Editing Billy Joel (section)

===1970–1974: ''Cold Spring Harbor'' and ''Piano Man''===
[[File:Nieuwste artiesten bij Phonogram, Billy Joel, Bestanddeelnr 925-8727 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Joel performing in September 1972]]
Joel signed a contract with the record company Family Productions,<ref name= CRose /><ref name= spyripp>{{cite journal |last1=Goodman |first1=Fred |title=An Innocent Man |journal=Spy |date=March 1991 |page=73 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G6J2BiVlRBkC&q=artie%20ripp&pg=PA73 |access-date=October 22, 2015 |archive-date=July 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727115022/https://books.google.com/books?id=G6J2BiVlRBkC&pg=PA73&q=artie%20ripp |url-status=live }}</ref> with which he recorded his first solo album, ''[[Cold Spring Harbor (album)|Cold Spring Harbor]]'', named for [[Cold Spring Harbor, New York|Cold Spring Harbor, a hamlet]] on his native [[Long Island]]. Artie Ripp, owner of Family Productions, states that he spent US$450,000 developing Joel;<ref name=spyripp /> nevertheless, the album was mastered at too high a speed and was a technical and commercial disappointment.<ref name=AllMusic-ColdSpringHarbor>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/cold-spring-harbor-mw0000194331 |title=Cold Spring Harbor Review |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=September 10, 2023 |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |archive-date=October 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003134646/https://www.allmusic.com/album/cold-spring-harbor-mw0000194331 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The popular songs "[[She's Got a Way]]" and "[[Everybody Loves You Now]]" were originally released on this album, but went largely unnoticed until being released as live performances on ''[[Songs in the Attic]] ''(1981). Columbia released a remastered version of ''Cold Spring Harbor'' in 1983, with certain songs shortened or re-orchestrated.<ref name=AllMusic-ColdSpringHarbor />

Joel began his ''Cold Spring Harbor'' tour in the fall of 1971, touring with his band, consisting of [[Rhys Clark]] on drums, Al Hertzberg on guitar, and [[Larry Russell (bassist)|Larry Russell]] on bass guitar, throughout the mainland United States and Puerto Rico, opening for such artists as [[the J. Geils Band]], [[the Beach Boys]], [[Badfinger]] and [[Taj Mahal (musician)|Taj Mahal]]. Joel's performance at the Puerto Rican [[Mar y Sol Pop Festival]] was especially well-received; and although recorded, Joel refused to have it published on the Mar Y Sol compilation album ''[[Mar Y Sol: The First International Puerto Rico Pop Festival (album)|Mar Y Sol: The First International Puerto Rico Pop Festival]]''. Nevertheless, interest in his music grew.<ref name="unauthorized" />

During the spring of 1972, the [[Philadelphia]] radio station [[WMMR]]-FM began playing a [[live concert|concert]] recording of "[[Captain Jack (Billy Joel song)|Captain Jack]]", which became an underground hit on the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]]. Herb Gordon, a [[Columbia Records]] executive, heard Joel's music and introduced him to the company. Joel signed a recording contract with Columbia in 1972 and moved to Los Angeles; he lived there for the next three years.<ref name="bio-allmusic1">{{cite web | last= Erlewine| first= Stephen Thomas| author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine| year= 2006| title= Billy Joel Biography| publisher= [[AllMusic]]| url= https://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-joel-mn0000085915/biography| access-date= December 7, 2008| archive-date= September 9, 2013| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130909081102/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-joel-mn0000085915/biography| url-status= live}}</ref><ref name= Villager /> For six months he worked at The Executive Room [[piano bar]] on [[Wilshire Boulevard]] as "Bill Martin".<ref name= CRose /> During that time, he composed his signature song "[[Piano Man (song)|Piano Man]]" about the bar's patrons.<ref>{{cite news |title=Major 7th chords – a talk with Billy Joel |publisher=The Actors Studio, USA |year=1999}}</ref>

Despite Joel's new contract, he was legally bound to Family Productions. Artie Ripp sold Joel's first contract to Columbia. [[Walter Yetnikoff]], the president of CBS/Columbia Records at the time, bought back the rights to Joel's songs in the late 1970s, giving the rights to Joel as a birthday gift.<ref>''The Last Play at Shea'' (documentary film). 2010. Interview with Yetnikoff.{{when|date=October 2012}}<!-- at what point in the film? --></ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Holden |first=Stephen |date=October 29, 2010 |title=Brenda, Eddie, Billy and Friends Bury a Ballpark |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/movies/29last.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630134640/http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/movies/29last.html |archive-date=June 30, 2012 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Yetnikoff notes in the documentary ''The Last Play at Shea'' that he had to threaten Ripp to close the deal.

Joel's first album with Columbia was ''[[Piano Man (Billy Joel album)|Piano Man]]'' (1973). Despite modest sales, the album's title track became his signature song, ending nearly every concert. That year Joel's touring band changed. Guitarist Al Hertzberg was replaced by Don Evans, and bassist Larry Russell by Patrick McDonald, himself replaced in late 1974 by [[Doug Stegmeyer]], who stayed with Joel until 1989. Rhys Clark returned as drummer and Tom Whitehorse as banjoist and pedal steel player; [[Johnny Almond]] joined as saxophonist and keyboardist. The band toured the U.S. and Canada extensively, appearing on popular music shows. Joel's songwriting began attracting more attention; in 1974 [[Helen Reddy]] recorded the ''Piano Man'' track "[[You're My Home (song)|You're My Home]]".