Although the album was not a hit, he did manage to attract the attention of Columbia Records, and they signed him in 1972. Joel went solo in 1971 when he signed a deal with record company Family Productions, and released his debut solo album, "Cold Spring Harbor" (1971). Their eponymous album was released in July 1970, but their partnership did not last long because Joel had an affair with Small's wife, Elizabeth.
Joel and the band's drummer, Jon Small, left the group in 1969 and formed the duo Attila. The Hassles were signed to United Artists Records, and they released several singles and albums, although none of their released achieved much traction. Joel left the band The Echoes in 1967 (then renamed to the Lost Souls), and joined the group the Hassles. Rather than take summer classes to finish school, he opted to pursue a full-time musical career instead. A love of all things musical drove him to join his first band, The Echoes, while only 14. He attended Hicksville High School, but ultimately did not graduate because he did not have sufficient credits. Subsequently, he developed a love for, and appreciation of, classical music that he still feels today. Joel's half-brother from his father's side, Alexander Joel, also pursued a career in music, and was the chief musical director of the Staatstheater Braunschweig from 2001 to 2014.Īt the age of 4, Joel began taking piano lessons at the insistence of his mother. His parents divorced in 1957, and his father returned to Europe, settling in Austria, where he remarried. There, he grew up with his younger sister, Judy. His family moved to Hicksville, Long Island while he was still young. His parents met in the late-1930s at a Gilbert and Sullivan performance at the City College of New York. Joel's mother's family was from Kent, England. His family fled the Nazis via Switzerland and Cuba, before reaching the United States. His father was a classical pianist and businessman from Germany. William Martin Joel was born on May 9, 1949, in the Bronx, New York City.