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Billy Joel- The Stranger

Billy Joel is certainly not "The Stranger" to spectacular popularity, or the record books documenting same. And it's not as if Billy Joel had not been a prolific recording singer/songwriter or an infrequent touring musician prior to his fifth album, "The Stranger", in Fall 1977. But strangely his album sales were in a decidedly negative trend after "Piano Man". "The Stranger" changed all that, permanently. Billy Joel joins me In the Studio on the album's 45th anniversary.

Billy Joel- 52nd Street

 William Martin Billy Joel has sold more albums in the U.S. than any pop/rock singer except for Elvis Presley. Superstar musicians in that rarified league ( and many more only pretenders to it ) always surround themselves with gaggles of managers,…

Phil Ramone,14-Time Grammy Winner Superstar Producer

Before he died in March 2013 Phil Ramone collaborated with a plethora of music superstars, including RAY CHARLES, BOB DYLAN, ARETHA FRANKLIN, PAUL MCCARTNEY, QUINCY JONES, FRANK SINATRA,  STEVIE WONDER, BURT BACHARACH, BONO,  MADONNA, and…

Billy Joel-“New York State of Mind”- UConn 12-76

This timeless 1976 performance of soon-to-be classic "New York State of Mind" serves as proof positive that, even before his 1977 blockbuster "The Stranger" brought him to mass popularity, Billy Joel was a terrific live entertainer with a superb band.