How Billy Joel Became A Superstar By Defying The Odds And Built His $225 Million Net Worth
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American singer and songwriter Billy Joel is one of the best-selling music artists of all time and has sold over 150 million records across the world. He has successfully led a commercially successful music career since 1970s as a solo artist. He has released twelve pop and rock studio albums in the duration of his career and has received numerous awards from it. Despite his success today, the singer with a net worth of $225 million struggled in life during his teen years. Take a look at how became a superstar by defying the odds and making it big in the music industry.
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Billy Joel’s Early Life and Brief Boxing Career
Billy Joel whose real name is William Martin Joel was born on May 9, 1949 in the Bronx, New York City. When he turned one year old, his family decided to move to the suburb Hicksville in Long Island. He was raised in the town of Oyster Bay along with his younger sister Judy. His father Howard was a classical pianist and businessman while his mother Rosalind was a housewife. Joel’s grandfather founded a highly successful mail order textile business called Joel Macht Fabrik. Their family is Jewish and to escape from the wrath during the Nazi regime, they immigrated to Switzerland and eventually moved to the U.S.
When Joel turned four years old, he reluctantly began some piano lessons due to his mother’s persistence. Among his piano teachers included American pianist Morton Estrin as well as the musician Timothy Ford. Joel believes that he is far better organist than being a pianist. While growing up, Joel felt the need to defend himself and learned boxing. He boxed successfully and even entered amateur Golden Gloves circuit for a while. He has won about 22 bouts however he abandoned the sports after he broke his nose during his 24th boxing match.
Joel attended the Hicksville High School however did not graduate with his class and left in 1967. While in high school, he has worked at some piano bar to support himself and his family financially. Due to his work schedule, he missed some crucial English exam which made it impossible for him to graduate because he did not have enough credits to graduate.
Billy Joel’s Musical Influences And Start of Musical Career
Growing up, his musical influences are the rock and roll and rhythm and blues artists including The Beatles, Elvis Presley and The Everly Brothers. He highly favored the tightly structured pop melodies as well as some down-to-earth songwriting. It was when he saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show that he decided to pursue a career in the music industry.
Instead of attending the summer school to finally earn his diploma, Joel decided to try his luck and started his career in music. He said to himself that if he cannot go to Columbia University then he would just go to Columbia Records where he would not need some high school diploma and start making songs on recording studios. However he was able to attain a diploma later on in 1992 after he submitted an essay to the school board on why he was not able to take the exam. It was accepted and he was awarded his rightful diploma about 25 years after he left the school. At an early age of 16 years old, joined the group Echoes which specialized in doing British Invasion covers.
His career began with The Echoes and they began recording in 1965. He played piano on numerous records and they released it through the Kama Sutra Productions. He then played a demo of the song Leader of the Pack which eventually became a massive hit for the Shangri-Las. Joel’s career started from there as he started releasing songs one by one soon after. However one performance that changed his life was when he started playing rock in songs.
Joel' Break Through In The Music Industry
Joel is becoming a known artist at the time and landed a record deal contract with the Family Productions. The production company spent thousands of dollars to groom and prepare Joel to the music world. Despite their efforts, his first released were considered technical and commercial disappointment. However he then started making a name for himself after he released popular songs Everybody Loves You Now and She's Got a Way. He then began his Cold Spring Harbor tour in 1971 with the band consisted of Larry Russell on bass guitar, Rhys Clark on drums, and Al Hertzberg on guitar. Through the years, the public interest towards the artist grew even more.
Joel soon started releasing songs after songs which made him even more popular. He’s had numerous hit songs beginning in the 1970s and finally became the enduring favorite on the concert circuit in the 80s. He continued releasing more songs to ramp up his fame including songs Glass Houses, The Nylon Curtain and 52nd Street. Among his famous songs includes Streetlife Serenade, Turnstiles, Just the Way You Are, Only the Good Die Young, She's Always a Woman, The Nylon Curtain, An Innocent Man and a lot more.
Today, he is the most prominent musician in the industry and was recognized for his contribution to the music industry. Throughout his career, he has been nominated for the Grammy Award for 23 times, won five of them which included Album of the Year for 52nd Street. He is also a member of the Songwriter Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He has since retired from actively recording since 1993 however he did released Fantasies & Delusions in 2001. Joel’s record sales reached 150 million worldwide and have made him among the best selling artists in the music history. He has mostly earned his million in recent years with earnings of $45 million between 2017 until 2018 from tours. He undergoes some Madison Square Garden residencies which earned him at least $150 million in the last few years.
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Sources: All Music, Celebrity Net Worth, The Famous People
