His songs have been recorded and performed by artists such as Barbra Streisand, Phil Woods, Frank Sinatra, Ronnie Spector, Mose Allison, Bette Midler, Kenny Rogers, Diane Schuur, Isaac Hayes, Dolly Parton, Barry White and Garth Brooks. His incredible songwriting talent is clearly demonstrated in the fact that he has written songs for some of the most famous artists of all time. You have to admit that this songwriter, singer and piano man is a true genius! Joel has been nominated for 18 Grammy awards and has captured five of them. Over 40 single hits on the charts, including songs like Piano Man, Uptown Girl, Just The Way You Are, Only The Good Die Young, We Didn’t Start The Fire and It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me. The impact that he made as a recording artist in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s is phenomenal.Out of fourteen albums, eleven went either platinum, multi-platinum or a combination of the two. Joel recorded the ever popular Piano Man in 1973 on the Columbia Records label and both the song and the album went gold shortly after they were released. This recording was on the Paramount label and was named Cold Spring Harbor. It was as a solo artist that he made his first significant recording. He has played with bands like The Echoes, The Hassles and Atilla and has worked as a lounge pianist and a jingle composer. Billy Joel has also been influenced by performers such as Dave Brubeck, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles. His earliest influences include Beethoven, Chopin, Copeland, Debussy, Ellington and Gershwin. Although he scored well on tests, he dropped out of high school just before graduation to pursue a career in music. For over 20 years, Billy Joel has been a major force in popular music and his accomplishments as a songwriter, singer and piano man are unmatched.