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BILLY JOEL: THE DEFINITIVE BIOGRAPHY PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Fred Schruers | 384 pages | 26 Nov 2015 | Random House USA Inc | 9780804140218 | English | New York, United States Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography PDF Book You find out a bit about Billy Joel's suicide attempt, depression, alcoholism, motorcycle accident, and his spat with Elton John. It was a true pleasure. Short-video app Quibi shutting down just months after launch. There is some, but I am a huge, long-time Billy Joel fan and my rating here is probably 3. Exhibiting unparalleled intimate knowledge, Schruers chronicles Joel's rise to the top of the charts, from his working-class origins in Levittown and early days spent in boxing rings and sweaty clubs to his monumental success in the seventies and eighties. I didn't even know he was Jewish, for some reason I thought he was Italian. The prologue has a severe disconnect in style to the rest of the biography with too much combination of telling in the wrong place and showing too much. There is some really interesting stuff here about Joel's ancestors in Germany in the years right before and during World War II, and how the family came to America. Billy's parents met and got married and a short time later, in , he was born. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. This book has revved the engine for what might be my biggest Billy Joel kick ever. Like King Solomon of the Old Testament in the Book of Ecclesiastes, Billy Joel is further proof that you can have tons of money, loads of talent and fame, and gobs of beautiful women, yet still be utterly miserable. Elvis: My Best Man. They persuaded him to record and he has had great success- he has also written for a lot of the greats. The way he almost always puts in a few lines of warning or caution that unfortunately come true. Here's the deal. Schruers, however is a pretty bad writer. Sort order. It also bothered me that the book starts off with Joel's paternal grandfather instead of Joel himself, but the author seems to have wanted to be fairly chronological. I would have enjoyed this much more had it been written by someone better able to discuss the actual music and the craft of actually playing the piano. Rock on, Bill! It scares the hell out of me. The paradiddle rhythm of The Stranger; the choice of key for songs such as Angry Young Man and Root Beer Rag both are in C dictated by the super-chops piano parts; use of dissonance and suspensions so uncommon in Rock and Roll Many of those he loved best in his personal life have moved on and left him behind. With so much more spare time, though, Billy sinks deeper and deeper into a wide variety of funks. That's wonderful for Joel, and absolutely his right to do so. Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography Writer There are elements of truth on both sides. Start your review of Billy Joel. A hundred hours of interviews with Billy alone, plus a hundred hours of interviews with friends and associates. I haven't enjoyed a rolling stone article in a long time now, and his writing style grew irritating quickly in this book. As I briefly mentioned in my updates, I love reading a biography or memoir where I can actually learn something about the person that I didn't know before going into the book. Celebrity co-authors generally sign contracts preventing them from disclosing what they learn in other projects. He had various trips for rehab from alcohol abuse but he was always anti the 'higher power' idea. His financial empire has recovered many times over despite the double dealings he was dealt when he was younger and more trusting. A few days into the tour, though, it was clear that they clicked. Note this though: the writer is obviously a fan of the musician, so if you want to read something to bash Joel and his work, then this is NOT the book for you. For a man who says he doesn't believe in therapy or heavy introspection, Joel spends a substantial amount of time here doing heavy self-analysis and myth-making. And all of these aspects of who he is, together with an innate musical sense, have created some of the best songs this world will ever see. Inspired by Your Browsing History. The way he almost always puts in a few lines of warning or caution that unfortunately come true. I hope that Billy continues to provide a diverse performance in the show that we see later in the year. Part of this may have to do with the fact that the singer's years as a recording artist—which would generally be expected to constitute the meat of this kind of book —are covered relatively rapidly Schruers is largely done with them by the time we reach the biography's midpoint , but I suspec Oddly, I found the first quarter of Fred Schruers's biography of Billy Joel, which deals mainly with the singer's family history and youth, to be perhaps the most interesting—and revealing—part of the book. Preview — Billy Joel by Fred Schruers. See what I mean? Joel was and is intense with his feelings and that intensity translated into his music for better as in songs like "She's Got a Way" and "Just the Way You Are" or for ill as in "Laura" or "This Is the Time. He also uncovers a lot about Joel's heritage, namely his family's experience in the Holocaust, that lend great perspective to Joel as an artist. He started in a garage bands and writing music. Dec 12, Nicola Mansfield rated it liked it. We are experiencing technical difficulties. Schruers does do a fine job of explicating Joel's lyrics as autobiography and weaving them throughout the narrative, but his and Joel's easygoing geniality and unwillingness to speak ill of or hold grudges against anyone does give the reader the sense that there's quite a bit being left unsaid. And whereas musical greats like Carole King, Barbara Streisand, and Garth Brooks have performed hits he has written such as New York State of Mind, Shameless, and a number of others, his most outstanding work has been that which he has performed himself. April 04, View all 5 comments. The veteran journalist turned out to be right. Sarfraz Manzoor. His tours remain highly popular, but also highly static Joel rightly points out that his audiences don't give him the same benefit of the doubt they give Springsteen and Dylan, perfectly willing to hear deep cuts and adventurous set lists; Joel's been playing roughly the same set for two decades. An interesting look at both Billy Joel's life and behind the scenes of the big-time music life including the record companies and touring mechanization. In Billy's case, that was certainly true. He spends his hard-earned money. It must have a melody, it must have lyrics that one can understand, and it should have some meaning. Jun 03, Jo Jackson rated it really liked it. Joel had them taken to his home, arranged for medical care and paid for everything, and came home one day to an empty house. Because I KNOW he's talented -- if I could only pick one musician to listen to for the rest of my life, it would be him -- and if even he thinks he's not that great despite all evidence to the contrary , then it makes me think that maybe I'm not as bad at my hobbies as I always think I am. His… More about Fred Schruers. Product Details. Billboard Top Articles. He pours his feelings into his music and the piano has helped him through many turbulent times. After forcing his way out of the contract by laying low and playing anonymously in Los Angeles piano bars under an assumed name which gave him the inspiration to write his first hit song, "Piano Man" , Billy found himself signed to Columbia Records as he embarked upon a wildly successful career starting with the release of Piano Man in and culminating with River of Dreams in I do not really fault Schruers for this, but rather see it as a reflection of the shift in Joel's own life, from a creatively hungry, relentless songwriter and performer to a middle-aged man who mostly finds his pleasures away from the piano and the stage. Top Videos. Sign in. Joel declined to comment about the new book. It took me longer than expected to read the book because I kept listening to the songs and watching the music videos the funniest was no doubt "Uptown Girl" that I saw through a new lens after reading the behind-the-scenes scoop. Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography Reviews He freely admits that the genre was begun by brilliant Black musicians, but does that mean nobody else can do that or go there? Paperback —. And again, this reviewer remains close to two other family members who cast off the demon alcohol without any kind of religious juju, and without standing up in front of strangers to testify. Feb 02, Lara rated it really liked it Shelves: biography-autobiography-memoir , non-fiction , read-in , music. Mostly, it just feels like sitting down to hear stories from the man himself, which isn't altogether a bad thing, just maybe not enough to be truly "definitive.

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