Billy Joel Bids Goodbye To The Madison Square Garden On The 150th Show; Accompanied By His Daughters

Billy Joel ended his historic 10-year residency at Madison Square Garden with a sold-out 150th show, featuring special guests and emotional moments, cementing his legacy at the iconic venue.

By Shovan Roy

Published on Jul 26, 2024 | 09:57 PM IST | 61.7K

Billy Joel (Image via Instagram)

For a long time to come, Billy Joel’s name will be hanging from the Madison Square Garden rafters. The singer-songwriter and hometown hero, 75, played the last of his record-breaking residency at this magical New York City venue on July 25, Thursday. The sold-out show marked its 150th appearance by Joel. In recognition of this achievement, a permanent banner was raised in honor of Piano Man.

A night to remember

“No one has done this,” Jimmy Fallon said while presenting the marker to Joel; “We are here tonight witnessing this. We are part of history. Congratulations. I love you, New York City loves you — we all love you.”

The unforgettable night saw many stars including former president Bill Clinton, Paul Rudd, Robert Kraft, Dana Blumberg M.D., ex-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as well as Axl Rose who surprised everyone by performing.

He sang Wings’ hit Live and Let Die released in 1973 followed by AC/DC’s classic Highway To Hell which was done in 1979. Finally, he joined Rose for the last song that night which was his hit in 1980 You May Be Right.

“It’s been a dream come true,” Joel told the audience of about twenty thousand fans, adding: “I first came to Madison Square Garden when I was a 4-year-old to see the Circus and watch Gene Autry sing ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.’ And now, here I am doing this. Thanks, mom!”

Reflecting on a historic run

Joel reflects back on his ten-year run stating: “None of us knew we were going to be able to do this for this long. This has been the most amazing gig that we’ve ever done ever.”

In addition, the musician recalled some landmark performances from his five-decade career. "We were the first group to play in Yankee Stadium. We were the last band to play at Shea Stadium. We played in Berlin the night that the Berlin Wall came down. We were the first American full-fledge performance in the Soviet Union. And we were the first band after Castro came to power to play Cuba. We played in front of the Colosseum in Rome for a half a million people (and the food was great). But out of all of them, this is the best.”

Joel performed almost an hour and 30-minute show which consisted of 22 hits like New York State of Mind, Uptown Girl, We Didn’t Start The Fire, Only The Good Die Young, and Piano Man.

Joel seemed to be having a great time during his performance, making jokes about his age as well as songs. He was also emotional and shouted out to his band while dedicating his ballad This Is The Time from 1986 to his wife Alexis Roderick.

Nevertheless, it was Joel’s daughters with Roderick - Della Rose (8) and Remy Anne (6), who stole the show as they joined him on stage dressed alike for hugs when he received his banner.

An emotional goodbye

This final concert by Joel at MSG follows eight months after announcing the end of his residency. In a statement, Joel said that his team told him that they could continue to sell tickets but they never thought it would be 10 years, consisting of 150 shows.

In December 1978, the musician named his first live performance at the venue, “the pinnacle of my career.” The artist thanked his fans for continuously supporting him. “It’s hard to end,” he said. “Even at 150 lifetime shows…I just want to thank everyone for the wonderful thing that's happened here.”

Joel’s residency exceeded all expectations. He established a new record in 2006 when he performed consecutively for 104 nights - it still stands as the highest number ever recorded so far and played his 65th show in 2015, now at 150 representing the most lifetime performances by an artist. Throughout the years, Joel has appeared on stage with several guest stars thereby making each concert special and different.

When the final notes rang out and the curtain fell, Billy Joel had etched his name forever in Madison Square Garden’s history books. For Joel, this was no ordinary stage but a place he called home.

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