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Billy Joel Buys An Island
By: Steven Gaines
(March, 2001)

"...Billy Joel has bought an island in the middle of Three Mile Harbor that has been owned by a local family for generations. He's talking about major renovations on the existing house. Is he really going out with that blonde TV reporter again?..."

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"The Rock and Roll Superstars Set Los Angeles Alight As They Team Up For Their Sell-Out 'Face 2 Face' Tour"
Interview By: Nic McCarthy
(March 2nd, 2001)

Five thousand miles is a long way to go for a gig, but the chance to witness Sir Elton John and Billy Joel rocking the crowd at LA's world-famous Forum was too good to resist. On the first leg of their "Face 2 Face" tour, the legendary duo are playing their unique brand or rock and roll piano magic to sell-out crowds in the USA.

The night began with a standing ovation as tow grand pianos rose from underneath the stage to face each other. Elton and Billy embraced and took their places to riotous applause and whoops of excitement, before kicking off the three-hour show with a sensational version of "Your Song."

After dueting with Billy on "Just the Way You Are" and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me," Elton performed a foot-stomping solo set. On soaring form, he moved from old favorites like "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and a version of Billy's hit "Uptown Girl" to lesser-known numbers such as "Tiny Dancer," form the new movie "Almost Famous." He dedicated the later to Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras and his wife, Bridgett Wilson, who sat in the audience with James Bond star Pierce Brosnan and his pregnant fiancée Keely Shaye Smith.

Resplendent in a hot pink and black Versace suit, with pink-tinted shades and a single cross-shaped earring, Elton was every inch the showman as he learned back from the piano to give his adoring audience a huge grin. He showed no sign of the tennis injury which had left him hobbling backstage as he told them: "It's so much fun to be here in Los Angeles. I get to play the piano with someone else - and there aren't that many great piano players around."

Formerly the home of the Lakers, LA's basketball team, the 17,000-seater Forum proved a surprisingly intimate venue. Its circular interior provided perfect acoustics and even fans in the 'nosebleed seats' – as the highest seat in the Forum are known – and at the back of the stage had a clear view of their musical heroes. Two enormous circular screens above each piano provided a close-up of the stars. With 32 gold records, 21 platinum albums and 29 Top 40 hits between them, the duo's set-list was a lesson in popular music from the past 30 years.

The capacity crowd was a mixture of young and old from California and beyond. From the LA babe dancing wildly in a tight blue mini-dress to a middle-aged man in crisp blue jeans holding his mobile phone so a friend at home could share the experience, these were die-hard fans who knew every word of every song.

Billy's solo performance was as sassy as the New Yorker himself. He seduced the crowd with hits like "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant," "We Didn't Start the Fire," and "New York State of Mind," plus a rendition of Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds" – complete with upturned collar and sexy southern drawl. He finished with "Only the Good Die Young," and laughingly accepted a feather boa from a fan as he left the stage.

The two superstars were reunited for the final set, belting out "Bennie & the Jets" and Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" in a dazzling display of piano playing. But Elton and Billy saved the best until last, going out with a spine-tingling rendition of "Piano Man" which sent the fans rocking and rolling home.

The legendary music men talked exclusively to OK! backstage at the show about fame, friendship and life on the road.

Elton, will you be performing with Eminem at the Grammys?

Elton: I'm doing "Stan" with him at the Grammys, which I'm going to get a lot of flak for. But you know what? This kid is brilliant. I listened to his album and – I suppose it's my British sense of humor – I laughed my head off. "Stan" is the most brilliant song about a fan – we all have weird fans that write those things. He asked me to do the song with him, so I'm going to do it and I'm going to find out what he's like. I'm getting a lot of flak form the gay and lesbian groups, but I'm a person who wants to take down walls. I don't want to make them any higher. I went through the same stuff with (Guns 'N Roses singer) Axl Rose. They said he was homophobic and he ended up inducting me into the hall of fame. If I thought Eminem was a real evil shit of a guy, I'd say I'm not doing this, but I don't believe that for one second.

