Q 01/05

In which New York City borough was Billy Joel born in 1949?

A) Brooklyn

B) Queens

C) Manhattan

D) The Bronx

Answer · why

D) The Bronx

The Bronx was home only briefly: the family soon moved out to Long Island, where his mother pushed him into piano lessons at the age of four.

Q 02/05

Which combat sport did the teenage Billy Joel compete in as an amateur on Long Island?

A) Wrestling

B) Fencing

C) Judo

D) Boxing

Answer · why

D) Boxing

Boxing: he fought as a welterweight on the amateur Golden Gloves circuit, and gave the sport up only after his nose was broken in the ring.

Q 03/05

How did Billy Joel finally receive his Hicksville High diploma in 1992, 25 years after leaving?

A) He sat the exam he had missed

B) The requirement was waived by the state

C) He completed a night course

D) He submitted essays to the board

Answer · why

D) He submitted essays to the board

He had told the school that if he wasn't going to Columbia University he was going to Columbia Records, where no diploma was needed. He got it at the ...

Q 04/05

With drummer Jon Small, Billy Joel formed which heavy-rock duo in 1969?

A) The Hassles

B) The Echoes

C) Hour of the Wolf

D) Attila

Answer · why

D) Attila

Attila: the future balladeer spent 1970 playing organ in a heavy-metal duo that vowed to destroy the world with amplification, and the one album they ...

Q 05/05

What went wrong with Billy Joel's debut album Cold Spring Harbor?

A) It was mastered at too high a speed

B) It shipped only to Puerto Rico

C) The label folded before release

D) The tapes burned in a fire

Answer · why

A) It was mastered at too high a speed

It was mastered at too high a speed, so his voice came out pitched up like the Chipmunks; he says he flung his copy like a Frisbee, and a speed-correc...