Music News

Happy Birthday, Big Shot: Billy Joel turns 75

todayMay 9, 2024

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Sonja Flemming/CBS

Billy Joel has been alive for “The Longest Time:” He turns 75 on May 9.

The Piano Man will celebrate the milestone by doing the same thing he did when he turned 65 in 2014: He’ll be performing at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Back then, his residency, which started in January of that year, was fairly new. The May 9 performance, however, will be the residency’s third-to-last show and his 148th career show overall at the iconic venue. 

Billy’s residency ends for good in July with his 150th career show at the Garden, but unlike his former tour mate, Elton John, he’s not quitting the road. He’s got stadium shows booked throughout the rest of this year, some on his own and some with Sting, Stevie Nicks and Rod Stewart.

In his five-decade career, Billy has sold more than 160 million records worldwide. He’s won five Grammys, been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, and received both the Kennedy Center Honors and the Library of Congress’ Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

Billy’s married to Alexis Roderick, his fourth wife, with whom he shares two daughters: Della and Remy. He also has an adult daughter, Alexa Ray, with ex-wife Christie Brinkley.

In February, Billy released “Turn the Lights Back On,” which returned him to Billboard‘s Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts — as an artist, not just a writer — for the first time since 1998. He recently told USA Today that for years, when he sang his song “The Entertainer” and got to the line, “You’ve heard my latest record / It’s been on the radio,” he’d shake his head “no.”

He added, “Not any more.”

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