Which other young artists do you admire?

Elton: I listen to new stuff all the time. You can always go back to the great Motown classics, but we know them back and front. There's a guy from Chicago called Ryan Adams that I really love – he's made a beautiful album called "Heartbreaker."

Billy, what do you think of Westlife's cover version of "Uptown Girl" for Comic Relief?

Billy: I haven't heard it yet, but it was Elton who asked me if I would do it.

Elton: Richard Curtis (the founder of Comic Relief) phoned me and said: "You know Billy Joel, can you call him and see if he will let us have the publishing rights to 'Uptown Girl'?" I phoned Billy and he said: "Yes, of course." It'll be a number one record and make millions of pounds for a really fantastic charity.

How did the two of you get together for the "Face 2 Face" tour?

Billy: We met in Amsterdam in the mid-'70s through Elton's ex-manager, John Reid. We used to kid around saying: "One of these days we're going to work together."

Elton: I'm a fan of Billy. I'm a fan of anyone in this business who plays the piano. People think of rock and roll as being about guitars and when they criticize our music, they never take into consideration that the piano is an entirely different instrument to write songs on. It's harder to write rock and roll songs on because it's a more melodic instrument than the guitar.

How long will you be on road?

Elton: Depends. It's going so well at the moment that we're definitely doing a spring leg in America, and a winter leg too. As long as we enjoy it, we'll continue.

Do you hang out together on tour?

Elton: Here in Los Angeles, Billy stays on the coast and I stay in town. We don't see much of each other but I think that's good. We get on really, really well.

Billy: We pretty much just see each other backstage, but we never get sick of each other!

You perform each other's songs in the show – what are your favorites?

Elton: I've always wanted to sing "Just the Way You Are" because I think it's one of the best ballads ever written, and "New York State of Mind" is great. I think the prettiest song Billy has ever written is "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" which is about his daughter Alexa (Billy's daughter Alexa Ray, by his former wife, model, and star of the classic "Uptown Girl" video – Christie Brinkley). It's such a beautiful song.

Billy: There's too many to name! I love "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," I love "Your Song," of course "Bennie and the Jets." I like "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues," "The Bitch is Back." There are just too many. It's like trying to pick your favorite kid!

Who's the better pianist?

Elton: We're both different pianists. Billy was always, very unfairly I think, compared to me in America. Billy is very much his own songwriter, he writes completely different songs to me. The thing that I enjoy, as Billy said, is trading off each other on stage.

How do you manage to stay enthusiastic about your songs when you're performing them four nights a week on tour?

Billy: We're doing short four-week tours now, so we don't have a chance to get burnt out.

Elton: I don't get bored playing live anyway. We've both experienced playing piano in bars – we both did that staring out – and in crappy bands, so we have an enormous repertoire. Billy always branches into someone else's song in the middle of a set. At the beginning of every show I think, well what's coming out tonight.

You've both talked about retiring in the past year…

Billy: I never said I was going to retire, I just said that I'm not doing long marathon tours. Working with Elton is like joining something rather than being a solo artist, and that makes it fun.

Elton: I've just done a long tour with 179 solo shows. I really enjoyed it and it was challenging, but there was a time towards the end when I said: "That's it, I'm off." I've said that two or three times in my career. But you know what, I lover performing live more than anything else, more than making records, more than opening supermarkets!

Small shows are very much in vogue, like the one Madonna did at Brixton Academy last year. Does that appeal to you?

Billy: We have played to crowds of 80,000 people, so the Forum show is intimate compared to that.

Elton: On my last tour I played small venues on my own – I played the Roxy Theatre in Atlanta to only 800 people – but I also played Madison Square Garden in New York. It's nice to mix and match.

What do you think of each other's stage persona?

Elton: I used to be very outrageous on stage when I was drinking and stuff like that, but Billy is a great raconteur. I'll maybe say a couple of things during my set, but Billy will talk to the crowd as if he's known them all his life. Which is very New York of him!

