The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ MusiCares Foundation will bestow its annual Person of the Year award on Billy Joel next year. The singer-songwriter will be honored on February 25th at a dinner, concert and silent auction in Los Angeles. The event comes two days before the Grammy Awards, which will be broadcast on CBS. The award comes in recognition of Joel’s musical accomplishments, since his career began – he has had thirty three Top 40 hits and won five Grammy Awards – as well as his charitable endeavors. A longtime advocate of music education, Joel has been… Read more »
Two new Billy Joel albums come out Tuesday (October 2)-a two-disc hits set called The Essential Billy Joel and, more notably, Fantasies & Delusions (Music For Solo Piano), his first set of instrumental classical music and his first album of new material since 1993’s River Of Dreams. Joel tells LAUNCH that the long gap between albums allowed him to develop as an instrumental writer and that he had resolved not to push anything out before he felt it was ready: “To tell you the truth, I wasn’t feeling compelled to put anything out. All I wanted to do was compose,… Read more »
Pop kingpin Billy Joel is working on two new projects, and he doesn’t have to sing a note or plink a piano key for either one. The first is a classical piano album of new songs, which is being arranged by established concert pianist Hyung-ki Joo. On June 25, Joel will travel to Vienna, Austria, to supervise the project, which he hopes to have available for release by the fall. The tentative title is Music for Solo Piano, but Joel isn’t totally sold on the name. “I’m thinking of calling it Unsung, but that could be confusing because people may… Read more »
In what is being billed as the first time they’ve ever played at the same concert, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel have signed on for a benefit for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on October 16 at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom. Other performers have yet to be announced. Tickets range from $500 to $10,000. Springsteen, who endorsed Obama this spring, recently finished a tour with the E Street Band in support of his 2007 album, “Magic.” On Sunday, it was confirmed that the group will play during the Super Bowl halftime show February 1 in Tampa, Florida. Joel, meanwhile, begins… Read more »
Rock stars Bob Dylan (news), Billy Joel (news) and James Taylor (news) filed a lawsuit against Vivendi Universal’s MP3.com music Web site for allegedly distributing their songs without authorization, sources familiar with the suit said on Tuesday. A spokesman for MP3.com declined comment. Sources familiar with both the artists and the company said they had been made aware of the lawsuit in the last few days. The artists are not the first to sue MP3.com, which was the target of major litigation brought against it on behalf of the world’s major record labels in January 2000 for infringement. MP3.com settled… Read more »
Billy Joel and Elton John postponed the remaining stops on their Face to Face tour Monday. The dates affected stretch through April 11th, and include the pair’s second show at Madison Square Garden – originally scheduled for last night – four nights at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, three in New Jersey and one in Boston. Those shows, as well as a previously postponed date in Tampa, Florida, will be rescheduled for “the earliest appropriate time,” according to Joel’s Web site. According to the post, doctors diagnosed Joel with “acute laryngitis, inflamed vocal chords and an acute upper respiratory… Read more »
Billy Joel and Elton John postponed a concert in their “Face to Face” tour after Joel became ill. The singer is suffering from “acute upper respiratory infection and laryngitis,” and has been feeling under the weather for several days, said Max Loubiere, his tour manager. Monday night’s concert at the Ice Palace was scheduled as part of a national tour featuring the two artists. Arena officials said the concert will be rescheduled, but no date was released. Ticketholders were advised to keep their tickets. “We’re trying to see what the schedule is, what Elton’s schedule is,” Loubiere told the St.… Read more »
Billy Joel says if he’d been in a band all these years, “I would have broken up a long time ago.” Now he’s touring with Elton John, and couldn’t be happier. “When I went with Elton, it’s different than just being Billy Joel. It’s Billy Joel and Elton John. I get to play Elton John music. He plays my music. We play both our music together. I play with his band. He plays with my band…. We play piano on our own. We jam. We have piano duels. It’s kinda like joining a piano band,” Joel told AP Radio. Looking… Read more »
ANDREW MCMAHON.
That’s all that needs to be said. I remember being at Drive Thru Records and we received this demo from a band called, “Something Corporate…” described as a more rockish Billy Joel.
Following the release of their new record Only God Was Above Us in the spring of 2024, Vampire Weekend headed on the road to play new tracks and indie-rock favorites. On recent tour dates, the act has been using their encore to play much more than their beloved hit, “Walcott.” The artists have been taking cover requests and playing through the verses and choruses they can. On October 5 and 6, the band played at Madison Square Garden to massive crowds. Here, Vampire Weekend partially covered the likes of Billy Joel, The Killers, Dolly Parton, and even Fall Out Boy.… Read more »
