Comments on: The Stranger

By: Emily

Emily — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:06:57 +0000

um, I still dance around the living room and sing the chorus with feeling. And you’ve GOT to say it “fie-yah.”

By: mom

mom — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 04:23:11 +0000

hi billy and mego – i loved your blog entry. BJ has played an important role in many of our lives – it is wonderful of you to celebrate him! i must clear up one misconception however – i do remember billy joel playing piano in the cafeteria at Antioch College, but he was downstate when i was in grade school upstate. we had cabaret night – with checkered table cloths and candles dripping wax on used chianti bottles to establish an intimate, cozy atmosphere – and hide the formica tables and plastic chairs! he was great even then. and smart too – he left school without finishing up, sparing himself a couple years of strikes, piled up garbage, etc. those were the good old days…enjoy the concert!
xoxo mom

By: W. Joel

W. Joel — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:53:18 +0000

Dear Mego – I’m a lot older now. You may not even recognize me, as I look more like my father than the guy on the album covers. I’ve lost my hair and my beard is now completely gray. But I still feel very much like that younger man – except for a herniated disc in my lower spine which gives me a lot of sciatic nerve pain in my leg, so sometimes I walk with a limp – probably the result of jumping off the piano at too many shows.
I just came across your blogsite and I wanted to personally thank you for your very kind words regarding my music. I happen to prefer the lesser known album tracks to the songs that were hits – but I love them all as if they were my children.
I don’t want to say that your mom is being untruthful, but I didn’t go to grade school in upstate New York. All of my public schooling took place in my hometown of Hicksville, New York, which is located in central Nassau County on Long Island. I still live on Long Island to this day.
The show with Elton is not typical of the kind of show that we would do on our own. Since Elton plays many of his hits, we have to play mostly hits as well. When we do our own tour, we play a lot more of the lesser-known album tracks and obscurities along with the hits as well.
Anyway, I hope that you enjoy the show, and I hope my advanced age doesn’t shock you too much. To tell you the truth – I’m as surprised as anyone that I’m still doing this crazy gig. Cheers! Billy Joel