Billy Joel Tag Page
July 22nd, 2008
By Mike
One of my favorite drummers-slash-singers is celebrating a birthday. Don Henley is sixty-one years old today (July 22.) I’ve been an Eagles fan since their very first album in 1972. Their harmonies and the varied instrumentation used in the band really captured my ears. That may be the first time I ever heard a banjo used on a rock album. Back then it was called progressive country; now it’s rock.
I saw Henley on his Building the Perfect Beast tour in ‘85 and it was an awesome show, with probably ten musicians on stage. A most cherished concert memory because it’s the only show I saw with both my brother and my sister. After the show I went backstage and got his autograph. That album cover is now in a frame with the backstage pass signed with a gold marker. That’s a good day when I can meet one of my favorite musicians (and fellow Texan,) and rock out with my siblings.
Don Henley recently appeared as a special guest during Billy Joel’s tribute concert to New York’s Shea Stadium, which is in it’s last season and will be replaced by …
March 17th, 2008
By Mike
I was reading another one of the many stories about the Beatles music being available on iTunes, which turned about to be just another rumor. These are all over the internet but Sony music, who owns the licensing, denies any of these stories as true. At the end of this particular story on applesource, there’s a chart showing the best selling music artists of all time. It caught my eye as an interesting mix of artists, many of whom I would not associate together, but this list is based only on sales.
The 10 best-selling music acts of all time based on millions of albums & singles sold: (Source: Recording Industry Association of America)
The Beatles - 191 million
Elvis Presley - 168.5 million
Garth Brooks - 128.5 million
Led Zeppelin - 112 million
The Eagles - 101.5 million
Elton John - 91 million
Billy Joel - 83.5 million
Barbra Streisand - 78 million
Madonna - 78 million
Mariah Carey - 76.5 million
Pink Floyd - 75.5 million
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Best Selling Music Artists Of All Time”, url: “http://www.musicramble.com/best-selling-music-artists-of-all-time/” });
I’ve been listening to the radio for the first time in years. Specifically, I’ve been playing New York’s new rock station, 101.9 WRXP. It’s a reasonably interesting concept – a mixture of classic rock and indie rock/alternative. (Thankfully, the classic rock played so far hasn’t been that predictable.) Certainly, it’s the only station I’ve ever heard where the Hold Steady follows Billy Joel and Ra Ra Riot follows the Rolling Stones. It’s not a Jack-FM concept (radio as iPod) – it’s a simply a s
TELL HER ABOUT IT "Tell Her About It" 1983 [12" Maxi-Single] "Tell Her About It" is a hit 1983 song performed by Billy Joel, from the hit album An Innocent Man. An apparent homage to the Motown Sound, the song was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for one week on September 24, 1983. The single reached 'Gold' certification from the RIAA for sales in the U.S. In the lyrics of the song, the singer exhorts a young man to tell the woman he loves how he feels about her before he misses his chance
Clair Showco Delivers Great Sound For Billy Joel Featuring Surprise Guests Sir Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Garth Brooks, Steven Tyler and Roger Daltrey Billy Joel is truly an entertainer as his ‘Last Play At Shea’ marked the end of an era of historic concerts at Shea Stadium on Friday, July 18th. With a star-studded lineup of musicians making guest appearances throughout the evening including Tony Bennett, Garth Brooks, Steven Tyler and Roger Daltrey, Billy Joel performed the last concert at
This is big shocking news to the music industry. Yes, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be having a musuem in New York City announced by Mayor Bloomberg, Billy Joel and Clive Davis yesterday on a blocked off street in Soho. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which originally started in Cleveland, Ohio as you see in the picture above plans on branching out. The New York annex will open sometime this November. More on it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/arts/music/14hall.html?ref=nyregi
I am flipping channels* last week and find a 1978 Billy Joel concert. Huh. Look how young he looks! I remember this song. And that song. I had "The Stranger" on vinyl. After five minutes, it goes into PBS pledge drive. Foy!** I decide I am not willing to wade through 25 minutes of begging to get to the next 5 minutes of concert. They have the nerve to say that PBS is valuable because it provides wonderful programming like the program you are watching. Like we're not going to notice that the o
It’s no secret that I live the life of a Downtown Man. Women who lived in an uptown world, along with their fancy college degrees and white collar professions could never go for a blue collar bum like me. Social status doesn’t exist in a vacuum after all, and if I don’t got the mojo, then there’s no way I can land me some high class ho-hos, ya know? But Billy Joel, he made me believe. He made me dare to dream in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, there was an Uptown girl out there who could see
Britney Spears gave her first sit-down interview in two years to OK!, which will publish its piece Friday. The singer also made some fairly charming promos for the MTV Video Music Awards with show host Russell Brand, the British comedian. Billy Joel's wife had the gall to try and approach Gwyneth Paltrow at a Hamptons fundraiser and didn't even make it past the front door to the house where Paltrow was hanging. You can blame Calvin Klein's ex-wife for the whole sad situation. [R&M] Scarlett
If you interview Billy Joel, you best be upfront in your opinions of his music, or at least don't blindside him when the talk is published. Grant Smithies of the New Zealand Sunday Star Times recently sat down with Joel and then, when he published his piece, mentioned that he felt that the singer's 80's and 90's output was "sentimental rubbish." Joel semi-politely replied to the article: "I had no idea when you interviewed me that you considered much of my later work to be `sentimental rubbi
Last week, the New Zealand newspaper the Sunday Star-Times ran an interview with Long Island songsmith Billy Joel that had a little bit of criticism mixed in with its boilerplate profile-quotes. Writer Grant Smithies said that while much of the Piano Man's '80s and '90s output was "sentimental rubbish," he had an affection for Joel's earlier material and pugilistic persona an opinion that sounds familiar to this writer. (Although she would like to posit that "A Matter Of Trust" still owns.) But
Jimmy Webb - The Billy Joel Podcast August 11th, 2008 Posted by: Podmaster Categories: The Billy Joel Podcast, Vella Interactive Tags: Jimmy Webb
On this episode, legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb talks about his friend Billy Joel and his recollections of The Stranger.
A couple of weeks ago I watched the movie Across the Universe with hubby. I didn’t even realise a musical using Beatles melodies had been made. I enjoyed the way the song lyrics were used to tell a story about the people in the film. With the recent Mama Mia stage production and film, another production in the works using music by Billy Joel, I couldn’t help wondering if you’ve ever wanted to tell your own story using the lyrics from one particular artist or group. Have a think about this o
