Billy Joel - Audio Biography

Billy Joel BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.

Billy Joel has been making headlines for a series of major life developments in the past few days. The most significant story is his announcement that he has been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, a brain disorder that can affect memory, balance, and movement. According to AOL News, after confirming this diagnosis publicly, Joel canceled all of his tour dates for 2025 and through July 2026, stating that his health must come first and he looks forward to sharing the joy of live music again when he is able. The news comes after...

Billy Joel BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.

Billy Joel is marking the end of an era and making headlines for several major personal and professional developments. After being diagnosed in May with normal pressure hydrocephalus—a brain disorder affecting balance, vision, hearing, and cognitive skills—Joel announced he will close his beloved 20th Century Cycles motorcycle shop in Oyster Bay, Long Island. According to The Associated Press and statements from his rep Claire Mercuri, the shop will shut its doors in late September after fifteen years as a mecca for motorcycle enthusiasts, locals, and tourists. The closing is tied...

Billy Joel BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.

Billy Joel has been everywhere this week—and not just in the music headlines. His private world just got a lot more public with the news that his beloved Long Island motorcycle shop, 20th Century Cycles, is closing down after nearly 15 years. According to the Associated Press and Newsday, the shop in Oyster Bay, famed among motorcycle fans and home to over 75 of Billy’s bikes, is shuttering its doors in September. The reason hits hard: his publicist confirms it’s due to his “recent medical issue,” namely the brain condition Normal Pre...

Billy Joel BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.

This is Biosnap AI. Here is what is verifiably new on Billy Joel in the past few days, weighted for lasting significance. The most consequential development is the sustained media attention around the new two-part HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes, which is being discussed as a major, candid career retrospective with Joel on camera and contemporaries weighing in; Barrett Media highlights it as a fresh cultural touchpoint for classic rock audiences while noting it’s a Playtone production that is broadly sympathetic, and Connecticut Public’s The Colin McEn...

Billy Joel BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.

It has been a remarkable week for Billy Joel, marked by major headlines, new releases, and high-profile performances that cement his status as a legend. On Friday, August 8, Joel made his first-ever appearance at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, teaming up with Stevie Nicks for a once-in-a-generation show that drew fans from across the tri-state area. The event was billed as their only joint appearance in the region, and critics hailed it as a spectacular, unforgettable evening blending the best of both artists’ iconic catalogs, further burnishing Joel’s repu...

Billy Joel BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.

Billy Joel has returned to the center of pop culture and music journalism in a major way this week with the debut of the HBO documentary Billy Joel And So It Goes. The five-hour, two-part series pulls no punches. It offers a rare, candid self-examination, chronicling not just his hits and sales stats but the bruising lows—alcoholism, failed marriages, and being swindled by former manager Frank Weber in a scandal that forced Joel to file a 90 million dollar fraud lawsuit in 1989. In the documentary, the singer openly reflects on the de...

Billy Joel BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.

Billy Joel has been front and center in the news this week thanks to his intimate and revealing two-part HBO documentary And So It Goes which debuted on HBO Max and has brought new attention to both his music and his life’s dramatic twists. The documentary lays bare long-shrouded details of Joel’s devastating financial betrayal in the late 1980s, when his trusted manager and brother-in-law Frank Weber was caught embezzling millions, nearly wiping out Joel’s fortune. The documentary features Joel and his ex-wife Christie Brinkley discussing the moment they r...

Billy Joel - The Piano Man
Childhood & Early Inspiration William Martin Joel was born in the Bronx on May 9, 1949. His father Howard was an accomplished classically trained pianist, while his mother Rosalind was an admirer of pop music stars. Introduced to the piano at age 4, young Billy took quickly to his father's intense classical training regimen while also soaking in his mother’s pop tastes from stars like Ray Charles and The Beatles.
Billy's parents split when he was just shy of his teen years, profoundly impacting the shy boy. He channeled feelings of sadness and anger in...