>> STEPHEN: WELCOME BACK.
YOU KNOW, I LOVE WATCHING THE GIVE IT UP FOR JON BATISTE AND
"STAY HUMAN"!
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) ♪
YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE RIDING A TILTED PONEY.
THAT'S VERY NICE.
>> Jon: YEAH!
>> Stephen: FIRST, MY FIRST GUEST TONIGHT HAS SOLD OVER
150 MILLION RECORDS, A TONY AWARD, KENNEDY CENTER HONOR AND
ROCK AND ROLL SONG WRITER'S HALL OF FAME.
THE ONE, THE GREAT, BILLY JOEL!
♪ ( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
>> Stephen: WELCOME.
I SAW THAT.
VERY GOOD.
NICE TO HAVE YOU ON.
WOW.
BILLY JOEL.
I DON'T KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN TO YOU WHAT AN IMPORTANT THING THIS
IS FOR ME TO HAVE YOU ON THE SHOW.
NAME ANY ONE OF YOUR SONGS, I CAN SING EVERY SINGLE ONE OF
YOUR HITS FROM BEGINNING TO END WITHOUT PAUSE.
>> OKAY.
♪ SING US A SONG, IRE THE PIANO MAN ♪
♪ I'M IN A NEW YORK STATE OF MIND ♪
♪ I LOVE YOU JUST THE WAY YOU ARE ♪
♪ I'M MOVING OUT ♪ ♪ ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG ♪
♪ ALWAYS A WOMAN TO ME ♪ ♪ YOU GET TO BE A BIG SHOT ♪
♪ YOU STILL MAY BE RIGHT ♪ ♪ STILL ROCK AND ROLL TO ME ♪
♪ DON'T ASK ME WHY ♪ ♪ LIVING HERE IN ALLENTOWN ♪
♪ TELL HER ABOUT IT ♪ ♪ UPTOWN GIRL ♪
♪ FOR THE LONGEST ♪ ♪ I'M IN THE ENTERTAINER ♪
♪ SHE'S GOT A WAY ♪ ♪ I'M GOING TO WAIT FOR YOU ♪
♪ SHE CUTS YOU ONCE, CUTS YOU TWICE ♪
♪ ROSA LINDA'S EYES ♪ ♪ SOMETIMES THE FANTASY.
>> Stephen: SLEEPING WITH THE TELEVISION ON ♪
♪ DO DOWN TOGETHER ♪ ♪ IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT ♪
♪ WE DIDN'T START THE FIRE ♪ ( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
>> PRETTY GOOD.
>> Stephen: JUST THINK WHAT A GREAT SONG -- WHAT A GREAT SONG
IT WOULD BE JUST TO PUT ALL THE TITLES OF YOUR SONGS TOGETHER.
>> THAT'S PRETTY GOOD.
YOU SHOULD COME TO THE GARDEN AND DO THAT ONE RIGHT
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> Stephen: WE THINK OF YOU
STARTING OFF YOUR CAREER AS THE PIANO MAN, SMOKEY LITTLE BAR,
BUT YOU PLAY HUGE STADIUMS NOW.
YOU'RE THE ONLY GUY TO PLAY ALL THE STADIUMS IN PHILLY FOUR
YEARS IN A ROW SELLING ALL THOSE STADIUMS OUT.
YOU JUST ANNOUNCED SHOWS 86 AND 8 7 OF PERFORMING AT MADISON
SQUARE GARDEN.
YOU'RE LIKE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, YOU
SELL IT OUT IN THREE MINUTES.
WHAT'S IT LIKE?
I WILL EVENTUALLY LET YOU TALK IN THIS INTERVIEW, I PROMISE
YOU, BUT WHAT IS IT LIKE TO PLAY ON A PIANO FOR 20 MILLION
PEOPLE?
>> IT'S FUN.
I PICKED A GREAT JOB.
>> Stephen: DO YOU PREFER A STADIUM AS OPPOSED TO A ROOM
THIS SIZE?
>> YOU HAVE TO THROW IT A LITTLE MORE IN A STADIUM.
WE PLAYED IN WIMBLEY AND LONDON AND 62,000 PEOPLE THERE AND
THREE TIMES MADISON SQUARE GARDEN SO YOU HAVE TO PROJECT
MORE AND GIVE IT A LITTLE MORE ENGLISH BECAUSE IT'S ENGLAND.
>> Stephen: OF COURSE.
WELL, THIS IS THE STAGE, THIS WAS THE STAGE OF THE ED SULLIVAN
SHOW, THE ED SULLIVAN THEATER.
DO YOU REMEMBER SEEING THE BEETLES ON HERE?
I KNOW THEY WERE A BIG INFLUENCE ON YOU.
>> OH, YEAH ( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
>> Stephen: WERE YOU SITTING AT HOME WITH YOUR FAMILY,
WATCHING TV?
