Musician Billy Joel has had 33 records in the US top 40. Joel's career has stretched from the mid-1960s to present day, and even he's been surprised by the longevity.
"I had no idea I was able to last this long, I was just going to see what happens," Joel said Wednesday on Boston Public Radio. "I played in rock and roll bands when I was a teenager, [and] it became my life."
Joel's musical education began at a young age, and he didn't have to travel far for it.
"My parents were both musicians, my mother sang [and] my father [...] was a very good pianist," Joel said. "I heard classical music as a kid, that was the first music I actually heard."
On Thursday night, Billy Joel will perform in Fenway Park. Joel said he has great respect for the venue.
"It's history. You know, the home of the Red Sox, the Green Monster. It's intimidating, there's so much history. It's where Babe started. It's right in the middle of town. I like that."
Joel said the pace of his current tour is more forgiving than when he toured in the 1970s.
It's "every week or ten days, tops, where I'm playing somewhere. It's an easier schedule compared to what we used to play," Joel said.
Joel was happy to reschedule a September Madison Square Garden tour date due to an unforseseen circumstance — an event being held in the Garden by Pope Francis.
"That's fine with me, I mean, I owe him one," Joel said. "I've been everything but a Buddhist."
>>To hear the entire interview with Billy Joel, click the audio link above.
