Edan Gold
De Toledo High School
9th Grade
Billy Joel
When children in a kindergarten classroom are asked what they want to be when
they grow up, many answer that they want to be rich and famous. I always thought
about what it would be like to be rich and famous, but I came to a realization that I
would not like all the attention that comes with being rich and famous.
A Jewish-American musician whom I admire is Billy Joel. My favorite song of his
is “Big Shot,” more specifically its message. In this song, he mocks a woman for her
actions the night before. He sings the song’s first line, “Well, you went uptown ridin’ in
your limousine” in a sarcastic tone, possibly implying that the woman was acting
flamboyantly just to impress other people. During the song, the narrator constantly
makes fun of her for trying to always be in the limelight. The narrator is not amused with
her alcohol and drug usage. Billy Joel sings about how the woman was able to impress
her friends, but not the narrator.
Billy Joel was born on May 9, 1949, in New York. He was born to Jewish parents
and his dad was able to escape the Nazis. Joel’s mom wanted him to take piano
lessons as a child. However, he did not want to. Reluctantly, he agreed. He later found a
love for music and even worked at a piano bar in order to help his family make ends
meet. Despite being a strong student, Billy Joel did not graduate from high school with
the rest of his class. As a result, he had accumulated many absences. At the end of his
senior year, he had good grades but did not have enough credits in order to graduate.
Rather than making up the assignments over summer break, he decided to pursue a
career in music.
Billy Joel’s early musical career was a failure. However, that did not stop him
from pursuing his dream. In 1972, Joel released his first big hit “Captain Jack”. Because
of the song’s popularity, Joel was signed by Columbia Records. In 1973, he released his
first album with Columbia Records, called Piano Man. Piano Man was also the name of
a song in the same album, which went on to become his signature song.
Joel then went on to release many more successful albums. As of today, he
released a total of 33 Top 40 hits in the United States. Billy Joel has six Grammys. He
has sold over 150 million records in total. He is the sixth best-selling recording artist as
well as the third best-selling solo artist in the United States.
Billy Joel’s perseverance is what makes me consider him a musical legend.
He taught me to follow my dreams. If I fail at first, I will remind myself of Billy Joel and
continue to pursue my dreams. I hope that I will be able to succeed in my endeavors,
just like Billy Joel was able to do with his.