Billy Joel

American singer inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 after 15 years preparation for success as a singer and songwriter. His hits "Piano Man," " My Life," "I Love You Just the Way You Are," and "Only the Good Die Young" display his trademark talent for pop, soul and piano-based rock. Seven consecutive albums of his made the Top 10. Despite his success in the music industry, Joel remains cynical about the business, having sued two of his managers for cheating him of his money. On 25 September 1989, Joel filed a $90 million suit against his ex-brother-in-law and former manager Frank Weber.

Joel's father emigrated from Germany to the Bronx in the 1930s. He met his future wife and they wed, having a daughter and son. At the age of one, Billy's family moved to Hicksville on Long Island. Both of his parents were musically trained, his father a classically trained pianist. At four, the boy was pounding on an old Lester upright piano. His mother took him kicking and screaming to his first piano class and he dropped out of piano lessons at 11 because he hated to practice. Billy grew up in a volatile family as his parents constantly bickered. In 1957, his father left the U.S. and moved back to Europe. He would not see his father again until 1973. In the late 1950s, Joel found life difficult as a poor kid and the only Jewish child in a neighborhood full of Irish, Polish and Italian families. He got into many scraps defending his Jewish heritage.

In his teens, Joel adopted a tough punk look, sporting leather wristbands and carrying switchblades that were never used. He was an amateur welterweight boxer. In high school, Joel played with a band called "The Hassles." They played their gigs until 4:00 A.M. so Joel began skipping classes and missing out of his exams. The principal encouraged Joel to get his high school degree by attending summer school but Joel would have no part of it. His mother worked a string of menial jobs in order to raise her children.