Elton, how did your songs "Tiny Dancer" and "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters" come to be in the movie "Almost Famous?"

Elton: Cameron Crowe phoned me up and asked if he could use them in the film. Now people are saying: "Elton's finally cool." People only think about the stuff I've done for Disney and the recent stuff, but in the '70s our albums were pretty damn good. A lot of people gloss over that – they just think of the clothes and the public image and the homosexuality and my private life. They forget that you don't make it for this long in this business without a good catalog of stuff. So I'm happy, because people are going back and saying: "Oh, actually he did write some really good songs."

Billy: My daughter discovered Elton through that movie. She resisted listening to his music, but she saw the movie and said: "Hey, that guy Elton John – his stuff is as good as your stuff!."

Elton, it's been reported that you've been offered you own chat show on Channel 4…

Elton: I haven't heard a thing about that! That's news to me.

Would you want to do it?

Elton: I would like to do something like that eventually and have fun. I'd like to do a great music show, a bit like Jools Holland does, although maybe a bit more raucous!

How are Watford HC doing, Elton?

Elton: We had a horrible run before Christmas but we seem to have dug ourselves out of it, so I'm very optimistic. I think we could even get automatically promoted because I think we're going to have a very good end of the season.

I hear you've been putting off accepting the Freedom of Watford?

Elton: I just haven't been there! It's not that I don't want it. It will happen one day and I don't want to be insulting – there's nothing I'd like more than to be able to be gracious towards those people.

What's best about working together?

Billy: There are a lot of good things about working with Elton. Piano playing takes skill which is often looked down on by critics. They forget about Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles – these guys were all piano players. Elton's a really good musician and we have a language going without talking about it. He'll do something weird and I'll pick up on it instantly and then we'll have a synergy going.

Elton: When you play with good musicians it makes you a better player. Also, if I'm looking across at Billy and he's playing something funny I will start laughing. Or if I forget the words to "Piano Man," which I did the other night on TV, he'll start laughing. It's great, it changes every night.

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"Seinfeld Brings His Act Back Home"
By: Peter Goodman
(March 4th, 2001)

Remember the one about the comedians who knew each others' jokes so well that all they had to do was say, "No. 27!" and everyone would crack up? That's what Seinfeld fans are like. Just ask any of the 240 or so packed into Governor's Comedy Cabaret in Levittown Friday night for Jerry's first Long Island show since "Seinfeld" went off the air: "What's your favorite episode?" "Junior mints," exclaimed Lisa Rabinowitz, who came "all the way from Manhattan" to join a bunch of old friends from Plainview JFK High School...

...About 10 minutes before showtime, Billy Joel walked in, wearing a long, black overcoat, with a black beret pushed down on his head. Joel was there with girlfriend Trish Bergin of News 12 Long Island, and it was the first time he'd been in a comedy club "since I lived in Huntington in the '80s." Another cheerful shout went up as Joel came by, and plenty of heads craned to look at the couple before the show started. "I grew up about five minutes from here," the singer and Seinfeld buddy remarked to a nearby listener. "If someone had told me then that these kinds of situations would happen to me, I would have laughed." This time, he laughed along with everyone else, first during Tom Pappa's high-energy warm-up and then through Seinfeld's 50 minutes...

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"Liberty DeVitto, Drummer for Billy Joel"
According to Joel, "He's even been there before I was there."
By: Don Zulaica
(March 14th, 2001)

Liberty DeVitto first appeared as Billy Joel's drummer on the 1975 album "Turnstiles." The mammoth Columbia releases that followed - "The Stranger," "52nd Street," "Glass Houses," "Songs In The Attic," "The Nylon Curtain," "An Innocent Man," "The Bridge" and "Storm Front" - all feature Long Island native DeVitto.

As a child, DeVitto watched Ringo Starr drum with the Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show." "Ringo was the man," he exclaims. "I went to take lessons in the beginning, and everything would be jazz. And I'd say, 'Well, I want to learn how to play like Ringo.' And the guy would say, 'Well, why do you want to play like Ringo? He stinks!' And I'd say, 'I saw these girls screaming for him, and nobody's beating down your door.'"

