Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joelis an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States. His compilation album Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2 is one of the best-selling albums in the US...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionRock Singer
Date of Birth9 May 1949
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
I always wrote the music first, and the music gave me the mood and the lyrics were pretty much put in to give you a map, where that mood came from and where it's going. But my first love was really the music itself, and I guess I've gone back to that.
I was thinking of the Four Seasons, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and when I was thinking "Uptown Girl!" I was trying to sing like Frankie Valli. They had a song called "Ragdoll," which was about a poor girl and a rich guy. So I just flipped it around and made it about a rich girl and a poor guy.
I actually wrote the song first as "well, it's 9 o'clock on a Saturday." That bit. Then I said, You know what? It needs some kind of an introduction to kind of set the mood and set the flavor. So I just played this kind of cocktail lounge thing, the hustle and bustle of waitresses going by - that kind of thing.
I'm writing new music all the time. I'm just not writing pop stuff. It's not my goal.
Even when I stop performing or stop making records I won't stop being creative. Songwriting is a good outlet.
We passed the hash pipe and played our Doors tapes.
People in music lie, but they don't expect you to believe them. People in television actually expect you to believe the lies.
Some people stay far away from the door if there's a chance of it opening up. They hear a voice in the hall outside and hope that it just passes by.
All she wanted was sax.
I can't remember faces, don't remember names, but after awhile and a thousand miles it all becomes the same.
I've played all kinds of places, laid all kinds of girls.
She's the quiet type who's into heavy metal.
What if she figures out you're not very smart?