Complex sentence: Joel's cover of The Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R." was released as a single, ending his record-setting streak of 39 Billboard Top 40 singles from the start of a career written by the artist who performed it.
Split into simpler sentences: Joel's cover of The Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R." became the first single released by Joel that was written by someone other than himself. It ended his record-setting streak of 39 Billboard Top 40 singles, from the start of a career, written by the artist who performed it.