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Singer Billy Joel topped the charts in the 1970s and '80s with hits like "Piano Man," "Uptown Girl" and "We Didn't Start the Fire."
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Play NowBilly Joel. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 09:43, May 22, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/billy-joel-9354859.
Billy Joel. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/billy-joel-9354859 [Accessed 22 May 2013].
"Billy Joel." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 22 2013, 09:43 http://www.biography.com/people/billy-joel-9354859.
"Billy Joel," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/billy-joel-9354859 [accessed May 22, 2013].
"Billy Joel," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/billy-joel-9354859 (accessed May 22, 2013).
Billy Joel [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 22] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/billy-joel-9354859.
Billy Joel, http://www.biography.com/people/billy-joel-9354859 (last visited May 22, 2013).
Billy Joel. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/billy-joel-9354859. Accessed May 22, 2013.
Soon after, their daughter Alexa Ray (named after Ray Charles) was born.
Through the 1980s, Joel would be crowned a hit-maker with smashes such as "Tell Her About It," "Uptown Girl," "Innocent Man" and "The Longest Time." He would release two volumes of Greatest Hits and become the first American performer to unleash a full-scale rock production in the Soviet Union. While churning out hits, Joel would also frequent the benefit circuit,
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performing with stars such as Cyndi Lauper and John Mellencamp to raise money for various causes.
In 1989, on the heels of successful single "We Didn't Start the Fire," Joel was presented with the Grammy Legend Award. His professional success continued unabated into the early 1990s, although his personal life became somewhat dramatic. Joel divorced Christie Brinkley in 1993 and began a host of legal proceedings against various lawyers, publishers and managers that he had worked with over the years. After the release of River of Dreams (1994), Joel slowed his studio recordings, but continued to tour alone and in combination with fellow artists such as Elton John. In 1999, the worldwide sales of his songs passed the 100 million mark. Also that year, Joel was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by his idol, Ray Charles.
In the early 2000s, Joel found himself in and out of rehab, struggling with an ongoing alcohol addiction. In 2004, he married the television personality and journalist Katie Lee. They would eventually divorce after five years of marriage. In 2007, Joel released the single "All My Life," his first song with original lyrics in 13 years. Though semi-retired in terms of recording new pop songs, Joel continues to tour and branch out as an artist. He has composed a number of classical songs and even reworked older ballads with an orchestral backing.
Throughout the years, Joel's songs have acted as personal and cultural touchstones for millions of people, mirroring his own goal of writing songs that "meant something during the time in which I lived ... and transcended that time."
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