Billy Joel Performs His 150th And Final Show At MSG
The 75 year-old singer-songwriter, Billy Joel, played his 150th and final show at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, July 25th. In January 2014, Joel began his residency at the famous New York arena, and no one would have expected for it to run as long and as successful as it played out to be. According to billboard, over the 10 ten year period “Joel has sold more than 1.9 million tickets to these shows to fans from all 50 states and more than 120 countries.” The popular late night show host, Jimmy Fallon, was in attendance at Thursday’s show and helped Joel in the raising of the “150 Performances” banner, which will hang in MSG indefinitely.
Joel performed some of his most recognized and iconic songs, such as ‘Piano Man’, ‘Vienna’, ‘Innocent Man’, and ‘Pressure’ amongst many other timeless singles. One of the best moments from Thursday’s concert was when the singer performed ‘My Life’, to where his two youngest daughters — Remy Anne Joel, 6, and Della Rose Joel, 8 — joined him on stage. As the song continued on, “Della Rose showed what’s in her blood, striding across the stage, gesturing with the song’s lyrics and edging up to her father’s microphone to sing with the chorus. “I guess it’s her life now,” joked Joel.”
Since signing with Columbia records in 1972, Joel’s career has been met with nothing but success, and even that is a wild understatement. According to Biography, “The Stranger (1977) was Joel’s first major commercial breakthrough, landing him four songs in the Top 25 of the U.S. Billboard charts. By 1981, Joel had collected a slew of awards, including a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance and a People’s Choice Award.” He has performed at the some of the most grand venues in the world, and has been involved in astounding milestones in history, such as being “one of the first acts to play Yankee Stadium and the “last play” at Shea Stadium; performing in Berlin before the Wall fell down, in the Soviet Union, in Havana, Cuba and at the Colosseum in Rome.” As Joel continues to make history and break records, fans can’t wait to see what’s next.
Featured Image: Shutterstock by Debby Wong