Billy Joel Channel To Celebrate 50-Year Career

SiriusXm will add a Billy Joel channel on Wed, March 26 to celebrate the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s 50 year career. The channel will run for three months and feature 40 years worth of interviews, previously unavailable recordings, and excerpts from his “Masters Class” sessions that he conducts periodically to music students around the world, along with the lesser known details of Billy Joel’s career, according to MSN Money.

The Billy Joel channel will take listeners back to 1964 with The Echoes, the band that Billy Joel founded after seeing The Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. The band became popular in New York, prompting Billy Joel to drop out of high school to become a full-time musician. Billy left the band in 1967 and joined several other groups before signing with Family Productions to record his first solo album, Cold Spring Harbor.

When Family Productions botched Cold Spring Harbor, Billy Joel ran away to perform at The Executive Room piano bar on Wilshire Boulevard. There he composed his hit “Piano Man,” later released in 1973 on the album of the same name, under a new deal with Columbia Records. “Piano Man” made the top 100 charts at #25 in 1974, solidifying what is still a long and illustrious career.

Joel will appear on the SiriusXM channel to discuss his career and members of his band will come on as guest DJs to talk about their experiences on the road.

Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM’s president and chief content officer, said in a statement that “Billy Joel is one of the most beloved musicians of the past five decades whose music and cultural initiatives remain relevant to fans of every age,” He promised that the Billy Joel channel “will offer listeners a truly comprehensive and deep dive into the music of one of today’s most important musicians.”

Billy Joel has enjoyed a lot of press already this year for his New Years performance, impromptu duet with Jimmy Fallon, and duet with singer Brian Johnson.

Billy Joel’s newest LP, “A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia,” chronicles his 1987 Russian concerts and hits stores May 20th, 2014. The complete concert, including 12 unreleased tracks and bonus material, will air on SiriusXM on May 20th.

The next Billy Joel concert will be in Cleveland, OH on April 1st, with following concerts in Kentucky, Missouri, and New York and many others through the end of 2014. Visit billyjoel.com for more information on Billy Joel’s 2014 tour.

SiriusXM plays commercial-free music available by car, computer, smartphone and tablet. SiriusXM also provides sports coverage, weather, and traffic, news, talk, and entertainment, starting at $14.99 a month.

Join before 6pm on Wed, March 26th 2014, to catch the upcoming, limited-run Billy Joel channel on SiriusXM Channel 4.