>> THE TV BROKE IN MY HOUSE WHEN I WAS ABOUT TWO YEARS OLD, SO I
WENT TO SOMEBODY ELSE'S HOUSE TO WATCH TV, AND THE BEATLES WERE
ON.
1964, FEBRUARY, I REMEMBER THAT.
ALSO, IT WAS THREE MONTHS AFTER JOHN F. KENNEDY HAS BEEN
ASSASSINATED SO THE COUNTRY HAD THE BLUES, EVERYBODY WAS DOWN IN
THE DUMPS, HE WAS, LIKE, OUR GUY AND THEY TOOK HIM AWAY.
THEN THESE FOUR GUYS CAME FROM ENGLAND WITH WEIRD HAIR, WROTE
THEIR OWN SONGS, ARRANGED THEIR OWN MUSIC, PLAYED THEIR OWN
INSTRUMENTS, AND THE COUNTRY WENT CRAZY, WE ALL WENT NUTS,
OKAY, THOSE ARE THE GUYS, THOSE ARE OURS.
IT WAS A REALLY EXCITING TIME.
>> Stephen: HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN THAT HAPPENED?
>> 14.
>> Stephen: WERE YOU ALREADY PLAYING PIANO AT THE TIME?
>> YEAH, I HAD BEEN TAKING LESSONS SINCE I WAS FOUR.
BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO BE A CLASSICAL PIANIST.
THAT WASN'T IN MY CARDS.
>> Stephen: BUT YOU'VE COMPOSED CLASSICAL MUSIC BEFORE.
I HEARD YOU START WITH A CLASSICAL MOTIF WHEN YOU'RE
WRITING A SONG AND THEN RACK IT UP.
>> I LOVE CLASSICAL MUSIC.
I FELL IN LOVE WITH ROCK AND ROLL WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER.
THE BEATLES TOOK ME INTO THAT.
I SAW THE BEATLES AND I THOUGHT, THAT CAN BE DONE.
THEY WERE FROM LIVERPOOL WHICH SOUNDS WORSE THAN WHERE I'M
FROM, HICKSVILLE.
( LAUGHTER ) >> Stephen: YOU'VE BECOME
FRIENDS WITH McCARTNEY.
YES.
>> Stephen: AND CLOSED SHEA STADIUM WITH HIM.
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: THEY PLAYED THAT STADIUM IN 64.
>> THEY KICKED THE DOOR OPEN.
>> Stephen: YOU CLOSED SHEA STADIUM WITH HIM.
>> YEAH, THEY WERE GOING TO CLOSE DOWN THE SHEA STADIUM AND
I CALLED PAUL AND ASKED HIM IF HE WANTED TO COME BECAUSE YOU
GUYS OPENED IT UP.
I'VE KNOWN HIM SINCE THE '80s I GUESS, WHEN THE FIRST DAUGHTER
ALEXA WAS A LITTLE GIRL, PAUL USED TO SEE US AT A PARTY IN THE
HAMPTONS OR SOMETHING AND HE'D SAY, OH, ALEXA, IT'S YOUR UNCLE
PAULEY, COME HERE, COME HERE, UNCLE PAULEY.
HE'S, LIKE, A REAL DAD AND SHE WOULD SCREAM, DIDN'T KNOW WHO HE
WAS.
AND I SAID, IT'S PAUL McCARTNEY!
COME HERE, IT'S YOUR UNCLE PAULEY.
I ASKED HIM IF HE COULD COME TO THE SHAY SHOW AND HE HAD
VISITATION WITH HIS OWN DAUGHTER.
I SAID, I UNDERSTAND VISITATION, I GET IT, I HAVE BEEN MARRIED
FOUR TIMES, I UNDERSTAND VISITATION.
>> Stephen: FOUR TIMES?
YEAH, MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH ME.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) SO H HE SAID HE HAD A VISITATION
AND I SAID I UNDERSTAND, HE WASN'T GOING TO MAKE IT.
SO AS WE WERE COMING TO THE END OF THE SHOW, THE SECOND SHOW WE
DID, ALL OF A SUDDEN MIX ROAD CREW GUYS COME OVER TO ME AND
SAID, HE'S ON HIS WAY.
I SAID, WHO'S ON HIS WAY?
THE EAGLE HAS LANDED.
AND WE WERE GETTING TO PIANO MAN, AND I LOOK ON THE SIDE OF
THE STAGE AND THERE IS PAUL McCARTNEY WALKING ON THE STAGE
TUNING HIS HOFFNER BASE WITH A BUTTER KNIFE.
I SAID, THIS IS BIZARRE, THIS IS INSANE.
SO HE CAME ON, WE PLAYED A COUPLE OF SONGS AND ENDED THE
SHOW BY DOING "LET IT BE" WHICH IS POETIC JUSTICE, I THINK.
>> Stephen: WE'LL TAKE A BREAK AND BE BACK WITH MORE BILLY
JOEL.
STICK AROUND.