One Final Serenade: Songs of Billy Joel
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Initmate Biographies - Billy Joel - The Untold Story of A Music Icon (October 2017)
Kappa Publishing This is not a book but a special edition magazine that was available in late 2017, in grocery stores and bookstores. While the subtitle claims it is the "untold" story of Billy Joel, it actually does not contain any new information that cannot be found in previous biographies. |
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Still, it is a reasonably well-done overview of Billy's life and career containing information that most casual fans would not be aware of from mainstream media. The 96-page magazine consists primarily of large photos rather than text. Most of the photos are also nothing new, the same photos that are typically used on many websites. But again, overall, it is a good-looking and well-organized overview.
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Billy Joel: America's Piano Man (June 2017)
Joshua S. Duchan This book by music professor Joshua S. Duchan (Wayne State University) does an excellent job of exploring various themes found in Billy's music through an examination of specific songs and events in Billy's life. Different chapters are devoted to major themes such as relationships, politics, and geography, places & spaces. |
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From Amazon.com: "Despite his tremendous success, Billy Joel’s gifts as a composer and commentator on American life are long overdue for a thorough investigation. In Billy Joel: America’s Piano Man, music historian Joshua S. Duchan looks at the career and music of this remarkable singer-songwriter, exploring the unique ways Joel channels and transforms the cultural life of a changing America over four decades into bestselling song after song and album after album.
Billy Joel has not always enjoyed the acclaim of music critics, who have characterized his music as inauthentic and lacking a uniqueness of style. Duchan corrects this misunderstanding by exploring the depth and degree to which Joel’s songs engage with social, cultural, political, and economic issues. Organized by major themes and including original interviews with Joel himself, Duchan’s book delves into Joel’s endeavors as a musician, lyricist, and commentator on questions of geography and regionalism, politics, working- and middle-class culture, human relationships, and the history of music itself. Duchan draws on key songs from Joel’s career to explore each theme, from his folk-like lament for Long Island’s changing industry and lifestyle in “The Downeaster ‘Alexa’” to his emotional ode to Vietnam veterans in “Goodnight Saigon.”
Original interviews with Billy Joel blend with Duchan’s engaging analysis to provide readers of all backgrounds and ages a new look at these unforgettable songs. Music lovers and historians of both the academic and armchair variety will find this exploration of Joel’s work a rewarding adventure into America’s social, cultural, political, economic, and—above all—musical history."
Billy Joel has not always enjoyed the acclaim of music critics, who have characterized his music as inauthentic and lacking a uniqueness of style. Duchan corrects this misunderstanding by exploring the depth and degree to which Joel’s songs engage with social, cultural, political, and economic issues. Organized by major themes and including original interviews with Joel himself, Duchan’s book delves into Joel’s endeavors as a musician, lyricist, and commentator on questions of geography and regionalism, politics, working- and middle-class culture, human relationships, and the history of music itself. Duchan draws on key songs from Joel’s career to explore each theme, from his folk-like lament for Long Island’s changing industry and lifestyle in “The Downeaster ‘Alexa’” to his emotional ode to Vietnam veterans in “Goodnight Saigon.”
Original interviews with Billy Joel blend with Duchan’s engaging analysis to provide readers of all backgrounds and ages a new look at these unforgettable songs. Music lovers and historians of both the academic and armchair variety will find this exploration of Joel’s work a rewarding adventure into America’s social, cultural, political, economic, and—above all—musical history."
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Experiencing Billy Joel: A Listener's Companion (Sept. 2016)
Thomas MacFarlane See Amazon.com description below. There is only one user review of this book on Amazon.com which is not favorable. |
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From Amazon.com: "Over the course of his career, Billy Joel has released a series of remarkable albums that together chart his journey as an artist from relative obscurity to international success. In Experiencing Billy Joel, musician and writer Thomas MacFarlane explores that musical journey, from Joel’s apprenticeship in the Long Island music scene to his experiences in both New York and Los Angeles writing and recording his own unique brand of piano rock and pop.
After achieving a certain degree of musical success in the late 1960s, Joel embarked on a career as a singer-songwriter in the early 1970s. Although his initial albums demonstrated a precocious mastery that helped establish him in the field, his full potential as a recording artist blossomed on The Stranger (1977), created under the guidance of legendary producer Phil Ramone. Subsequent releases explored a variety of musical styles and helped solidify Joel’s reputation as one of the most important pop composers of his era.
Experiencing Billy Joel explores each of Joel’s albums, laying out their appeal to musicians and non-musicians alike while also exploring the various production styles that have characterized Joel’s development in the studio. Along the way, MacFarlane reveals how Billy Joel’s recorded works as a whole serve as the foundation for a complex and enduring musical legacy."
