It was a classic Billy Joel moment. After finding himself sitting with the music legend at Howard Stern’s wedding, Trainee bandleader Pat Monahan was so struck by Joel’s down-to-earth nature that he boldly asked him to get up and sing. Monahan asked? “It’s always a woman.”
“He was such a humble, down-to-earth, wonderful guy that I asked him to sing a Billy Joel song,” Monahan, 57, recalls. “And he went up and sang a James Taylor song because he didn’t have enough chutzpah to think people wanted to hear a Billy Joel song.”
“My father is really self-deprecating!” His daughter, musician Alexa Ray Joel, 40, confirms. “He’s always making fun of himself and doesn’t care about his fame or notoriety.”
“And So It Goes” 18 years later, Monahan will take the stage alongside Jewel Band to perform “It’s Always a Woman” at billy joel music, A star-studded tribute event took place at New York’s prestigious Carnegie Hall on March 12. Presented by promoter Michael Dorff, the lineup includes Alexa Ray, Rob Thomas, Wycliffe Jean, Matt Nathanson, Gavin DeGraw, Betty Lovett, Rufus Wainwright, Andrew McMahon, Mark Roberge, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Tanya Tucker, War and Treaty, Itzhak Perlman, Sammy Ray, John McLaughlin and Neil Francis.
like Hollywood Reporter Speaking exclusively to the performers, three common threads emerged from their stories – their admiration for the humble and down-to-earth nature that compelled Monahan to ask to perform at a spontaneous wedding, Joel’s profound influence on their art and the palpable enthusiasm that makes each musician just like any other Joel fan.
Nathanson would have “walked through the desert and then swam in the ocean” to honor Joel, who stopped touring while suffering from a neurological condition. Meanwhile, Thomas lights up as he recalls how he approached the “incredibly charming” Joel at a restaurant in the 1990s. “He and Don Henley were having dinner, so I waited until they finished eating and then I said, ‘Hi, I’m—’ and he was like, ‘Rob! How are you? “You’re having a really good year.” Then he told me to watch my money.
It’s been a longstanding love affair with Joel’s music for the performers. Nathanson discovered “Uptown Girl” through MTV before becoming hooked songs in the attic, While Monahan was drawn to “Allentown” because of his Pennsylvania roots. Wyclef Jean would sing “The Longest Time” weekly with Fugees bandmate Lauryn Hill, after discovering Joel as a child. “I was working with my father at the Ramada Inn in New Jersey,” he says. “I would hear cover bands playing his songs and sing along to make the time go by faster. I loved that.”
Thomas fell down the Joel hole in the 1980s Glass houses. “My vocal style is taken from Elton [John]“Billy and Tracy Chapman,” says the Grammy winner. “I loved the way he said certain words that stuck with me. If I hadn’t been a Billy Joel fan, I probably would never have written.” [Matchbox Twenty’s] “Bright lights.”
Nathanson realized just how penetrating Joel, 76, is with his music while preparing for a performance of “Miami 2017 (I Watched the Lights Go Out on Broadway)” on Thursday. While fans were practicing, they noticed how natural his performance was. “It’s not because I’m great, it’s because in my genetic makeup, Billy Joel was there and shaped the way I look at music,” says Nathanson, 52. “This guy is the building block of my identity as a musician.”
No one cares more about that than Alexa Ray, who credits Joel for the diverse musical tastes she’s developed and benefited from. “I call him a Zelig, someone who can transform into a different voice and personality,” she says. “He is eclectic and can delve into all genres. I am very lucky to have learned from him and my father has become my musical hero. He is like a fountain of musical knowledge and genius.”
This endless stream of lessons is something that Thursday’s artists can attest to. Notably, they still derive their greatest musical education and inspiration from Joel – decades after becoming fans.
In what he calls an unusual “master class,” Nathanson delved into Joel’s artistry while recording Joel’s songs for his upcoming EP, Songs in the Attic (M). “‘Uptown Girl’ sounds easy, and then you break it down and there are modulations and chord changes and piano chords that I’ve never seen before on a guitar,” says Nathanson. “I have a new appreciation for how good this guy is.”
Thomas agrees. “His music is subtle. A lot of what he does is very difficult, but he puts it in this pop format, so you don’t even realize you’re getting a masterclass in music. He’s not trying to show you how much he knows — it’s just in the DNA.”
More than four decades after Allentown took over, Monahan is inspired by Joel “now more than ever.” That’s why Train’s upcoming single “Mad Dog in the Fog” is based on “Piano Man” and the vivid characters immortalized in the 1973 track.
“His songwriting is very personal,” Monahan says. “Every character and moment feels real. Did he really know a guy named Davy from the Navy? It doesn’t matter because he seemed to know it. We all aspire to write that way.”
