Editing Billy Joel (section)

===1964–1970: Early career===
Influenced by early [[rock & roll]] and [[rhythm & blues]] artists, including [[Elvis Presley]] and [[the Everly Brothers]], Joel favored tightly structured pop melodies and down-to-earth songwriting.<ref name= OxfordMO>{{cite web| last= Tamarkin| first= Jeff| author-link= Jeff Tamarkin| title= Joel, Billy| url= https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/epm/13981?q=Billy+Joel&search=quick&pos=2&_start=1 |url-access= registration| work= Oxford Music Online |publisher= Oxford University Press| access-date= October 5, 2015}}</ref> After seeing [[the Beatles]] on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'', Joel decided to pursue a career in music. He recalled:<ref>{{cite news| last=Crandall| first=Bill| url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/10-musicians-who-saw-the-beatles-standing-there/| title=10 musicians who saw the Beatles standing there| publisher=CBS News| date=February 6, 2014| access-date=April 16, 2020| archive-date=February 7, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140207051338/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/10-musicians-who-saw-the-beatles-standing-there/| url-status=live}}</ref>

{{blockquote|That one performance changed my life{{nbsp}}... Up to that moment I'd never considered playing rock as a career{{nbsp}}... (W)hen I saw four guys who didn't look like they'd come out of the Hollywood star mill, who played their own songs and instruments, and especially because you could see this look in [[John Lennon]]'s face—and he looked like he was always saying: '--- you!'—I said: 'I know these guys, I can relate to these guys, I am these guys. This is what I'm going to do—play in a rock band'.}}

At age 16, Joel joined the Echoes,<ref name="sing365">{{cite web |url= http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Billy-Joel-Biography/B5E6E558FEF8C8D1482568700013A7BC |title= Billy Joel Biography |work= Sing365.com |access-date= November 2, 2010 |archive-date= December 2, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101202131305/http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Billy-Joel-Biography/B5E6E558FEF8C8D1482568700013A7BC |url-status= live }}</ref> a group which specialized in [[British Invasion]] covers. The Echoes began recording in 1965. Joel played piano on several records released through [[Kama Sutra Records|Kama Sutra Productions]] and on recordings produced by [[Shadow Morton]]. Joel played on a demo version of "[[Leader of the Pack]]", which became a major hit for [[the Shangri-Las]].<ref>{{cite interview| url=http://www.bluebirdreviews.com/live-concerts/52-billy-joel-with-howard-stern-on-sirius-radio.html| title=Billy Joel with Howard Stern on Sirius Radio| publisher=Sirius Radio| via=BluebirdReviews.com| date=November 24, 2010| access-date=July 11, 2020| archive-date=December 1, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201115845/http://www.bluebirdreviews.com/live-concerts/52-billy-joel-with-howard-stern-on-sirius-radio.html| url-status=live}}</ref> Joel states that in 1964 he played on a recording of the Shangri-Las' "[[Remember (Walking in the Sand)]]" but he is unaware of whether he played on the demo or master version.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Billy Joel: 1994 Recipient of The Century Award |magazine=Billboard |date=December 3, 1994 |page=13 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZwgEAAAAMBAJ&q=%2B%22artie%20ripp%22%20%2B%22red%20bird%22&pg=PA13 |access-date=October 28, 2015 |archive-date=July 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727120002/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZwgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13&q=+%22artie%20ripp%22%20+%22red%20bird%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> The released single included a co-producer credit for [[Artie Ripp]],<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Leiber – Stoller – Goldner Present The Shangri-Las ''[advertisement]''|magazine=Billboard|date=August 15, 1964|page=5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QUUEAAAAMBAJ&q=artie%20ripp&pg=PA5|access-date=October 28, 2015|archive-date=July 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727113029/https://books.google.com/books?id=QUUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA5&q=artie%20ripp|url-status=live}}</ref> who later was the first to sign and produce Joel as a solo artist after [[Michael Lang (producer)|Michael Lang]], who had given Joel a monetary advance, passed Joel along to Ripp to focus his attentions elsewhere.<ref name=schruers>{{cite book|last1=Schruers|first1=Fred|title=Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography|date=2014|publisher=Crown Publishing|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8041-4019-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pneBAwAAQBAJ&q=michael%20lang&pg=PT75|access-date=January 14, 2016|archive-date=May 9, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509161422/https://books.google.com/books?id=pneBAwAAQBAJ&q=michael%20lang&pg=PT75#v=snippet&q=michael%20lang&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

In late 1965, the Echoes changed their name to the Emeralds, and then to the Lost Souls. Joel left the band in 1967 to join [[the Hassles]], a Long Island group that had signed with [[United Artists Records]].<ref name= OxfordMO /> Over the next year and a half, they released four singles and two albums (''The Hassles'' and ''Hour of the Wolf''). All were commercial failures. Joel and drummer Jon Small left the Hassles in 1969 to form the duo [[Attila (rock band)|Attila]], releasing an [[:wikt:eponym|eponymous]] debut album in July 1970. The duo disbanded the following October when Joel began an affair with Small's wife, Elizabeth. The pair later married.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p3587|title=Attila|publisher=AllMusic|first=Stacia|last=Proefrock|access-date=November 2, 2010|archive-date=February 3, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203025637/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p3587|url-status=live}}</ref>