New York has shaped both Billy Joel’s music and his idea of home. In the 2025 HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes, the Bronx native described the city’s speech, music and culture as part of his roots. A collection of photographs traces that connection through his homes and career, from Long Island to a brief period in Los Angeles and back again.
Joel grew up in Hicksville, a middle-class suburb of Long Island, in a family that struggled financially. His mother, Rosalind, insisted that he take piano lessons, his sister Judy recalled in the documentary. Before becoming a successful musician, Joel worked on an oyster boat and looked up at a Centre Island mansion he later bought. He nicknamed the waterfront property MiddleSea.
Joel moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s and signed with Columbia Records in 1973. After three years there, he returned to New York with his first wife, Elizabeth Weber. On the journey back, he was inspired by the autumn scenery to write “New York State of Mind,” which became one of his best-known songs. He completed his fourth studio album, Turnstiles, after returning to the state.
The success of 1977’s The Stranger brought Joel new wealth, but he said in a later Playboy interview that money was not his priority. He and Weber bought a home in Oyster Bay on Long Island’s North Shore, rather than a lavish mansion. Its floor-to-ceiling windows looked over Long Island Sound, and Joel later put the house on the cover of his 1980 album Glass Houses.
The couple divided their time between the Oyster Bay house and a Manhattan apartment, where they worked. Weber managed Joel and helped establish the New York-based Home Run agency. After their split, Joel’s brother-in-law Frank took over the role. Home Run later dissolved amid financial difficulties, and Joel brought charges against Frank over funds; the parties reached a settlement whose terms were not made public.
Joel’s career was rising while his marriage to Weber became strained. Looking back on the period around 1979, he said record success did not translate into happiness. He also acknowledged that he had not been aware of how much money he was earning.
Although he settled on the East Coast, Joel has said his Los Angeles years still come to mind. He wrote “Piano Man” from his experience performing as a lounge musician under the name Bill Martin at the now-defunct Executive Room near Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue. In a 2023 interview with the Los Angeles Times, he recalled feeling like an exiled writer in Paris, while also describing his time there with some romance.
Joel’s homes have included properties beyond Oyster Bay and Manhattan. He and his second wife, Christie Brinkley, owned a 12-acre oceanfront property in Amagansett, where they raised their daughter, Alexa Ray Joel. The property was later sold to Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld for $32 million. Joel also sold a Central Park West duplex to Sting and a Martha’s Vineyard home to businessman Mickey Drexler, according to The New Yorker.
Water has remained part of Joel’s idea of home. He told Parade in 2018 that he had been drawn to boats and island life since childhood. In 2007, he designed the 57-foot powerboat Vendetta, which can travel at about 50 knots, according to The New Yorker. In his documentary, Joel described boating as a form of freedom and said, “I am the captain of my ship.”
Sources: Architectural Digest.