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Billy Joel biography

Popular cuts such as "She's Got a Way" and "Everybody Loves You Now" were originally released on this album, although they did not gain much attention until released as live performances in 1981 on Songs in the Attic. Since then, they have become favorite concert numbers. Cold Spring Harbor gained a second chance on the charts in 1984, when Columbia reissued the album after slowing it down to the correct speed. The album reached #158 in the US and #95 in the UK nearly a year later. Cold Spring Harbor caught the attention of Merrilee Rush ("Angel of the Morning") and she recorded a femme version of "She's Got a Way (He's Got a Way)" for Scepter Records in 1971.

Joel gigged locally in New York City in the Fall of 1971, and subsequently toured with his band members (Rhys Clark on drums, Al Hertzberg on guitar and Larry Russell on bass) until the end of June 1972 throughout the US and Puerto Rico, opening for headliners such as J. Geils Band, The Beach Boys and Taj Mahal. At the Mar y sol festival in Puerto Rico, he electrified the crowd and got a big boost for his career. [Link 1] In addition, a Philadelphia radio station, WMMR-FM, started playing a tape of a new song of Joel's, "Captain Jack", taken from a live concert. It became an underground hit on the East Coast. Herb Gordon, an executive of Columbia Records, heard Joel's music and made his company aware of Joel's talent. Joel signed a recording contract with Columbia in 1972 and moved to Los Angeles. He lived there for three years (and has since declared that those three years were a big mistake), returning to New York City in 1975. While in California, he had a paid job in a piano bar, The Executive Room on Wilshire Boulevard (using the name Bill Martin), so his superhit "Piano Man" is seen as autobiographical.

Joel's experiences in Los Angeles connected him with record company executives, who bought out his contract with Ripp under the condition that the "Family Productions" logo be displayed alongside the Columbia logo for the next five albums. Also in the contract was the agreement that Family Productions would receive a 25-cent royalty for every album Joel sold-a stipulation which would come back to haunt him when he hit it big. The stand-out track for Piano Man was the title track, which, despite only making it to #25 on the Billboard Hot 100, still stands as one of Joel's anthems.

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