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Billy Joel
- The Definitive Biography
- Narrated by: Kirk Thornton
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
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Billy Joel
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Summary
The all-access biography and unprecedented look at the life, career, and legacy of a pint-sized kid from Long Island who became a music legend.
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. He also explores Joel’s creative transformation in the nineties, his dream performance with Paul McCartney at Shea Stadium in 2008, and beyond.
Along the way, Schruers reveals the stories behind all the key events and relationships—including Joel’s high-profile marriages and legal battles—that defined his path to stardom and inspired his signature songs, such as “Piano Man,” “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” “New York State of Mind,” and “She’s Always a Woman.” Throughout, he captures the spirit of a restless artist determined to break through by sharing, in his deeply personal lyrics, the dreams and heartbreaks of suburban American life.
Comprehensive, vibrantly written, and filled with Joel’s memories and reflections—as well as those of the family, friends, and band members who have formed his inner circle, including Christie Brinkley, Alexa Ray Joel, Jon Small, and Steve Cohen—this is the definitive account of a beloved rock star’s epic American journey.
Critic reviews
"If you call yourself a Joel fan, you'll be reading this." –Newsday
"Schruers clearly realizes he has gold in his interviews with Joel, his friends, paramours and confidants... [He delivers] insights on individual songs that will surprise even the most studied Joel fan.... [and] has given us the most complete look at Joel’s life and career to date." –Dallas Morning News
[Billy Joel] not only lives up to its subtitle, but has the strengths of both an autobiography and biography.... [It] will likely end up as the most complete tome on the Bard of Long Island, with the most access to its subject." –Houston Press
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What listeners say about Billy Joel
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Colm
- 29-08-18
An amazing insight.
I was drawn in by the whole story. from start to finish. A truly inspirational story of over coming problems and perseverance and moving forward.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- N C
- 17-01-23
good audio book, but
I so so so wish that the guy reading it did not try to emulate every persons accent and mod when he quotes them. It is beyond cringe worthy and really puts me off his voice altogether. Is it not possible to just read a book with dignity and clarity without vocal acrobatics and unnecessary accentry. Brrrrr, gives me the shivers when he tries to sound British ...
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- kegsy0
- 15-06-15
A must for Billy Joel fans
I really enjoyed some of the insights into the world of Billy Joel. Great story and narration.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Tracy Russell
- 11-02-20
Missed opportunity
I am a huge joel fan and should have loved this book as billy does seemed to have had a very interesting career. The experience was however very dry, the readers voice annoying and the dick van dyk British accents laughable. Came over like a text but and was not helped by quotes atributed to billy such as 'hell yah'
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Ann Walters
- 17-10-22
Just about ok …
Having been a Billy fan for 40 years, I did appreciate the background into many of his songs and albums. Gives a pretty good overview of his life and relationships. Pretty shallow when it comes to the band but roughly gives a time line to the early members.
My biggest gripe …. the awful accents. Almost made it unlistenable.
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