UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 22, Page 1
February 29, 1996
Piano Man on campus for April 11 show

     Billy Joel, the musician who has written the score for much of
America's life for more than two decades, will share his insights and
answer questions when he presents "An Evening of Questions and
Answers...and a Little Music" at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 11, at the
Bob Carpenter Center.
     Only 2,000 tickets will be sold for this rare, interactive event,
and they will go on sale at 10 a.m., Friday, March 8, at the Carpenter
Center and Perkins Student Center box offices and by phone through
Ticketmaster at 984-2000 or (215) 336-2000. A convenience charge may
apply.
     Ticket prices are $25 for full-time UD undergraduates with ID,
$27.50 for other members of the University community with ID and $30
for the general public. There is a two-ticket limit for this show.
     Since the release of his second album, Piano Man, in 1973, Joel
has been a constant presence on the American music scene. Of his 15
albums, 14 have gone gold, 12 have gone platinum, two are double
platinum (including his most recent recording River of Dreams), two
have sold more than 3 million copies each, one has sold 4 million, two
have sold 5 million, one has sold 6 million and one (The Stranger from
1977) has sold 7 million copies, putting it among the 30 best-selling
albums of all time. It all adds up to more than 41 million albums sold
in this country alone.
     A look at his chart-topping hit singles demonstrates the many
facets of Joel's body of work. They include: "Piano Man," "Say Goodbye
to Hollywood," "Just the Way You Are," "Only the Good Die Young," "My
Life," "Honesty," "You May Be Right," "Pressure," "Allentown," "Tell
Her About It," "Uptown Girl," "An Innocent Man," "The Longest Time,"
"A Matter of Trust," "We Didn't Start the Fire," "And So It Goes" and
"The River of Dreams."
     William Ruhlman, writing in Goldmine, said, "Listen to Billy Joel
and you will hear the music of Beethoven and Chuck Berry, Bach and the
Beatles. Not to mention Aaron Copland, Little Richard, George
Gershwin, the Four Seasons and on and on."
     In 1987, he became the first major rock star to take his full
band and stage show behind the Iron Curtain, with one of the Leningrad
shows broadcast both in the U.S.S.R. and in the United States. After
the tour, he released a Live from Leningrad music video and a double
live album, Kohyept.
     The winner of several Grammies, he received a Lifetime
Achievement Award in 1990.
     In reviewing one of his many concert performances, Stephen Holden
of The New York Times called Joel "one of a handful of pop
entertainers who need not fear middle-aged obsolescence.
     Like Frank Sinatra, Elton John and four or five others, he has
the magical combination of talent and populist instincts that
transcend pop fashion... he seemed at one with an audience that ranged
in age from under 15 to over 50."
     The April 11 program is sponsored by the University of Delaware.
     For additional information, call UD1-HENS.