Billy Joel

A modern-day bard and legendary "piano man," Billy Joel released some of the most memorable songs of all time. A classically trained pianist, he played with various bands before launching a successful career as a solo artist. For several decades, Joel wrote and recorded countless hit songs inspired by his experiences as a struggling artist in such songs as "Piano Man" (1973), being a proud New Yorker with "New York State of Mind" (1976), and a man in love with 1977's "Just the Way You Are." The multiple Grammy Award winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee also caught the eye of the world's most beautiful women, most notably his second wife and international supermodel Christie Brinkley, whom he immortalized with the hit single "Uptown Girl" (1983). Not one to rest on his success, Joel often pushed himself creatively and took on ambitious projects throughout his career, whether it was headlining historic concerts in the Soviet Union, releasing an album of classical compositions in 2001, or collaborating on the Tony Award-winning musical "Movin' Out" (2002). With his songs forever ingrained in music history, Joel stood out as a prolific songwriter and entertainer for the ages.