Billy Joel’s latest performance for his longtime-running Madison Square Garden residency turned out to be a family affair of sorts.
Not only did the Piano Man hit the stage of ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena’ on Friday, April 26, for the 147th time of his illustrious career, he also got to share the moment with his daughter Alexa Ray Joel by performing together, as reported by Us Weekly.
And in a walk down memory lane, the festive evening also saw the New York City native serenade his ex-wife Christie Brinkley during the point in the show when he sang his hit Uptown Girl (1983).
While initially written about his relationship with supermodel Elle Macpherson, the song ended up becoming a story about his soon-to-be wife, Brinkley.
During the performance, the 1980s original supermodel could be seen swaying and dancing along as her ex-husband belted out the catchy melodies and lyrics, which ended up being shown on the massive, overhead monitor, which elicited and even bigger smile from the Uptown Girl, herself.
Billy Joel, 74, serenaded his ex-wife Christie Brinkley with a version of his 1983 hit song Uptown Girl, which was written about his soon-to-be wife, during his residency show at Madison Square Garden on Friday, April 26
The New York City native initially titled his song Uptown Girls but ended up changing it to just be about Brinkley after meeting her in 1983; the former couple are seen in late 1983, not long after they began to start dating
Joel, 74, had originally titled the song Uptown Girls, which was conceived on an occasion when he was surrounded by then girlfriend Macpherson, Brinkley and Whitney Houston.
Back in 2010, Joel revealed told Howard Stern that he decided to make changes to the tune and made it specifically about Brinkley and renamed it Uptown Girl after he stopped dating fellow top model Elle Macpherson.
‘Rather than it be about all these different girls, she became the Uptown Girl. I started writing it about one person,’ he explained during the interview.
The lyrics of the tune, off his ninth studio album An Innocent Man (1983), describe a working class downtown man attempting to woo a wealthy uptown girl.
Brinkley, 70, was even brought in to appear in the music video that depicts Joel and his backup singers working as auto mechanics. The covergirl arrives in a chauffeured Rolls-Royce as Joel and the mechanics dance with her around the garage.
A poster of Brinkley can be seen in the garage of the video as well as on a billboard above the garage advertising ‘Uptown Cosmetics’.
The music video has a storybook ending, showing Joel ride off with Brinkley on a motorcycle.
Uptown Girl peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks the last two months of 1983. It also reached number one in the United Kingdom for five weeks, his only number-one hit in the country.
After writing about the 1980s supermodel, Joel got Brinkley to star in the music video for Uptown Girl,
‘Rather than it be about all these different girls, she became the Uptown Girl. I started writing it about one person,’ Joel explained to Howard Stern in 2010
The music video depicts Joel and his backup singers working as auto mechanics, and Brinkley as the adored uptown girl who’ chauffeured to the garage in a Rolls-Royce
The song, inspired by the 1950’s sound of Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons, was the second-best-selling single of 1983 in the UK behind only Culture Club’s Karma Chameleon.
In his real life, Joel would tie-the-knot with Brinkley in March 1985, about a year-and-a-half after the release of Uptown Girl, less than two years after meeting on the Island of St. Barts in the Caribbean.
They would welcome their daughter nine months after their nuptials, but ultimately they got divorced in 1994.
Alexa Ray, now 38, got up on stage with her father and performed two songs: To Sir, With Love (1967), which is the theme song to the drama film of the same name, and Say Goodbye To Hollywood, off her dad’s fourth album Turnstiles (1976).
Joel’s show at MSG on Friday also featured the proud dad performing with his daughter Alexa Ray, 38, whom she shares with Brinkley
While the Piano Man banged on the keys, his daughter performed the songs To Sir, With Love (1967), which is the theme song to the drama film of the same name, and Say Goodbye To Hollywood, off her dad’s fourth album Turnstiles (1976)
Father and daughter shared a sweet moment at the end of their performance together
Starting his MSG residency by performing one show a month, indefinitely, Billy Joel is now slated to end the decade-long run this July, which will mark his 104th performance in the series, and his 150th show at the famed venue in his lifetime
Billy Joel is currently winding down his MSG residency that started way back in January 2014 when he committed to playing one concert a month at the famous arena, indefinitely.
But then in June 2023, the six-time Grammy winner announced the run of the residency would end in July 2024 with his 104th performance in the series, which will mark his 150th show at MSG in his lifetime.
With Friday being his 147th show at the famed venue, that translates to just three more concerts left for Joel and his Madison Square Garden residency.
At the beginning of the run 10 years ago, Joel was earning about $2 million per show, according to Parade. But that figure has since jumped to about $3 million per show.