“I sent him the song and asked him if he would help me finish it, and he said, ‘It feels like it’s finished for me,’ which was a blessing.”
Meanwhile, Alexa Ray’s new song “Heavy Eyes” pays tribute. An innocent man. “It’s reminiscent of that album and ’60s pop. Or if you listen to ‘Say Goodbye to Hollywood’ or ‘Until the Night,’ I tried to emulate that sound.”
Joel’s lasting influence on artists is why Dorff felt they were perfect for the tribute. “Rob Thomas, Pat Monahan, and Gavin DeGraw were clearly influenced by Billy and looked up to songwriter icons like him,” says Dorf, founder of City Winery, which will host rehearsals and pre-show events. “This is what they wanted to be when they grew up.”
Dorff himself was a “legitimate fan”. THR A 52nd Street Vinyl from the collection he looks at while deciding who to honor at the annual fundraiser at Carnegie Hall. He was 15 years old in Milwaukee when Joel’s voice swept over him. “If you walked into a grocery store or went to buy jeans at Gimbels, you couldn’t avoid Billy’s music. The songs were so catchy that they ended up in your soul.”
Dorff was reminded of Joel’s power while watching the HBO documentary, Billy Joel: And so it went, So he dedicated his 21st annual “Music Of” event to the five-time Grammy winner. He was thrilled to learn that the Joel Music Foundation already supports many of the youth music education programs that his series benefits. “Whether it’s war, climate change, or health concerns, there’s always a new and topical issue asking for people’s money,” Dorf says. “Music education is unfortunately the program that gets cut when funds are limited.”
Beneficiaries include Jazz House Kids and the Grammy Museum Foundation. The events averaged $120,000 but topped $200,000 to honor Joel.
Accompanied by the Joel Band (David Rosenthal, Mark Rivera, Crystal Talferro, Tommy Burns, Andy Cichon, Chuck Burgey and Carl Fischer) and pianist Dan Orlando, The artists will cover 20 songs.
Thomas was quick to call out Debs on “Vienna” and viewed Thursday night as a “reprise” of that time he felt like he messed up singing Joel’s “You May Be Right” at a MusiCares event. He had been rehearsing at night and performed the rousing song at a fundraiser for animal rescue non-profit Sidewalk Angels Foundation, where fans cried over the “outstanding” performance.
Just as the Matchbox Twenty singer provides fans with unforgettable moments at such shows, Joel was the focus of one of Thomas’ standout memories with his late father Bill, who took him to a Madison Square Garden concert more than 20 years ago.
“Billy Joel in the park is like seeing Springsteen in Jersey,” Thomas says. “There’s a million times he refers to New York, so the audience explodes a million times. And until he died, it was part of what my father considered his favorite weekend of his entire life. We saw Billy, and then we went to his This bar and we went out with his band and there was a group of younger women fawning over my dad, like, “You’re so cute!” He had a ball.”
Thursday’s celebration comes as Joel focuses on regaining his fighting fitness while battling normal pressure hydrocephalus, a brain disorder that affects balance, vision and hearing. After collapsing on stage in early 2025, he was diagnosed with the condition and the remaining tour dates were cancelled.
Alexa Ray was “impressed” with how great Joel was doing amid the health overhaul and told him he couldn’t miss Thursday’s event. THR He heard he was planning to bring a famous friend. While it’s unknown if he’ll jump on stage, few expect Joel to stay away from performing for long.
The way Joel, even now, continues to perform repeatedly and with such sincerity amazes fans like Thomas. He’s busy kicking off Matchbox Twenty’s 30th anniversary celebrations with a new EP northern sides b, Summer festivals, temporary fall engagements and a tour including the US, Australia and possibly England and Brazil. However, Thomas, 54, admits he tires of some performances, let alone the steady performances that Joel has managed to pull off in his 70s.
“He goes up and plays for two hours, promoting nothing but the nostalgia we have for the music,” Thomas says. “He does it every night with such enthusiasm. He never seems to not want to play ‘Piano Man.'” You can’t do that without living vicariously through the fans you play for. “He really appreciates how much the fans appreciate him.”
And those fans include the entire Thursday lineup. “There are very few people who can leave a legacy as deep and long as Billy’s,” says Nathanson, who is touring with Train this summer. “It is a treasure for the musical person.”
Adds Monahan: “This is the greatest American artist of all time, and I’m going to live on a planet with him at the same time. I hope we can continue to show young artists the importance of Billy’s music. It should last a long time, and if he’s unable to perform it, we’ll carry the torch until he can come back and start putting it down himself. Because he does it better than all of us.”
Just don’t ask him to do it at a wedding, he’s too modest.
