By DONNA BALANCIA
– STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Billy Joel may be on tour, but for those who prefer a more intimate experience, “Billy Joel – My Life, a Piano Man’s Journey” is the current exhibition at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame.
The collection has been drawing not only New Yorkers, but visitors from all around the country who have been heading out to the Island to see the personal treasures and learn the story of one of the world’s most beloved musicians. The exhibit has been extended through the spring of 2025, it was announced.
“Billy Joel – My Life, a Piano Man’s Journey” is a collection that features hundreds of photos, videos, instruments and other artifacts, many donated from Billy Joel’s personal collection. The exhibition is breaking attendance records for the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame, the Stony Brook, N.Y.-based not-for-profit.
William Martin Joel was born in the Bronx and raised in Hicksville, Long Island. At an early age he took piano lessons and went on to pursue music as a career, releasing his first album Cold Spring Harbor in 1971. His song “Captain Jack” caught on after he played the track on a radio show on the East Coast and he went on to release the albums Piano Man (1973), Streetlife Serenade (1974) and Turnstiles (1976). “Only The Good Die Young,” “She’s Always a Woman” and “Just The Way You Are” are among the famous tracks on The Stranger (1977), a major hit for Columbia. Joel’s additional album releases include 52nd Street (1978); Glass Houses (1980); The Nylon Curtain (1982); An Innocent Man (1983) and River of Dreams (1993).
The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame was founded in 2004 to honor and celebrate the talents nurtured on Long Island and in New York’s Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, and Kings (Brooklyn) counties.
Get Tickets to ‘Billy Joel – My Life’ here.
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