re: Billy Joel: And So It Goes (new documentary on HBO)

Yeah, that's a good one. If I had to pick my number one Joel song it would be Keeping the Faith.

Finished Part 2 and it was a great documentary, albeit 4 fricking hours

Lots of stuff I didn't know about Joel and his journey. The only gripe, although not a big one, is bringing the political in for no reason other than to do so. Could have easily given his family history in Germany with the holocaust without having to try to wrap it into Charlottsville.

yes she is...i knew they were still close friends but her emotion in the retelling of the end of their marriage was surprising.

the 2nd episode drags at the end, just like joel's career became less interesting as he quit making music, so does this documentary. overall though, its fantastic and extremely well made. i remember clearly "billy joel" becoming a punchline and the ridicule he brought on himself with his destructive behavior; but he made it through and is without question one of america's greatest composers and musicians of all time

Just finished this and loved it. It was long but never felt overly stretched with filler. Insane touring schedule and it’s no wonder personal relationships fell apart.

Legend

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Nylon Curtain is by far his best, most personal album

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agree.

Started A thread on the music board stating that and got roasted.

Finally finished it. It's amazing how this guy can turn literally anything into a song.

guy tells him he's the piano man. Viola! here's a hit song named piano man.

Wife tells him he's crazy. Bam! Here's a hit song named "you may be right".

This doc, like a lot of others really points out how shitty the music industry can be. his ex brother in law/manage basically stole $90m?

Dude had hit after hit after hit.. and was broke.

Sold out MSG for 10 years? That's pretty damned impressive!


seemed kind of rushed at the end. They spent a lot of time on his life with the first wife. Then felt like the rushed through the next 3 wives.

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I heard one of the people interviewed quoting Joel as saying “I’m worth half a billion dollars and I’m still not happy” or something like that. I had to rewind it and make sure I heard that correctly. I’m so glad he bounced back from getting ripped off my his manager.

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I believe I saw somewhere that he personally earned over $200 million from the MSG residency alone.

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she looks absolutely fantastic today, just a stunningly beautiful woman. I didn't expect that based on the photos and video of her as a younger woman.

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She may actually be better looking now than she was back then.

Just imagine how much money he would have if things had worked out and she would have continued managing him.

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Billy explained this to us in 1977:

"Oh, she takes care of herself, she can wait if she wants, she's ahead of her time."

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the MSG residency

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This was probably the best situation he could been in. sounds like 1 show a month or so for 10 years. Sounds like a great solution to the "always on the road" thing that seemed to cause a lot of the misery.

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But near the end of part one, his former wife warned him about hiring her own brother as his manager. I take it he ripped him off?

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Yes, I wish the documentary had explored this situation in more detail. Joel wanted to renovate his house, but his accountant told him he didn't have enough cash to fund it. He shared this with a friend from the music industry, who advised him that no one in his position should be told they lack the funds for a home renovation. Additionally, his wife at the time, Christie Brinkley, noticed some red flags that made her suspect the manager was stealing from them. Joel sided with the manager, which you could tell still upset her to this day.

He hired an auditor at the advice of a music industry friend and ultimately sued his manager for $90 million. I had to look this up, but they settled out of court for around $8 million, and the manager filed for bankruptcy to prevent any more exposure.

The doc did not mention that Joel sued his attorney for $90 million and received a $3 million settlement from that lawsuit.

Joel's excuse was that he didn't pay attention to the financial aspects at all. He focused on writing, playing, partying, getting married, and raising a child.