Now countless awards and appearances later, DeVitto finds himself again sharing the stage with not only Joel but another ivory legend, Elton John, on the "Face 2 Face" tour. DeVitto spoke with LiveDaily correspondent Don Zulaica from his home in Orlando, Florida.

So you're taking a break from the tour. When does it start again?

DeVitto: We start again April 9th in Denver, and we'll go for another five weeks. They've been pacing it five weeks at a time, five weeks on, five off. That's what Billy meant when he said - well, everybody said, "Oh, I thought he was going to retire." He meant he would stop doing 18-month tours. He never said he'd stop playing.

How did this tour with Elton John come about?

DeVitto: Our lighting designer, Steve Cohen - who has been with Billy as long as I have, like 27 years - also worked for Elton a couple of times. When people were talking about steep ticket prices, you know, getting bang for your buck, Steve said he'd talk to Elton about a tour. Two piano men together, it'd just be a string of hits.

What has this been like for you as a drummer, playing alongside (John's drummer) Nigel Olsson?

DeVitto: The funny thing is, way back when I got the phone call for the Billy audition, I asked, "What is Billy into?" They said, "Go buy 'Captain Fantastic.'" So I learned all of Nigel's licks.... You know, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," where he rides that cymbal for the longest time - on "Honesty," "Leningrad," I do the same thing in there.

How did you start working with Billy?

DeVitto: The funny thing is, now when Billy introduces me, he says that I'm the oldest member in the band, I've been there the longest. He says, "He's even been there before I was there."

I had a band called "Topper." It was me, Doug Stegmeyer, Russell Javors and Howie Emerson. Now Doug, in the meantime, while living in L.A., had gotten the bass gig with Billy. "Streetlife Serenade" had just come out (1972), so Doug did that tour. All this time, Billy's talking about moving back to New York and starting a new band. Doug is telling him, "I know the drummer you have to have." So they come back to New York, I do the audition and get the gig.

The three of us go into the studio to do "Turnstiles," and as we need more things like guitar players, we get Howie and Russell to come in. So, it's actually the "Topper" band, plus Richie Canata on sax and Billy. So when Billy says I've been there longer than he has, he's right.

He joined your band?

DeVitto: Yeah. (Laughs) I had a great band, we just needed a singer that wrote great songs and played great piano.

How do you feel about his solo/orchestral aspirations? Have you heard anything, and if so what's it like? Will you be involved?

DeVitto: I heard a whole CD of it. (Sighs) I just don't get it. (Laughs) You know, our sound has always been him being the classical guy that comes up with these melodies, and me being the street guy that brings it to the common denominator, down to the people. But it's funny, because some of it I hear and think, "Man, that would
have made a really good pop song!"

On your down time, do you gig with anyone else?

DeVitto: Yeah, I just released an album with the Fun(k) Club called "A Taste of Money." It's an instrumental band, a rhythm section with two horns. Funky, jazzy, kind of hard to pigeonhole. Charlie DeChant, who plays with Hall & Oates, is on saxophone. Bunch of local guys from here who play with different people. We actually do an instrumental that Billy wrote in '76 but never released, called "Handball." I put the CD out and sell it on my web-site. (LibertyDeVitto.com)

What's your opinion about Internet distribution in general, and Napster?

DeVitto: I can see why Lars (Metallica) is so pissed at Napster. That's a lot of people downloading their stuff. But my kid went on there and downloaded some things, and two songs from The Fun(k) Club came up - which is good for us. Because we're just selling it through the web-site, and if somebody saw it and played it and liked it, that's another fan we have. So for the independent artists, I guess it's good. But for the big guys, it's not that good.

But the internet has opened up a whole new world, and it's great for independent record companies and people who want to put something out. It lets you hear a lot of stuff that you normally wouldn't hear because the big labels run everything. If they don't want you to hear something, you're not going to hear it. You only hear what they want you to hear, which sucks.

