Yeah I got my BJ ticket for next May at the weekend, or should I say somebody got it for me, though I doubt I would want to see his show every month, once will be quite enough for me. I’d be more interested in him writing and releasing a new record to be honest, he hasn’t done a new album now for 20 years, apart from that Fantasies and Delusions classical piano thing he did a few years ago, which was OK , and it showcased just what a brilliant classically trained pianist he is, but it really doesn’t count. He used to be incredibly prolific as a recording artist, 13 albums between 1971 and 1993, but then he suddenly stopped, and all we’ve had since 1993 is a couple of great live albums.
Btw, Billy last night was the most recent ‘rock’ recipient of the annual Kennedy Center Honors, which are bestowed by each President on artists (from music, film, media, writers, TV etc) who have made a significant contribution in the arts, and it really is viewed as being a huge honor, past rock recipients include Springsteen, Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, The Who, Brian Wilson, Elton, Paul Simon, Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Johnny Cash, B B King, Pete Seeger. It was all very snobby and stuffy and highbrow for many years, with really only opera singers and classical/jazz artists from the music world awarded, but then Bill Clinton came along and started awarding guys like B B King and Cash and Dylan, and ever since then there has been a major figure from the world of rock/pop included every year – I always actually really liked Rock ‘n Roll Clinton!!...and I totally don’t care who he slept with. Anyway, Billy Joel is now in there, so that’s very well deserved. The great Carlos Santana and Herbie Hancock both got the same award yesterday too.
Here’s the link to this morning’s NYDN article about it…
Billy Joel, Shirley MacLaine receive Kennedy Center Honors for impact on American culture - NY Daily News