Billy & The Joels by Steffen Radlmaier

Author:Steffen Radlmaier
Language: deu
Format: epub
Tags: Billy Joel, 978-3-86913-342-3, ars vivendi verlag, ars, vivendi, Verlag, Billy & The Joels, Steffen Radlmaier, Billy and the Joels, Joel, Alexander Joel, Alexa Ray Joel, Helmut Joel, Howard Joel, Karl Amson Joel, Carl Joel, Leon Joel, St. Louis tragedy, Wäschemanufaktur Karl Joel, Karl Joel, Josef Neckermann, Neckermann, Billy, Mail-Order, Questions & Answers, Exile, Third Reich, Arisierung, Exile in Cuba, American rockstar, Kennedy Center Award, Gershwin Award, Billboard Century Award, German Jewish family, Joel and music, Joel and rock, Joel and Germany, Joel and Nueremberg, Joel-Story, Billy Joel biography, biography, Nuremberg, family history, Nazi, Julius Streicher, Der Stürmer, Long Island, St. Louis, rock star, Piano Man, Madison Square Garden, Kennedy Award, Elton John
Publisher: ars vivendi verlag GmbH & Co. KG
Published: 2016-09-16T00:00:00+00:00

Dreams and Nightmares

The 1980s brought with them a whole series of radical changes in the life of Billy Joel: privately, musically and professionally.

Things seemed to be going well, Billy was riding a wave of success and earning big money. The band was getting on well together and having fun playing the concerts, and there was no lack of parties to go to on the New York scene. Like it says in Ian Drury’s famous song, life seemed to be nothing but sex and drugs and rock and roll. In an interview in Playboy in 1982, Billy Joel admitted to having tried all manner of drugs, including cocaine and heroin. He claims never to have been addicted to any type of hard stuff, but for many years his drug of choice remained alcohol.

Billy Joel’s seven-year contract with Columbia came to an end in 1981 and was up for renegotiation. CBS president Walter Yetnikoff wanted to keep his ‘cash cow’ under contract and made Billy an enticing offer in order to keep him on. Artie Ripp was still earning 25% of every dollar Billy Joel’s records brought in. The record company was now to take over this share so that Billy could enjoy the full fruits of his copyrights.

The first album release to be affected by this new agreement was “Songs in the Attic”, a mixture of best-of and live recordings. Billy had long dreamed of capturing the live energy of his concerts on record. Phil Ramone produced the album, which was recorded both in small clubs and in large concert venues. The basic idea was to present previously unappreciated or badly produced songs from the early days in a new garb. Among these were “Captain Jack”, “Summer Highland Falls” and “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)”.

The album captured the early work recorded between 1971 and 1976 in the way Billy Joel and the band wanted, full of passion and energy. The sleeve notes featured private photos from Billy’s childhood and youth.

Released in September 1981, “Songs in the Attic” was technically pioneering: It was the first ever live album to be recorded digitally. And the reviews were consistently positive, even that in Rolling Stone.

It was the last Billy Joel album on which long-serving band member Richie Cannata ever played. The multi-instrumentalist was fed up with the rock and roll circus and was searching for a new musical challenge; this he later found working for artists like Elton John, Rita Coolidge, Phoebe Snow and Celine Dion. However, Richie Cannata’s departure was probably the first sign that things were heading towards a crisis in the band. Although the musicians were proud of their part in the success story, they realized that – in contrast to the frontman – they were replaceable.

Billy Joel was too intelligent to accept his fame and riches unquestioningly:

“The more you have, the more you spend. So we’re also responsible for a lot of different people’s income. The money coming in is creating employment too, creating jobs.

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