William Martin “Billy” Joel...who is he? Well to the current youth, he might just be a random name with no meaning, but to those of us who have heard his songs and watched his performances, whether on TV or in person, we know that this is no ordinary man. So who is he? He’s the Piano Man. As a big fan of Billy Joel’s songs, especially “Piano Man,” not only do I enjoy listening to his music, but I also feel like I have a connection with Joel. I feel like I can identify some of my life with his songs and his life as well. Billy Joel’s parents and grandparents were immigrants who left Europe in search of refuge from the terrors of Nazi Germany. Similarly, my family is originally from Mexico, except we were not escaping a war, we were looking for a better way of life. Thus, seeing how Billy Joel
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As the son of immigrants from Germany, Joel’s family was often made fun of by the neighbors for being ‘“the only Jews”’ (Schruers, 23). His parents divorced when Joel was eight years old and his father was not close to him. He would see his father, but “he was never really a fixture in the house, never a regular part of the household” (Schruers, 24), and his mother was the one who insisted on him learning to play the piano. He has an adopted sister named Judy, she was the daughter of his maternal aunt Muriel, who had committed suicide by locking herself in the kitchen with the gas on, when Judy was only eight weeks old. Judy’s father, Max, later remarried and left Judy, who was later formally adopted by Joel’s parents. Joel and Judy were particularly close with one another, he did not see her as an adopted member of the family, to him they were blood of the same blood. Even as adults Joel considered Judy to be a very important member of his family, he describes them both as being allies in the difficult life they shared in their youth. (Schruers,
As the son of immigrants from Germany, Joel’s family was often made fun of by the neighbors for being ‘“the only Jews”’ (Schruers, 23). His parents divorced when Joel was eight years old and his father was not close to him. He would see his father, but “he was never really a fixture in the house, never a regular part of the household” (Schruers, 24), and his mother was the one who insisted on him learning to play the piano. He has an adopted sister named Judy, she was the daughter of his maternal aunt Muriel, who had committed suicide by locking herself in the kitchen with the gas on, when Judy was only eight weeks old. Judy’s father, Max, later remarried and left Judy, who was later formally adopted by Joel’s parents. Joel and Judy were particularly close with one another, he did not see her as an adopted member of the family, to him they were blood of the same blood. Even as adults Joel considered Judy to be a very important member of his family, he describes them both as being allies in the difficult life they shared in their youth. (Schruers,