Born on 9th May 1949 in Long Island, New York, Billy Joel took piano lessons as a child and at the age of 14, formed his first group 'the echoes'. Next he joined a band called 'the hassles' and recorded 2 albums with them, 'Hassles' and 'Hour of the Wolf'.  Due to cotractual problems he then toured bars playing solo under the name Bill Martin.  He was spotted there by a Columbia records scout and was signed to record his first solo album, 'Piano Man' in 1974.  The single of the same name made the US top 30 and remains on radio play lists all around the world today 25 years later.
Albums which followed include 'streetlife serenade' (1974); 'Turnstiles' (1976);
'The Stranger' (1977); '52nd Street' (1978); 'Glass Houses (1980);
'Songs In The Attic' (1981); 'The Nylon Curtain' (1982);
'Cold Spring Harbour' (originally recorded in 1971- re-issued in 1983);
'An Innocent Man' (1983); 'Greatest Hits Vol I and II' (1985);
'The Bridge' (1986); 'Kohuept' (1987- a live concert recording in Moscow);
'Stormfront' (1989); 'River Of Dreams' (1993);
and more recently 'Greatest Hits Vol III' (1996).
Billy Turned 50 this year, and was welcomed into the Music Hall of Fame, and I for one look forward to another 35 years of great music from Billy Joel......