Year 7, Day 164

Good Morning! Today's song is New York State of Mind by Billy Joel.

Photo from: David Shankbone

Billy Joel was born to Jewish parents, and his family has a lot of music in their blood. His parents ended up splitting up, and he would take jobs playing piano at bars while going to school to help his mom make ends meet. When he failed to graduate (because of the playing) he decided to just skip it and foray into his music career. He started with a band called the Echoes, but changed the name to the Emeralds, then to the Lost Souls. He left after two years and joined a band called the Hassles who ultimately failed and then split from there to form a duo with the drummer. That group also failed when he had an affair with the drummer's wife (soon to become his first wife). He signed as a solo artist in 1970, but because of a studio fuck up his music didn't do well at first. It wasn't until people heard live versions that he started to get noticed. By 1973, he signed with (and could actually make music on) a new label, and Piano Man was born. For the next decade he popped out hits left and right, songs that are still classics today. At that point he was starting to get branded as a soft rocker which he took offense to, so he spent a couple years playing with his sound and being more adventurous in his topics. In 1983 he went back to lighter music with a tribute to the doo wop era, which is where this song comes from. The 90's saw an upheaval of the people he kept around him with most being pushed out of the picture and a couple different lawsuits for fraud being filed. By this time he was on to wife number two. By 1994 he was divorced again, and playing concerts with Elton John. Which is perfect because my brain always pairs them up. He continued touring in the 2000's and by 2007 was recording music again (which he hadn't done for 14 years at that point). He's continued on this way and still does today, so I don't know if retirement will ever be a thing for him, but he sure has had a lasting career and has shattered records. It's kind of amazing. 

Peace.