The obvious question: you've got the rest of the tour with Billy and Elton to do, but what's after that? Is Billy's deal open-ended?

DeVitto: It's definitely open-ended. Billy just brought property and he's building a house, so hopefully he'll spend a lot of money. Basically, at this point, that's what tours are based on - cash-flow. "Let's go on tour!" (Laughs) You know, he's got no record to promote or anything like that.

Elton's having a gas with Billy. Where we couldn't sell out in certain markets, Elton carries us. And where Elton couldn't sell out, we carry him. So it's great, we're lovin' it.

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"Irish Boy-Band, Westlife, Covers Billy Joel's 'Uptown Girl'"
By: Mitchell Fink
(March 16th, 2001)

Everything old is new again. Just ask Billy Joel, who is obviously delighted that the Irish boy-band Westlife covered his 1983 hit "Uptown Girl." Not only has the record gone to No. 1 in England, but Joel reports that the band found an interesting blonde celebrity to play the 'Uptown Girl' in their video. You'll recall, of course, that Billy's then-wife, Christie Brinkley, played the role in his video. For its video, Westlife hired Claudia Schiffer.

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"Staying In The Dark"
By: Jeannette Walls
(March 22nd, 2001)

Billy Joel only uses dark towels to wipe his brow when he performs, according to an insider, who insists that it's because he doesn't want to get "black stuff that he uses in his hair" from getting all over the towel. "I don't know if it's hair dye or darkener or just really dark grooming stuff," says the source. "But he can't use white towels because there's black gunk in his hair."

"I don't know about that," Joel's spokeswoman laughed when asked about dark-colored hair products. "He usually wears a dark suit, and if you wipe yourself with a white towel, you get white lint all over it." Glad to hear that the "Piano Man" hasn't resorted to Grecian Formula.

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"Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, Willie Nelson Honored At Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards"
By: Sue Falco
(March 23rd, 2001)

Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Diane Warren, and Paul Williams will be recognized for their musical contributions at the 32nd annual Songwriters Hall of Fame awards ceremony on June 14th, 2001 in New York. Joel, already a Hall of Fame member, will receive the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award, while Gloria Estefan and husband-producer Emilio will receive the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award. Famed music publisher Ralph Peer (Peer Music) will be honored with the Abe Olman Publisher Award, and the classic song "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" will receive the Towering Song Award. Additional honorees and a list of performers for the event will be announced shortly.

The late Johnny Mercer and others founded the National Academy of Popular Music in 1969. The Academy maintains the Songwriters Hall of Fame, which holds an annual awards ceremony for songwriters after a nominating committee selects candidates for induction. A songwriter must have been in the profession for a minimum of 20 years and written an extensive catalogue of hit songs in order to be considered for election to the Hall Of Fame. Once candidates are determined, ballots are sent out to members of the Academy, which comprises songwriters and other select music-industry professionals. More than 300 songwriters have been inducted since the balloting began, and artists included in the Hall Of Fame range from Irving Berlin and Stevie Wonder to Paul Anka and Keith Richards.

Hal David - CEO of the National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters and a well-recognized career songwriter responsible for classics like "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head," "This Guy's In Love With You," "What The World Needs Now Is Love" - said of the Hall of Fame: "This event represents such a special night in the music industry, where great songwriters get to honor their peers. It embodies what this organization celebrates about the songwriter, a key link in the musical process and without which our lives wouldn't nearly be as rich."

The 32nd annual Songwriters Hall of Fame induction and awards dinner will be held on Thursday, June 14th, 2001, at New York City's Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers.

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"Stars Come Out To Honor Brian Wilson At Tribute Show"
By: Sue Falco
(March 31st, 2001)

Brian Wilson was honored Thursday night (March 29th, 2001) during TNT's "All-Star Tribute To Brian Wilson" at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The list of performers included Billy Joel, Elton John, Paul Simon, Vince Gill, Heart, Ricky Martin, Darius Rucker of Hootie & the Blowfish, the Go-Go's, the Harlem Boys Choir, Wilson Phillips (which comprises Wilson's daughters, Carnie and Wendy, and Chynna Phillips, daughter of the Mamas & the Papas' Michelle and John Phillips), pop brother duo Evan & Jaron, songwriter Jimmy Webb, Michael Penn and Aimee Mann, Matthew Sweet, and Jubilant Sykes.

