“Sometimes it’s alien to me – this guy, Billy Joel.”
HBO has released the official trailer for Billy Joel. And it is a vast, two-part documentary set to unleash the lives, music and contradictions of one of America’s most iconic musicians and songwriters. The two parters clock in a total of five hours, promise a deep, personal portrait of Joel.
“Sometimes it’s alien to me, this guy Billy Joel,” he says early in the trailer. “I don’t know who it is or what it is. I remember it as I walk down the street. Ah, yes, I’m that guy.”
From there, the trailer weaves archival footage, home recordings, personal photos and intimate interviews. Joel shares his early days in Hicksville, New York, his estranged relationship with his father, and the surprise of becoming a global superstar. “Here I’m dating this supermodel, me? I’m from Hicksville,” he says, recalling his relationship with Christy Brinkley.
Music, trauma, throughline
At the heart of the documentary is a reflection of Joel’s life, how joy, trials and trauma are poured into his songwriting. “If you have a skeleton key to locking what’s behind a song, it’s a relationship with others,” he says. “Everything I did and everything I went through somehow found it in my music.”
One such influence: his early exposure to classical music. “My own history with me as a musician started with me after listening to classical music,” he says. “The ‘Uptown Girl’ – maybe it was Mozart’s work,” he adds, sitting on the piano as he plays the familiar chords.
Joel also opens up about the dark side of his past. “I had no idea about my father from my age of eight to my 20s,” he says. “There were many difficult lessons in my life.” Later in the trailer, he added, “I learned that life is a battle,” and perhaps most clearly, “I think music saved my life. It gave me a reason to live.”
Famous voice weight
The document doesn’t just rely on Joel to tell the story. The trailer features appearances by artists and friends, including Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and Pink. “Billy’s melody is better than mine,” admits Springsteen. McCartney recalls the first time he heard of Joel. “When you first hear of Billy Joel, wait a moment. ‘Who is this?’ Pink praises Joel’s emotional reach, saying, “He cares about the human experience… he wrote an important song.”
Directed by Susan Lacey (Jane Fonda, Spielberg in Act 5) and produced by Jessica Levin and Billy Joel. And it includes an interview with John Small.
When and where to see Billy Joel: And it goes
Billy Joel: And it will premiere at HBO MAX on July 18th, with part 2 being held on July 25th.
