In the past, Billy Joel has often written songs for people who were close to him: “Vienna” for his father Helmut, who lived in Vienna; “Rosalinda’s Eyes” for his mother Rosalind; “Lullabye” for his daughter Alexa. And not forgetting his wives: “Just The Way You Are” was dedicated to Elizabeth Weber; “Uptown Girl” to Christie Brinkley; and his third wife, too, inspired him to write a song – the first after a long pause: “All My Life”, a 50s-style love song, was a present for Katie for their second wedding anniversary. This song, which was originally to be sung by Tony Bennett, was produced by Phil Ramone and Billy Joel in 2006.
A year later, Joel surprised his fans with a new, completely different song: “Christmas in Fallujah” about a U.S. soldier in the Iraq War. But this time it was not Joel himself singing, but Cass Dillon, a young singer whom Joel chose because he considered him better suited to the role of soldier in terms of age. It was the human tragedy that interested him more than the history or the political aspect.
In July 2008 Billy Joel hit the headlines once again in New York with his farewell shows at the famous Shea Stadium. The Beatles were the first to play a pop concert in the sports arena in the Queens district in 1965; the stadium was demolished in 2009. The 55,000 tickets for each of Joel’s two concerts sold out within 45 minutes.
Reactions from both public and critics to the thrilling concert in the baseball stadium were euphoric. Joel’s band had extra strings and brass, with guest appearances from stars such as Don Henley and Tony Bennett. In the second and final show, none other than Paul McCartney was flown in as a last-minute surprise guest, singing the old Beatles songs “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Let It Be” with Billy Joel. And so the concerts in Shea Stadium had come full circle.
Just before these concerts, Billy Joel’s second ex-wife had hit the headlines again: The dirty tactics in the divorce proceedings between Christie Brinkley and her fourth husband Peter Cook had reached their climax. They had played right into hands of the American media, which pounced gleefully on the breakdown of the celebrity marriage. There was a great deal of money involved – and scandalous sex tales. Peter Cook had been caught having an affair with an 18-year-old who worked for his architecture firm. In the end he emerged as the loser: The supermodel won custody of their children, whilst he received just a fraction of her fortune.
Steffen Radlmaier and Billy Joel at the Hard Rock Café in New York, 2008 · © Steffen Radlmaier
In October 2008, as more and more bad news came in from Wall Street and the American financial crisis developed into a global economic crisis, the presidential election was reaching its climax. George W Bush’s time in office had long since hit rock bottom, due to the part he had played in starting the Iraq war and bringing the global reputation of the USA to a new low. America was on the brink. The charismatic Democratic candidate Barack Obama was seen as a bringer of new hope during these difficult times – indeed, shortly afterwards he was elected as the first African-American President of the USA.
Many well-known performers, writers, actors and pop stars had supported Obama during the election. Even Billy Joel, who usually steered clear of politics, played several concerts to bring in money for Obama’s campaign. “The Bush era meant eight lost years in which a lot of crap happened.” Just like all Americans, he knew it was high time for political change and wanted to do his bit in making this happen. The most spectacular moment was his joint performance with Bruce Springsteen, his rock colleague from New Jersey who was equally passionate about Obama: “He speaks for the America that I’ve been envisaging in my songs for the last 35 years.” The tickets for the concert on October 16th in the New York Hammerstein Ballroom cost between $500 and $10,000. The two superstars took it in turns to perform songs from their repertoires and a few joint numbers, with Joel singing his rendition of “Glory Days” and Springsteen returning the favor with “Allentown”. The presidential candidate was delighted: “What a magical evening!”
At another concert for Obama, Alexa Ray Joel made a surprise guest appearance, sitting down at the piano with her proud father to sing the ballad “Baby Grand”, originally a duet by Billy Joel and Ray Charles.
Shortly afterwards, Billy Joel held another exclusive benefit concert: On October 27th, he and his guests at his “Evening of Questions, Answers and a Little Music” in the New York Hard Rock Cafe celebrated the 30th anniversary of his “Charity Begins At Home” foundation. The majority of the 400 guests had bid for the sought-after entry tickets at auction, with another mini auction held in aid of the foundation.
The goal of the charitable organization is to raise and donate money for eight small initiatives in and around New York (including for homeless people and orphans). Thanks to the close proximity and the low administrative costs, the majority of the donations go directly to those in need.
On that evening in the Hard Rock Café, the manager of “Charity Begins at Home”, 85-year-old Louise Friedman, looked back to its beginnings: “In 1976 the Rehabilitation Institute of Nassau County, a project for the mentally ill, was having money problems. We asked 14 rock stars for financial support. Billy Joel was the only one who answered. He came down the Jericho Turnpike on his motorcycle to my office and asked: ‘How can I help you?’ I asked him to give a concert to get the much-needed money together – and he did it! The concert brought us 250,000 dollars! It was such a success that Billy wanted to start a charity in order to help out other needy organizations in the area. That’s how ‘Charity Begins At Home’ started, 30 years ago.”
Billy Joel supports a whole host of projects – in aid of impoverished fishermen on Long Island, returning U.S. soldiers or young musicians, for example. He’s now also set up a foundation to support music schools. “Many musicians and artists support charity projects. I don’t know whether it has to do with our benevolence or because we have a bad conscience about the comfortable lives we lead. Musicians are always the first in line when it comes to giving money to a good cause. But I don’t want to shout it from the rooftops. I always find it a bit embarrassing when artists talk about their good deeds. What I always say is: ‘Do a good turn and keep your mouth shut.’”