ORLANDO, Fla. — One of the most prolific and popular singer/songwriters of any generation will be in an Orlando state of mind.
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Billy Joel returns to Orlando Saturday for a rocking night at Camping World Stadium.
The world knows quite a bit about Joel already, but here are 9 facts ahead of his big night in Orlando that you may not know.
1. His father was a Holocaust survivor from Germany.
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2. Rolling Stone named him one of the 100 greatest songwriters of all time.
3. In 1990, he played the first rock concert ever held at New York’s Yankee Stadium. He also played the final rock concert ever at New York’s Shea Stadium before it was torn down in 2008.
4. He’s the third-best selling artist in the country.
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5. Joel actually didn’t graduate high school until he was 43. He left Hicksville High School in New York without having completed his work. In 1992, he turned in some missing essays and got his diploma.
6. He took up boxing as a teen after being bullied in school. He actually won some Golden Gloves amateur brawls, but gave up the sport after a fight resulted in him getting a broken nose.
7. He released “Cold Spring Harbor,” his first solo album, in 1971, and his first single, “Piano Man,” in 1973. His song went on to be selected by the National Recording Registry for preservation in the Library of Congress in 2016.
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8. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Ray Charles.
9. A Broadway show based on Joel’s music, “Movin’ Out,” opened in October 2002.
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