Also onstage was a 10-piece band (including several members of Wilson's touring group) and an accompanying orchestra for several performances. In addition to many of Wilson's classic songs, the critically acclaimed album Pet Sounds was performed in its entirety by different artists. Among the list of segment presenters were Beatles producer Sir George Martin, director Cameron Crowe, actor Dennis Hopper, model Rachel Hunter, and the show's host actor Chazz Palminteri. George Martin received a standing ovation when introduced. He praised the album "Pet Sounds," calling Wilson's "Good Vibrations" "his greatest production."

Ricky Martin opened the show with two of Wilson's classics - "California Girls" and "Help Me Rhonda" - interjecting hand claps and hip swivels throughout the performance. Paul Simon, dressed in baseball cap, jeans, and T-shirt, took a no-frills approach to his performances as well - a stripped down, solo acoustic version of "Surfer Girl." The recently reformed Go-Go's turned in an energetic performance of "Surf City" - changing the classic song lyric to "two boys for every girl" - and "Little Honda."

Other highlights included Heart's rocking rendition of "Good Vibrations"; David Crosby, Carly Simon, and Webb's well-woven harmonies on "In My Room"; Billy Joel's take on "Don't Worry Baby"; Rucker and Sweet's collaboration on "Sail On Sailor"; Wilson Phillips' "You're So Good To Me" (which was the first time the trio sung on stage in over a decade); Brian Wilson and Elton John's duet of "Wouldn't It Be Nice"; Evan & Jaron (outfitted in matching "Beach Boys-wear" of blue-and-white striped shirts and white pants) giving an enthusiastic version of "I Get Around"; Gill, Crosby, and Webb's teaming on "Surf's Up"; Crosby's solo performance of "Sloop John B."; and Wilson being joined by the all-star cast for a medley of "Barbara Ann," "Surfin' USA," and "Fun, Fun, Fun," which saw Paul Simon, Elton John, and Joel, sharing a mic for harmonies, and John and Joel, overtaken by the music, breaking away to twist together on the side of the stage.

The complete list of songs and the artists who performed them are:

"Our Prayer" (the Harlem Boys Choir); "California Girls," "Help Me Rhonda" (Ricky Martin); "Surfer Girl" (Paul Simon); "Surf City," "Little Honda" (the Go-Go's); "In My Room" (Carly Simon, David Crosby, and Jimmy Webb); "The Warmth Of The Sun" (Vince Gill); "I Get Around" (Evan & Jaron); "Good Vibrations," "Don't Talk" (Heart); "Surf's Up" (David Crosby and Vince Gill); "Don't Worry Baby" (Billy Joel); "Sail On Sailor" (Darius Rucker and Matthew Sweet); "Heroes And Villains," "Forever," "Lay Down Burden," "Do It Again," "Pet Sounds," "Caroline, No" (Brian Wilson); "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (Brian Wilson and Elton John); "You Still Believe In Me" (Carnie and Wendy Wilson); "That's Not Me" (Jubilant Sykes); "Don't Talk" (Heart); "I'm Waiting For The Day" (Matthew Sweet); ""Let's Go Away For Awhile" (instrumental); "Sloop John B." (David Crosby); "God Only Knows" (Elton John); "I Know There's An Answer" (Darius Rucker); "Here Today" (Jimmy Webb); "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" (Aimee Mann and Michael Penn); "Pet Sounds" (instrumental); "Caroline, No" (Brian Wilson); "Barbara Ann," "Surfin' USA," "Fun, Fun, Fun" (Brian Wilson and guest ensemble); and "Love And Mercy" (Brian Wilson).

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