Billy's early introduction to the piano

Born in The Bronx, New York in 1949, before moving to Long Island, Billy Joel started tickling the ivories at the tender age of four.

As a teenager he was an amateur boxer and had no desire to embark on a career in music, but eventually decided to drop out of high school to pursue it after being inspired by The Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles.

He was in some bands and eventually went solo.