1949–present
Billy Joel Now: And So It Goes Documentary Premieres July 18
Billy Joel is speaking candidly about his past mental health struggles in an new HBO documentary. Part one of Billy Joel: And So It Goes debuts on the network and its streaming service, HBO Max, on July 18 at 8 p.m. ET. The second half follows a week later, with the full movie clocking in around five hours.
The project, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June, reveals new details about darker moments during the 76-year-old musician’s life and career. As People previously reported, Joel speaks about surviving his two suicide attempts, including one that put him in a coma “for days and days and days,” and his complicated relationships with his parents in childhood.
“I think music saved my life. It gave me a reason to live,” Joel says in the final trailer.
Naturally, another big focus of And So It Goes is his ubiquitous hit songs. Interviews with a variety of famous guests—including Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, and Pink—to help illustrate his musical legacy.
Editor’s Note: If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or self-harming behaviors, call or text 988 to get help from the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Who Is Billy Joel?
Five-time Grammy-winning musician Billy Joel is best known for the songs “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” “Piano Man,” and “Just The Way You Are,” as well as his acclaimed 1978 album 52nd Street. The native New Yorker’s first album from 1971 disappointed, but he bounced back with a string of successful records later in the decade including Piano Man, The Stranger, and 52nd Street, which won the Grammy for Album of the Year. The Piano Man continued topping charts in the ’80s and ’90s with the albums Glass Houses, Storm Front, and River of Dreams. By 1999, his worldwide song sales had topped $100 million, and he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Several years later, in 2013, Joel received the Kennedy Center Honors.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: William Martin Joel
BORN: May 9, 1949
BIRTHPLACE: New York, New York
SPOUSES: Elizabeth Weber (1973–1982), Christie Brinkley (1985–1994), Katie Lee (2004–2009), and Alexis Roderick (2015–present)
CHILDREN: Alexa, Della, and Remy
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Taurus
Young Billy Joel
William Martin Joel, best known as Billy Joel, was born in New York City’s Bronx borough on May 9, 1949, to Howard and Rosalind Joel. Shortly after he was born, the family moved to a section of America’s famous “first suburb,” Levittown on Long Island.
Although his father was an accomplished classical pianist, it was Joel’s mother who pushed the young boy to study piano. He began playing at the age of 4 and showed an immediate aptitude for the instrument. By the time he was 16, Billy was already a pro, having joined his third band before he could drive.
It wasn’t long before the artist, inspired by the Beatles’ iconic Ed Sullivan Show performance, committed heart and soul to a life in music. He dropped out of high school to pursue a performing career.
Music: Songs and Albums
Joel devoted himself to creating his first solo album Cold Spring Harbor, which was released in November 1971 when he was 22. The terms of Joel’s contract with Family Productions turned out to be onerous, and the artist was unhappy with the quality of the album they released. It wasn’t a commercial success.
Disillusioned with trying to make it as a rock star, Joel moved to Los Angeles to fly under the radar for a while. In early 1972, he got a gig working as a lounge pianist under the pseudonym Bill Martin. His time playing at The Executive Room on Wilshire Boulevard would later be immortalized in his song “Piano Man,” which describes a no-name lounge’s down-and-out patrons.
By late 1972, an underground recording of Joel’s “Captain Jack” had been released on the East Coast and was garnering positive attention. Executives from Columbia Records sought out the lounge player and gave Joel a second chance to become a rock star.
Breakthrough
With the momentum of a Top 25 single—“Piano Man”—to his name, Joel began recording new music, coming out with the Piano Man album in November 1973 and Streetlife Serenade in October 1974. Many of his songs related to a growing frustration with the music industry and Hollywood, foreshadowing his exit from Los Angeles in 1976.
As the years passed, Joel’s style began to evolve, showing his range from pop to the bluesy-jazz stylings that are now closely associated with his name. The Stranger (1977) was Joel’s first major commercial breakthrough, landing him three songs in the Top 25 of the Billboard Hot 100. Among those was “Just The Way You Are,” which netted Joel his first Grammy Awards in 1979. It won the coveted categories Song of the Year and Record of the Year. His next album would be an even bigger hit.
Awards and Achievements
In October 1978, Joel’s sixth studio album arrived in 52nd Street. By mid-November, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking the musician’s first chart-topping album. “Big Shot,” “Honesty,” and especially “My Life” continued to rise on the mainstream singles chart in 1979, then Joel scored two more Grammys the following year as 52nd Street was named Album of the Year and its title track won for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. “Honesty” was nominated for but didn’t win Song of the Year.
“Glass Houses” secured Joel’s fifth Grammy in three years when it won Best Male Rock Vocal Performance in 1981. Through the decade, Joel was crowned a hit-maker with smashes such as “Tell Her About It,” “Uptown Girl,” “Innocent Man,” and “The Longest Time.” He released 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 also frequented the benefit circuit, performing with stars such as Cyndi Lauper and John Mellencamp to raise money for various causes.
Notable nominations also continued to rack up for the musician. Glass Houses (1980), The Nylon Curtain (1982), and An Innocent Man (1983) were also in the running for Album of the Year at the Grammys. In 1989, on the heels of the 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. After the release of River of Dreams in 1993 (another Grammy nominee for Album of the Year), 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 & Roll Hall of Fame by his idol, Ray Charles. Several years later, in 2013, Joel received the Kennedy Center Honors.
In the early 2000s, Joel found himself in and out of rehab, struggling with an ongoing alcohol addiction. In 2007, Joel released the single “All My Life,” his first song with original lyrics in 13 years. In 2015, “Piano Man” was inducted into the National Recording Registry.
Recent Years and Health
Although semi-retired in terms of recording new songs, Joel has continued 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.”
When Joel’s residency at Madison Square Garden was announced in 2013, his devoted fans proved how much the singer’s music resonated with them. As the first music franchise in MSG’s history, Joel broke records; his monthly concerts sold out every time, grossing over $480 million in sales. The final concert of the long-running residency was on July 25, 2024.
Still, Joel kept up his performance schedule. In March 2025, he underwent surgery for an unnamed medical issue that forced a five-month pause in his shows. Before his Billy Joel in Concert Tour could resume, however, the musician revealed in May that he was diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, a rare disorder that causes spinal fluid to build up in or around the brain. The malady affects memory, movement, and concentration, and can lead to vision changes and hearing loss. Joel cancelled his remaining tour dates to focus on his recovery, which includes physical therapy.
Wife and Children
Joel has been married to Alexis Roderick, his fourth wife, for nearly a decade. The couple dated for roughly six years before tying the knot at their annual Fourth of July party on Long Island in 2015. Andrew Cuomo, then the New York governor, presided over the nuptials.
Before getting married, Joel and Roderick announced they were expecting their first child together. They now share two daughters: Della, born in August 2015, and Remy, born in October 2017.
Joel’s eldest child is his daughter Alexa, whom he had with his second wife, supermodel Christie Brinkley. Alexa was born in December 1985, the year after her parents were married. Her middle name is Ray after Joel’s idol Ray Charles. Joel and Brinkley divorced in 1993 after nine years together.
The musician’s other marriages were with Elizabeth Weber Small, from 1973 to 1982, and TV personality and journalist Katie Lee, from 2004 to 2009.
Net Worth
As of March 2025, Joel has an estimated net worth of $250 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Quotes
- [Music is] an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.
- I think music saved my life. It gave me a reason to live.
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Catherine Caruso joined the Biography.com staff in August 2024, having previously worked as a freelance journalist for several years. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, where she studied English literature. When she’s not working on a new story, you can find her reading, hitting the gym, or watching too much TV.
