Since I was a little boy, I have always loved music. I remember being four years old and sitting next to my grandfather as we drove down the streets of Florida as I was singing the first song I ever learned the words to – Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee. So even from my earliest years – music has always been a part of my life.

When I was eight in 1980, I was in my friend’s basement playing pool and he decided to put on some music. What he put on was one of the most popular records of the year – Glass Houses by an artist I never heard of named Billy Joel. As the record started to spin and I heard It’s Still Rock ‘n Roll To Me – I immediately became a Billy Joel fan – and still am twenty-one years later.

Besides his ability to make music that everyone loves to sing along to, he has the ability to write songs that have meaning, stories behind them – and personal beliefs and issues to support them.

This is the main reason as to why I am such a proud and staunch Billy Joel fan – and why I quote Billy’s music at the end of most of my columns. Being a writer myself, I write columns about what I feel and what means something to me – which is precisely what Billy Joel does. Be it a happy time in his life, a political stance – or heartbreak and personal loss – he has the incredible ability to put the event to music – and turn a personal event into a hit song.

I think the most evident example of this is when he was describing in a TV interview a day when he was at home playing the piano and his then young daughter Alexa asked him, “What happens when you die?”. Not sure how to answer such a question – he wrote Lullabye, Goodnight My Angel to answer her. Another example of his incredible writing ability is when he was in the U.S.S.R. for his history making Kohuept tour. While there, he met Viktor, a Russian citizen who traveled with Billy’s tour and came to every single concert. After a few nights, they became friends and Billy was so touched by Viktor’s friendship, that he wrote Leningrad, which tells the story of two men growing up on both sides of The Cold War and realizing when they meet – that they are one in the same despite their differences.

The one thing that really bothers me about Billy Joel’s career is that only three of his songs – Pressure, It’s Still Rock ‘n Roll To Me, and We Didn’t Start The Fire have made it to number one. For someone who has released sixteen albums, has received an award naming him a Grammy Legend – and has been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame – to have only three number one hits to his credit is clear proof that this country’s radio stations, play lists – and marketing companies would rather promote “bubble gum” then pure talent – what an absolute disgrace.

I am proud to say that I am a Billy Joel fan. I have all of his albums and have seen him in concert close to a dozen times. I was even in Madison Square Garden for the 1999 Millenium Concert. It may have cost me $175 a ticket – but to ring in the 21st Century with my favorite singer was worth every penny.

There are rumors that when Billy released River of Dreams in 1993 – that it would be his last album, because he now wants to compose only classical music. I hope this is not true for the simple reason that the world should not be denied the music of one of the true genuine songwriters of our time. Also – losing the music of Billy Joel would mean that we would be stuck in a world of boy bands and teenage girls singing about “what a girl wants”. But if this is what Billy wants to do with the rest of his career, then myself and the rest of his fans should thank him for what he has given us over the last three decades – music that has been from his heart – and made me and the millions of his other fans forget about life for a while.