After achieving a certain degree of musical success in the late 1960s, Joel embarked on a career as a singer-songwriter in the early 1970s. Although his initial albums demonstrated a precocious mastery that helped establish him in the field, his full potential as a recording artist blossomed on The Stranger (1977), created under the guidance of legendary producer Phil Ramone. Subsequent releases explored a variety of musical styles and helped solidify Joel’s reputation as one of the most important pop composers of his era.
Experiencing Billy Joel explores each of Joel’s albums, laying out their appeal to musicians and non-musicians alike while also exploring the various production styles that have characterized Joel’s development in the studio. Along the way, MacFarlane reveals how Billy Joel’s recorded works as a whole serve as the foundation for a complex and enduring musical legacy."
 Hardcover 
Paperback
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Billy Joel (Oct. 2014)
Fred Schruers This is the definitive biography of Billy Joel, and well overdue. After "The Book of Joel: A Memoir" was cancelled (see bel0w), author Fred Schruers found another publisher. See this article. His new biography, simply titled "Billy Joel," was published in October 2014. It is the first authorized biography of Billy Joel and a good read. Even though I have read several Billy Joel biographies and countless articles about him, this book still captivated my interest. I knew what was going to happen, but was still interested in how it would turn out. Schruers also does a good job of deftly integrating stories about Billy's personal and professional life with Billy's songs, without using that tool as a crutch. The initial chapter on the Joel family history (prior to Billy being born) and their trials and tribulations in Nazi Germany is fascinating if you are a history buff like me, but I can see how others might find it a bit dense. One wishes there were more interviews with Billy's former bandmates and ex-wives and girlfriends, but that does not detract from this excellent book. It will no doubt become the definitive biography of Billy Joel. |
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According to Amazon. com: "In Billy Joel, acclaimed music journalist Fred Schruers draws upon more than one hundred hours of exclusive interviews with Joel to present an unprecedented look at the life, career, and legacy of the pint-sized kid from Long Island who became a rock icon. Exhibiting unparalleled intimate knowledge, Schruers chronicles Joel’s rise to the top of the charts, from his working-class origins in Levittown and early days spent in boxing rings and sweaty clubs to his monumental success in the seventies and eighties . . . "
See this web interview with Fred Schruers about the book.
The paperback edition of the book came out in November 2015, just in time for Christmas. It was right on time.
See this web interview with Fred Schruers about the book.
The paperback edition of the book came out in November 2015, just in time for Christmas. It was right on time.
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The Book of Joel: A Memoir (June 14, 2011)
Billy Joel & Fred Schruers Publication of this book was cancelled. It was originally planned to come out June 14, 2011. Amazon.com description: "This soul-searching chronicle offers fans an unprecedented glimpse into the heart and soul of one of the world’s best entertainers . . . here the beloved songwriter offers a serious and reflective memoir of his life from early hard times to top-of-the-world successes, including the ups and downs of romance (and his marriage to Christie Brinkley), insights about fatherhood, and reflections on both the joys and the burdens of superstardom. . . . " |
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From Amazon.com: "The Words and Music of Billy Joel examines this influential musician's songs in detail, exploring the meaning of the lyrics and placing Joel's artistry in a regional and cultural context. Covering work that ranges from Joel's recordings with the Lost Souls to his classical compositions, the book focuses on the dozen studio albums of popular music released between 1971 and 1993. A bibliographic essay is included, as are both a discography and a filmography. There is also a special focus on the interpretation of Joel's songs by other recording artists."
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This is a reasonably good biography of Billy Joel by music writer Hank Bordowitz. Much of the information in the book is largely derived from other written sources (with the notable exception of Bruce Getile) but it is still a well-organized and written summary of Billy's life and music. It reads well and quickly, and is relatively well-balanced, neither overly praising Billy nor condemning him. I like this book better than the Mark Bego biography (below) though both are pretty much comparable in terms of factual information. Neither, however, have any direct interviews with Billy Joel like the Fred Schruers book that came out in 2014 and is the definitive biography on Joel.
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While it has some interesting photos I had not seen before, it also has one photo that purports to be a photo of The Hassles prior to Billy joining the group, but it's just a photo where Billy is cropped out of the view. Originally, I believe the book was only available in the UK though the writer is apparently from Long Island and involved in the fishing industry. He knows Billy Joel through that connection. But as the review of the book states "[u]nfortunately, being a tuna fisherman of non-litigious temperament is not necessarily the ideal qualification for writing a book, or indeed for writing anything at all." If you are a casual Billy Joel fan, I would not recommend this book, but if you are a fanatic or collector, then it may be worth it.
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OTHER BOOKS
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