AboutBarry Goldsbury Expertise I am 24 years old and have been a Billy Joel fan since I was a little kid. I find him to be incredibly interesting with smart lyrics and unbelieveable musicianship. I have his CD`s and a lot of knowledge on the man. If I don`t know it, I will look for it and will not stop til I have the answer for you. I`d love to help if you got a question or just want to talk about Billy. Write me.
Expert: Barry Goldsbury Date: 12/28/2005 Subject: A few questions about Billy
Question Hello. I have a few questions about Billy Joel. First, I was wondering about his ethnic background. I have read that both of his parents were Jewish, but I believe I have also heard or read somewhere that he was part Italian, but now I can't seem to find this anywhere. Is he fully Jewish, or part Italian, or something else, even? Just curious.
Also, I have read in several places that the video for "A Matter of Trust," which I have not seen, shows Billy playing guitar. However, in the liner notes for Greatest Hits Volume 3, he is credited only for playing the keys and singing, while someone else is credited for playing the guitar. So, does he play on the video but not on the album, or is he only pretending to play on the video?
Thanks in advance!
Answer Hi,
About Billy's parents, I am curious as well!. It was rumored that Billy's parents were Irish immigrants, but Billy's father is German. As for his mother?. I have had a time trying to pin that one down myself. But his father was German.
Billy does play the guitar in the video for "A Matter Of Trust", but is probably only pretending. Actually, nobody plays instruments in videos as it's done to a recording. He didn't play the guitar on the actual recording either. But Billy can play the guitar. He has done so in concert, and I have seen him play it while singing "A Hard Day's Night".
