets but 10 years, 150 shows – all right already!”

The Journey of Billy Joel’s Singing Career

• He began his music career by joining the band, The Echoes in 1963.
• Billy left the band and joined The Hassles in 1967.
• He and  Joe Small, a drummer founded a metal duo named, Attila in 1969.
• After signing with Family Productions, he released his solo album Cold Spring Harbor.
• Billy released a song titled, Glass Houses in 1980.

• His album, The Innocent Man became the top hit on Billboard.
• He also released a song titled, River of Dream in 1993.
• Billy released songs like To Make You Feel My Love and Hey Girl in 1997.
• As a philanthropist, he is supporting foundations and organizations like Farm Aid I, USA for Africa’s We Are the World, UNICEF, and Elton John AIDS Foundation.
• He founded Long Island Boat Company with Peter Needham in Oyster Bay, Long Island in 1996. He sells custom-made, retro-styled motorcycles and accessories.

Songs & Albums

He is a singer of famous songs like We Didn’t Start the Fire, Vienna, The longest time, Uptown Girl, Honesty, Just the way you are, Movin’ Out, and so on. His hits albums are Cold Spring Harbor, Piano Man, Streetlife Serenade, Turnstiles, The Stranger, 52nd Street, Glass Houses, The Nylon Curtain, An Innocent Man, The Bridge, and Storm Front.

Books

Besides singing, he is also an author of books like Piano Man, Greatest Hits, an Innocent Man, The Stranger, Lullabye Sheet Music, and Just the Way You.

Awards & Nomination

• In 1981, he won American Music Award in the nomination for Glass Houses Favorite Pop/Rock Album.
• He won Tony Awards for Movin’ in the category of Out Best Orchestrations.
• He won New York Emmy Award in 2018.
• In 2020, he won the nomination for White Hot Spotlight: Billy Joel and the Greatest Arena for Run of All Time Won.

FAQs of Billy Joel

Did Billy Joel suffer from Depression?

Yes, he suffered from depression. He even drank a furniture polish and attempted suicide by leaving a note. Billy was taken to the hospital by his friend, Jon Small, and was kept on suicide watch.

Was Billy Joel an alcohol addict?

Yes, Billy was an alcohol addict. Due to an overdose of drugs he was hospitalized at Silver Hill Hospital in 2002. Billy received treatment for alcohol abuse for 30 days.

Did Billy Joel serve in the military?

No, Billy never served in the military. Billy has written songs in memory of his friends who lost their lives in war.

What is Billy Joel’s Height?

Joel has a tall height of 5 feet 5 inches and has a body weight of 66kg. Joel has a brown colored eyes and is bald.