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Billy Joel certainly took someone down a peg with the song “Big Shot” from his 1978 album 52nd Street.  As a newly minted star he had ample access to the rich and famous.

Billy Joel was only 22 when he made his first solo record, the 1971 album Cold Spring Harbor.  And the experience turned out to be a nightmare.

Q: So, at a young age, you had a vivid preview of how the music business works.

A: (laughs) Yeah, I guess I did!

That emphasis on the arts in young Billy’s life obviously paved the way for his success as a musician, but it also inadvertently trained him to be tough and not afraid to fight back when necessary.

It turned out that when Billy got there, he really did enjoy the view.  Several popular fashion models were visiting the island, too, and not for a vacation, but for a photo shoot. 

Billy Joel prefers to think of himself as a rock and roller.  But he’s probably even better known for his ballads.  When he sat down with The New York Times for an interview in 2013, the interviewer asked him if he was happy about that.