Billy Joel

William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American pianist, singer-songwriter, and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man", he has been making music since the 1960s. For Disney, he made his acting debut as the voice of Dodger in the 1988 Disney animated feature film Oliver & Company, where he also contributed to and recorded the song "Why Should I Worry". He also sang "When You Wish Upon a Star" in Simply Mad About the Mouse.
Born in the Bronx section of New York City, Joel grew up on Long Island, where both places influenced his music with his mother insisting he take piano lessons. Joel attended Hicksville High School until 1967, but did not graduate with his class and began playing at bars to support himself. In 1971, he signed a record deal with and kicked off a solo career in 1971 with his first album . However, his second album containing became his most recognized hit. Over the next two decades, Joel continued to release more hit songs, such as "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", and "".
Despite retiring from writing and releasing new music following the release of , he continues to go on tour; he frequently performs at Madison Square Garden. His career earned him several wins, honorary doctorates, and inductions into various Halls of Fame, such as the (1992) and the (1999).
==Role==
Dodger.jpg|Dodger(Oliver & Company)
==Gallery==
Billy Joel behind the scenes Oliver & Co.jpg|Billy Joel behind the scenes of Oliver & Company.
Billy Joel Oliver and Company premiere.jpg|Billy Joel at the premiere of Oliver & Company.
Billy Joel visits Jimmy Fallon.jpg|Billy Joel visits in March 2014.
Billy Joel 72nd Tonys.jpg|Billy Joel speaks onstage at the 72nd annual Tony Awards in June 2018.
==Trivia==
*Critics were generally positive toward Oliver & Company and pointed to Joel's acting contribution as one of its highlights, despite it being his first acting job (the only other acting Joel has done is guest-starring as himself in multiple TV sitcoms, such as and ). In interviews, Joel explained that he took the role of Dodger, due to his love of Disney cartoons as a child.
==External links==
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Category:1940s births
Category:Males
Category:American people
Category:Jewish people
Category:People from New York
Category:Actors
Category:Voice actors
Category:Singers
Category:Songwriters
Category:Singer-songwriters
Category:Composers
Category:Lyricists
Category:Performance models
Category:Oliver & Company