Denver, Colorado (PRWEB) February 06, 2014 -- Billy Joel burst onto the mainstream music scene with his bittersweet ballad "Piano Man" in 1973. Since then, he has become the third best-selling solo artist in American history, with the third best-selling album ever.
Joel had hits in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, achieving a grand total of 33 Top 40 singles, all of which he wrote and performed himself. One of these, the high profile "Uptown Girl" was released in 1983 and rumored to be about his soon-to-be wife, supermodel Christie Brinkley.
Perhaps his most covered song however, especially at weddings, may be his 1977 Grammy-winner “Just the Way You Are”. Along the way, he has been nominated for 23 Grammy Awards, and won six. Plus, he has sold over 150 million records worldwide to date.
Last December, it was announced that Joel would become a franchise of Madison Square Garden, playing one concert a month indefinitely, starting January 2nd. The singer also announced a 14-city tour this Spring and Summer, including Raleigh, Auburn Hills, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Nashville, Cleveland, Louisville, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.
“Billy Joel tickets have been at the top of concert ticket sales for well over a week,” said Marta Ault at online ticket marketplace BuyAnySeat.com. “Only Elvis Presley and Garth Brooks as solo artists have sold more tracks than Billy Joel and we’re seeing his five decades' worth of fans coming out to see him again.”
“That’s why we’re proud to be able to offer fans the most comprehensive and continuously updated selection of concert tickets online, with a worry-free guarantee to protect their purchase,” added Ault.
“To access the complete inventory of Billy Joel tickets we now have available, customers can go to BuyAnySeat.com and search for Billy Joel – then select their tickets.”
Known as an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer, William Martin "Billy" Joel was born in New York City on born May 9, 1949. After watching the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, Joel decided to pursue a career in music. He founded the Echoes in the early sixties, a group that specialized in British Invasion covers, but it wasn’t until 1973 that he finally became a commercial success.
After his hit album Piano Man in 1973, Columbia Records introduced Joel to Phil Ramone, who would produce all of Joel's studio albums from The Stranger in 1977 to The Bridge in 1986. The Stranger was an enormous commercial success, yielding four Top-25 hits on the Billboard charts: "Just the Way You Are" (#3), "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" (#17), "Only the Good Die Young" (#24), and "She's Always a Woman" (#17).
Joel's first Top Ten album, The Stranger was certified multi-platinum and reached #2 on the charts, outselling Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, Columbia's previous best-selling album. The Stranger also featured "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", an album-oriented rock classic, which has become one of his best-known songs.
In 1983, he released "Uptown Girl". The lyrics describe a working-class `downtown man' attempting to woo a wealthy `uptown girl'. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard charts in the U.S. and #1 in the United Kingdom, staying at that position for five weeks. It was the 19th biggest selling single of the 1980s in the U.K., where it has sold over a million copies.
Joel had originally titled the song "Uptown Girls" about a time when he had been in the company of Elle Macpherson, Christie Brinkley, and Whitney Houston. Joel also said the song was written about his then-girlfriend Elle Macpherson, but it ended up also becoming about his soon-to-be wife Christie Brinkley. Both women were among the most famous supermodels of the 1980s.
Joel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006. Joel’s compilation album Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2 released in 1985 is the third best-selling solo album in the United States with 11,500,000 disks shipped. In addition to vocals, piano and keyboards, Joel also plays the guitar, harmonica and accordion.
To shop for Billy Joel tickets, visit BuyAnySeat.com.
About BuyAnySeat.com: An online ticket marketplace, BuyAnySeat.com connects sports, theater and other live entertainment fans to an extensive worldwide network of ticket sellers. The site’s simplified listings and navigational tools enable fans to easily locate, compare and purchase inexpensive, discounted or lower-priced tickets to virtually all advertised sports and entertainment events around the globe.
The marketplace, which is PCI-compliant and Norton Secured, also provides customers with a complete Worry-Free Guarantee on all ticket purchases. Based in Denver, Colorado, BuyAnySeat.com is a subsidiary of Denver Media Holdings. For more information, please visit http://buyanyseat.com.
Calvert Gamwell, Senior Sports/Entertainment Editor, BuyAnySeat.com, +1 303-747-4164, [email protected]
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