William Martin "Billy" Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical (Classical music) composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man (Piano Man (song))", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America).

Joel had Top 10 hits in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s and has 33 Top 40 hits in the United States, all of which he wrote singlehandedly. He is also a six-time Grammy Award winner, a 23-time Grammy nominee and has sold over 100 million records worldwide. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1992), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999), and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (2006). Joel "retired" from recording pop music in 1993 but continues to tour (often with Elton John). In 2001, he released Fantasies & Delusions, a CD of classical compositions for piano. In 2007, he briefly returned to pop songwriting and recording with a single entitled "All My Life (All My Life (Billy Joel song))" - written for his third wife Katie Lee Joel. In September 2007, Joel wrote "Christmas in Fallujah," a tribute to soldiers and a grim depiction of war. The song was recorded by Cass Dillon and subsequently by Joel himself in a December 2008 live version that was released only in Australia. Joel returned to touring in 2006 after a three-year hiatus from the road and has toured extensively ever since, covering many major world cities. In March 2009, Joel resumed his popular Face to Face tour with fellow pianist Elton John. The tour ended in March 2010 and there are currently no more dates scheduled, although Joel, who has stated a desire to take the rest of 2010 off, told Rolling Stone magazine: "We?ll probably pick it up again. It?s always fun playing with him."