{"id":31267,"date":"2025-07-29T07:07:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T07:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/31267\/"},"modified":"2025-07-29T07:07:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T07:07:08","slug":"exclusive-why-billy-joel-always-wore-a-jacket-and-tie-on-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/31267\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive | Why Billy Joel always wore a jacket and tie on stage –"},"content":{"rendered":"

HBO\u2019s revealing new documentary<\/a> on Billy Joel delves into the rocker\u2019s personal life and career, from his beginnings as a struggling cocktail lounge \u201cPiano Man\u201d to selling out Madison Square Garden more than 100 times during an unprecedented decade-long residency<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But one topic the comprehensive five-hour project<\/a>, \u201cAnd So It Goes\u201d by Emmy winners\u00a0Susan Lacy\u00a0and Jessica Levin, doesn\u2019t address is how Joel went from a scruffy aspiring metal head in a cacophonous act called Attila to an angry young man whose public uniform was a coat and tie with a button-down and sneakers. <\/p>\n

Billy Joel appeared on his album \u201c52nd Street\u201d in a coat and tie as a perhaps unlikely style icon. Legacy Recordings<\/p>\n

On the 1970 cover of Attila\u2019s sole, ill-fated album<\/a>, a long-haired Joel and his bandmate Jon Small wore furry barbarian costumes from the film \u201cBen-Hur\u201d surrounded by hanging meat. <\/p>\n

But soon after, Joel wouldn\u2019t be caught without a coat and tie. <\/p>\n

The star\u2019s look was inspired in part by his first wife, we hear. Getty Images<\/p>\n

For his 1980 hit, \u201cIt\u2019s Still Rock and Roll to Me,\u201d he went with an orange number. Columbia<\/p>\n

In 1976, Joel appeared on the cover of his solo album, \u201cTurnstiles,\u201d in the look that would define his career: a white dress shirt and a preppy rep tie. <\/p>\n

The style was repeated on the moody covers of Joel\u2019s breakthrough \u201cThe Stranger\u201d (featuring Joel in a suit on a bed) and \u201c52nd Street,\u201d for which Joel paired the jacket and tie with prepster kicks Tretorns as he leaned moodily against a wall with a trumpet. <\/p>\n

And while Joel may have been wearing a leather motorcycle jacket as he threw a rock at his own luxe home on the cover of his rebellious 1980 smash, \u201cGlass Houses,\u201d he appeared on the back cover pouting through a broken window in a preppy jacket and tie. <\/p>\n

Joel was dressed to impress. Redferns<\/p>\n

The singer wore a suit on the iconic \u201cThe Stranger\u201d album cover. Legacy Recordings<\/p>\n

(Joel\u2019s never seen in the doc on stage in any year without a signature blazer.) <\/p>\n

Those close to the star tell us that the \u201cUptown Girl\u201d singer hatched the hip buttoned up look with help from his first wife and manager, Elizabeth Weber<\/a> (who gets her due in the doc for making Joel\u2019s career).<\/p>\n

The coat and tie was also perhaps a way to amplify his apparent disdain for costumed rockers of the day (a la Elton John), and also a way for the Long Island regular Joe (regular Joel?) to show some respect to his paying fans. <\/p>\n

We hear that Joel also adopted the look as a sign of respect to his fans. Getty Images<\/p>\n

If only we could raid his closet! Getty Images<\/p>\n

A longtime Joel insider told us when we wondered about the genesis of the signature look: \u201cThe origin of the look was simple\u2026 Billy said at the time the audience paid good money to see him \u2014 the least he could do was dress nice for them! And to him, that was a coat and tie.\u201d<\/p>\n

The doc also points out how the singer was a fan of (well-dressed) legends like Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. <\/p>\n

In his 1974 tune, \u201cThe Entertainer,\u201d Joel makes fun of showy performers wearing \u201call kinds of sparkles.\u201d<\/p>\n

The star poked fun at costumed acts in \u201cThe Entertainer.\u201d Getty Images<\/p>\n

The rocker sold out MSG over 100 times as part of his residency. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Joel also bristles early in his career in an interview at being compared to over-the-top Elton<\/a>, saying their styles were the antitheses of each other. (The rockers later toured together<\/a>, and have been on and off frenemies over the years.) <\/p>\n

Another force behind the look was the stylish Weber<\/a>. (The doc suggests she could\u2019ve been the character in that \u201cHalston dress\u201d with those \u201cfriends at Elaine\u2019s\u201d in Joel\u2019s scathing hit \u201cBig Shot\u201d). <\/p>\n

Our insider says, \u201cThe jackets were an evolution\u2026 Elizabeth picked them [for Billy] in the early years,\u201d including an orange number Joel wore on the cover of his 1980 single \u201cIt\u2019s Still Rock and Roll to Me.\u201d <\/p>\n

Top graphic designer Paula Scher is also credited with being instrumental in the creation of Joel\u2019s album covers. <\/p>\n

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